Westmoreland register of wills to leave office 4 months early

Westmoreland County’s Register of Wills Sherry Magretti Hamilton will leave office four months early.

County officials on Thursday confirmed that Hamilton, the three-term Republican officerholder who last spring was stripped of her administrative duties, said she will resign her elected position effective Sept. 3.

Hamilton previously agreed leave Dec. 31 as part of a deal to avoid a potential jail sentence for contempt of court. That deal allowed Hamilton to continue earning her nearly $90,000 annual salary until the end of the year.

Her early resignation is expected to save taxpayers about $29,000 this year.

“I wish her well,” said Republican Commissioner Sean Kertes.

Kertes and Democratic Commissioner Ted Kopas previously called on Hamilton to resign after oversight of her office, which is responsible for the recordkeeping and filing of court documents related to adoptions, guardianships, will, estates and marriage licenses, came under increasing court criticism.

Hamilton, a lawyer who previously worked as a chief deputy to then Register of Wills Michael Ginsburg, was first elected to head the office in 2015. She was uncontested last November when she won her third, four-year term in office

Hamilton did not respond Thursday to a request for comment.

Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judges Harry Smail Jr. and Jim Silvis in May found Hamilton in contempt of court for failing to follow multiple court orders that directed her office to correct years of filing backlogs and other issues that plagued office functions and delayed the awarding of adoption certificates to newly formed families.

“While this has long been needed, it’s never too late to do the right thing. This is really the best result for everyone,” Kopas said, reacting to Hamilton’s resignation.

Filing delays, staff shortages and other internal administrative actions had been suspected in the Register of Wills Office dating back to 2019, according to court testimony at Hamilton’s contempt hearings this spring. Judicial findings suggested Hamilton lied about her work attendance, claiming she spent about 20 to 30 hours a week at the courthouse office. Staffers testified Hamilton was at best a part-time employee who was physically present on the job for just several hours a week on average.

In her deal with the judges, Hamilton agreed to leave office at year’s end and was fined $10,000, an amount she is required to pay by Dec. 31. She also was required to continue reporting to work as an office staffer while continuing to earn her annual salary as an elected official. Her criminal contempt conviction was converted to a civil penalty.

As part of the contempt finding, the judges removed administrative duties from Hamilton and appointed Greensburg attorney Jim Antoniono as a conservator to oversee office operations. Antoniono then fired Hamilton’s longtime chief deputy and hired former office clerk Katie Pecarchik as his new second-in-command.

Pecarchik, 56, of Hempfield, is in line to serve as acting register of wills once Hamilton’s resignation becomes official.

Pecarchik would serve in that role until a permanent replacement is appointed by Gov. Josh Shapiro and confirmed by the state Senate. Voters will elect a new register in November 2027.

“I think she is qualified for the job. I wouldn’t have put in in that position, otherwise,” Antoniono said.

Pecarchik worked as a clerk in the register’s office for nearly two decades before retiring in 2023. She ran unsuccessfully as a Democrat seeking to unseat Hamilton in 2019. According election bureau records, Pecarchik had been registered Democrat since 1991, until she switched her party affiliation to Republican in April.

Meanwhile, Antoniono’s appointment as conservator is slated to run through the end of the year.

Antoniono, who through July earned nearly $20,000 in his role as conservator, said his oversight of the office is nearing completion and plans to ensure all staff is trained and changes he implemented over the last several months are maintained before he leaves the post.

“My work is about 90% done at this point,” Antoniono said. “As of a couple of weeks ago I sent the commissioners a note that the office is where I want it to be. I see my time there as being just an hour or two a week, at most.”