Keith DiMarco, the mayor of Glassport Boro, was apprehended this week for allegedly breaking a protection-from-abuse order issued by his wife and 22-year-old stepdaughter, sources say. The arrest comes as a separate investigation into a concealed camera discovered by DiMarco’s stepdaughter in a bathroom at the mayor’s residence continues.
According to KDKA-TV, DiMarco was arrested explicitly for violating the PFA, not for the camera probe. According to the article, no charges had been filed in relation with the camera found inside the mayor’s home. Law officials raided DiMarco’s home as part of the larger investigation, but the arrest was prompted by the protective order requested by his wife and stepdaughter.
The investigation apparently began on Friday, August 14, when the Glassport Boro Police Department received a call about a hidden camera discovered inside the mayor’s residence. Because Pennsylvania boro mayors have direct administrative responsibility over their local police agencies under the Pennsylvania Boro Code, the Allegheny County Police Department took over the investigation owing to a conflict of interest, according to KDKA-TV sources. This institutional element explains why a county-level organization, rather than Glassport’s own force, led the investigation into its own mayor.
Although a Protection From Abuse order is a civil court mandate, a willful violation of one is punishable as indirect criminal contempt of court in Pennsylvania. That charge is laid out in 23 Pa.C.S. § 6114 provides penalties of up to six months in jail and obligatory fines between $300 and $1,000 each offense. The matter is handled by a Court of Common Pleas judge, not a jury. Separately, 23 Pa.C.S. § 6113 allows police officers to make an immediate arrest without a warrant if they have probable cause to believe someone has violated an active PFA order. This legal mechanism allowed for DiMarco’s swift arrest after the alleged violation was reported.
Glassport Boro Council President Anthony Colecchi stated that the boro has and will continue to fully cooperate with the investigation. His statement, delivered only last week, did not go into depth about either the PFA case or the camera report, leaving many underlying details unanswered for the time being.
DiMarco was sworn in as mayor of Glassport in early 2018, making him the fourth member of the DiMarco family to occupy elected municipal office in the boro, according to the Mon Valley Independent. The family’s long history in Glassport administration makes this week’s arrest a remarkable departure from the borough’s typical political routines. It is not the first time a Glassport official has been arrested during DiMarco’s tenure. In August 2022, council member Katherine Handra was arrested and charged with simple assault, harassment, and public drunkenness after a fight at a local bar, which DiMarco publicly acknowledged at the time, according to WPXI.
DiMarco’s most recent dealings with the boro council appeared regular. In November, he swore in Jennifer Stockett to fill a vacant council position following a unanimous vote led by Colecchi, according to the Mon Valley Independent’s article.
Despite the arrest, the Glassport Boro Council has no legal basis to remove DiMarco from his elected position based solely on pending charges or PFA claims. Article VI, Section 7 of the Pennsylvania Constitution provides for mandatory removal from municipal office in cases involving a criminal conviction for an infamous crime or misbehavior in office, and Pennsylvania courts have ruled that this constitutional removal process takes precedence over any attempt by local council to act on its own. If DiMarco resigns or is removed through that process, the Pennsylvania Boro Code requires council to designate a registered boro elector within 30 days to complete the unexpired term, with a municipal vacancy board or court taking over if council fails to act.
Glassport, a working-class boro of about 4,200 people on the Monongahela River about 10 miles south of Pittsburgh, has undergone years of economic restructuring as a result of the loss of Mon Valley steel production. According to 2024 Census predictions published by the Human Services Center Mon Valley, more than 15% of its citizens live below the federal poverty line, highlighting the strain a leadership controversy can put on an already overburdened tiny municipal government. As of the most current reporting, no charges had been brought in connection with the hidden camera report, and it is unclear how the indirect criminal contempt action related to the PFA violation will be handled in court.
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