Ex-city policeman named magistrate

WELLSBURG - A former Weirton police officer has been appointed to fill the unexpired term of Brooke County Magistrate Deborah Lunsford, who died in October of cancer.

Chief Circuit Court Judge Arthur M. Recht of the 1st Judicial Circuit announced Thursday he selected Michael F. Fuscardo from a number of candidates for the position because he found him to be the most qualified.

Recht said Fuscardo will be administered oaths of office at 1 p.m. Wednesday at the Wheeling-Ohio County Building. He will serve as magistrate until the May primary election, at which time he may seek election to the seat if he chooses.

He noted the filing period for candidates in the election will begin Jan. 11 and end Jan. 30.

Fuscardo is no stranger to Brooke County Magistrate Court, having been appointed to fill the unexpired term of Magistrate Norma Tarr following her retirement in 1998. He served in that capacity until he was defeated in the 2000 election by Lunsford.

Prior to that, he was a Weirton police officer from 1982 to 1992, when he retired after being blinded while in the line of duty.

According to court documents, Fuscardo was responding to reports of littering when he confronted Samuel P. Lorello in his parked van. As Fuscardo approached the van, Lorello threw a combination of sulfuric acid and other caustic household products at him, blinding and injuring him.

Following his arrest for the incident, Lorello was found by the Hancock County Circuit Court not competent to stand trial because he suffered from chronic paranoid schizophrenia.

A Follansbee resident, Fuscardo is a graduate of Weir High School and the West Virginia State Police Academy. He received magistrate certification through the state Supreme Court.

In an interview in 2000, Fuscardo said he applied listening skills and the ability to discern a person's attitude through his speech while serving as both a sighted police officer and a blind magistrate.

(Scott can be contacted at wscott@heraldstaronline.com)