Lackawanna County commissioners named law enforcement veteran Jason D. Westgate as the county’s next director of community corrections, replacing retired director Norm Maconeghy.
Among other duties, Westgate will oversee the county’s house-arrest program and work with county officials to explore reviving a work-release program for men and women, county Chief of Staff Brian Jeffers said. A former community corrections director himself, Jeffers described the county’s prior work-release program as a casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic and said reviving it is a goal.
In the shorter term, Westgate will also participate in the process of hiring a new community corrections business manager after former business manager Lynn Ciuccoli passed away in December. The county advertised that position between Feb. 24 and March 10.
Commissioners Thom Welby, Bill Gaughan and Chris Chermak praised Westgate in a press release announcing his appointment to the director position he assumed March 3, touting his extensive background.
An Olyphant resident and Marine Corps veteran with a degree in criminal justice from Marywood University, Westgate previously worked as a corrections officer at the State Correctional Institution – Waymart in Wayne County and as a Scranton police officer from about 2003 to 2009, per the county press release. He began a 15-year-career as a state parole in August of 2010.
“Jason is the perfect fit for the Community Corrections position,” Welby said. “His background is truly impressive, bringing a wealth of knowledge that will serve the County well and be of great assistance to our other departments. His state, military and local contacts are an added plus for the County.”
Gaughan expressed a similar sentiment, noting commissioners are “pleased to welcome someone with his depth of experience and dedication to public service to our team.”
Chermak said Westgate has “pretty much experienced it all in the law enforcement world and the military.
“His supervisory and training background will be of tremendous benefit to both our staff and those in our work release center who are attempting to learn from their past issues and assimilate back into everyday society,” he said.
Efforts to reach Westgate were not immediately successful, but he said in the release that he looks forward to “working with County leadership, the courts, and community partners to enhance public safety and build a more effective and efficient community corrections program.”
He’ll earn an annual salary of $65,792.