3 DAYS, 3 CHIEFS

Veteran Aliquippa police captain takes over department amid turmoil

A veteran Aliquippa police captain took the helm as acting chief Friday, two days after the department’s chief was ousted by city council and the same day the chief’s initial replacement was arrested.

Acting Chief Robert Sealock, 47, declined to comment Tuesday on the recent turmoil in the Aliquippa Police Department and said instead that he would focus on moving the department forward. He has been with the force since 1997.

“I have the utmost respect for my officers and city council, and everybody is doing a great job, and we’re going to try to keep pushing forward,” he said.

Acting Chief Sealock began leading the department on Friday, the same day Assistant Chief Joseph Perciavalle III was charged with sending a sexually explicit text to a 17-year-old girl.

Assistant Chief Perciavalle had been serving as acting chief since June 6, when Aliquippa City Council voted unanimously to put Chief Donald Couch on administrative leave to investigate anunspecified accusation.

City Solicitor Myron Sainovich said Chief Couch’s leave was not related to an ongoing investigation of the death of 33-yearold Rachael DelTondo, who was shot in her driveway May 13.

But Assistant Chief Perciavalle’s arrest is related to the investigation: While detectives were reviewing phone records in the case, they discovered that on May 10, he sent to the 17year-old girl a video of a woman urinating while on a swing. The girl became a witness in Ms. DelTondo’s homicide days later.

Chief Couch and Assistant Chief Perciavalle are on paid administrative leave.