Beloved judge served in many capacities during full life
If it had been up to the voters of Washington County, Richard DiSalle would have had a lifetime appointment to any court in America.
So beloved was the former Washington County and two-time state appellate court judge that a bipartisan group of jurists, officials and friends formed a special group called “Draft DiSalle” in an effort to convince him to run a second time for county Common Pleas Court judge in 1983.
In an unprecedented turn of events, even the judge who was retiring the local seat recommended Judge DiSalle as his replacement, calling him “sincere and honest.”
But Judge DiSalle demurred, saying that he intended to work as a lawyer in the public and private sector, cited the expense of two lost statewide campaigns and the cost of educating his children.
“He could have been anything here — he was so popular and so involved in the law and the community,” said county President Judge Katherine Emery about Judge DiSalle, 93, of Peters, who died Feb. 16 of congestive heart failure.
As a first assistant prosecutor, Judge DiSalle ran for Common Pleas Court in 1969 and served until 1977, when he was appointed to the state Commonwealth Court by Democratic Gov. Milton J. Shapp. He was defeated in 1979 when he sought a full term on the bench.
In 1980, Republican Gov. Richard Thornburgh tapped Judge Disalle for an interim term on the newly expanded state Superior Court, but again he came up short a year later when he ran for a permanent seat.
A Democrat, Judge DiSalle appealed to both sides of the aisle for his sterling reputation, said his son Washington County Common Pleas Judge John DiSalle.
“He was known for being fair and he was considered a legal scholar too,” the younger Judge DiSalle said. “And that’s what made him amenable to both parties.”
“He was a judge on three different levels of the courts and he had a great deal of respect,” said his friend, retired U.S. District Judge Gustave Diamond. “There was nothing false or phony about Richard.”
It was that hard-won reputation that Judge DiSalle was trying to protect in September 1979, when he and his wife Joan sued the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for $8.75 million, after the newspaper published a story about a legal dispute and family feud centered around the $8 million will of the late Paul Ciaffoni. Judge DiSalle prepared the will in 1968, before he became a judge.
The story included allegations — culled from court documents — from some of the heirs that the will had been fraudulently altered and that Judge DiSalle had a close relationship with Ciaffoni’s youngest daughter.
Judge DiSalle won the suit in April 1985, when a jury awarded he and his wife $210,000 in compensatory damages and $2 million in punitive damages.
The case was finally settled in 1989, when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal brought by the newspaper, which paid the original verdict, along with about $500,000 in interest.
Though he might have had reason to be resentful, the former judge didn’t hold grudges and graciously granted interviews to many P-G reporters over the years.
Judge DiSalle also distinguished himself as a lawyer, representing the families of the victims of the December 1962 Robena Mine explosion in Greene County, in which 37 miners were killed.
“He was very proud of having worked on that,” his son said.
He also served as a municipal and school board solicitor and was named Washington County solicitor for nine months in 1980 — between his state judicial appointments — and again in 2000.
As the son of an immigrant from the Abruzzi region of Italy, Judge DiSalle’s roots were important to him.
He framed his father’s 1894 boarding ticket for the USS Cincinnati in his law office and kept alive traditions from the old country, such as making sausage and homemade wine.
Raised in Canonsburg, Judge DiSalle graduated from Chartiers High School in 1944 and went to the University of Pittsburgh, where his education was interrupted by World War II.
He joined the Army in 1945 and served stateside as a clerk/typist.
Judge DiSalle returned to Pitt in 1946, earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1948, and a law degree three years later.
In January 1956, he married Joan Malinowski, who he met through some mutual friends and relatives.
In his later years, Judge DiSalle loved spending time with friends, such as Judge Diamond, who served on the federal bench for nearly 40 years but never had a professional encounter with Judge DiSalle.
“We live within two miles of each other and we would get together once or twice a month,” Judge Diamond said. “We always looked forward to it. I’m going to miss him terribly.”
The younger Judge DiSalle said his father helped he and his brother Francis, a lawyer from
Upper St. Clair, enter into the legal profession and served as an ideal sounding board for questions and advice.
“My older brother and I grew up ensconced in his career — it’s definitely why we were attracted to the law,” he said. “My dad was an encyclopedia. If he didn’t know the exact answer, he would tell you where to look for it.
“I wouldn’t be here without him. I work hard to fill those shoes and live up to that reputation that he carved by his own hard work.”
Along with his wife and sons, Judge DiSalle is survived by his daughter Elizabeth DiSalle, of Peters, and sons Robert, of Oakville, Ontario, Joseph, of New York City, and Michael, of Rochester, N.Y.; his brother Gilbert, of Sebastian, Fla. and seven grandchildren. His funeral was Saturday.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Mental Health Association of Washington County, the Rotary Club of Canonsburg-Houston-Southpointe, and the Washington Symphony Orchestra.