PENN HILLS, Pa. — Drama is swirling in Penn Hills following the removal of the police chief Monday. Insiders will tell you the controversy began long before the municipal manager placed the chief on paid leave in August.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE >>> Penn Hills police chief removed from position, officials say
Sources describe months of political infighting and power struggles ahead of this week’s developments.
Jason Bonace had served as chief since last August, first in an acting capacity. He was confirmed in February.
Acting Municipal Manager Diane Fitzhenry removed Bonace as chief Monday. Sources tell 11 Investigates he was accused of violating policy pertaining to department purchases.
Fitzhenry has not provided an explanation for the chief’s removal aside from this statement. “The position of Chief carries substantial administrative, organizational and supervisory responsibility, and his weakness in those areas cannot be overcome.”
Community members have voiced frustration over a lack of transparency.
“Chief Bonace is the best chief. He’s a fabulous chief,” Penn Hills Mayor Pauline Calabrese told Channel 11 Tuesday, adding that she backs him 100 percent.
The chief’s removal comes after Bonace launched an internal review into billing practices within the EMS department, where Fitzhenry served as director.
“Shortly thereafter, Diane Fitzhenry, who was the director of EMS at that time, cut off access so that it was impossible to do an internal review,” Calabrese said, adding that she and the chief then contacted the district attorney and state health department.
Calabrese said she believes Bonace could be considered a whistleblower and is concerned about a whistleblower lawsuit.
“I think there’s a profound conflict of interest. The person on whom the whistle is blown cannot be the one who is giving out disciplinary action, if any is needed,” Calabrese said.
Fitzhenry, the former chief and council members have declined interview requests.
But in a 970+ word Facebook post, Councilman Alan Waldron blasted the mayor and backed the manager.
“Diane Fitzhenry raised concerns about it while serving as EMS Director, but disciplinary action was never taken by the previous manager,” he wrote in part.
“For the mayor to come out and say that this is a politically motivated firing is simply performative... I’m so exhausted with it,” he wrote. “When you see the clown show in town, pay attention to who’s honking their nose the loudest.l
Also at play is a lawsuit filed by several detectives in April claiming a hostile work environment. All parties have declined comment on the pending lawsuit.
Channel 11 also received a statement from Penn Hills solicitor Craig H. Alexander released the following statement on the sitaution:
“Thank you for allowing me to be able to respond to the Mayor’s comments.
“First, to my knowledge, Chief Bonace never directed that an investigation be commenced regarding EMS billing practices. Rather, on March 30, 2026, he sent an email which was titled Review of EMS Ambulatory Trip Sheet Compliance. In the email, the Chief stated that he was aware that there may be significant incomplete Ambulatory Trip Sheets and requested that the Lt. perform a “comprehensive review” of the matter. The word investigation is not contained within the directive.
“Moreover, the fact that there have been issues with trip sheet compliance was widely known within the Municipality, dating back before Diane Fitzhenry’s appointment to EMS director. The Mayor, the Chief, the past two Chiefs, and former Manager Scott Andrejchak were all aware of this.
“It was Diane Fitzhenry who continued to bring it to the attention of Municipal leadership. As a Director, Diane lacked any authority to discipline those who failed to comply with the trip sheet mandate. So she did what she was supposed to do and brought it to the attention of the Manager, who, under the Penn Hills Home Rule Charter, is the only person who has the authority to discipline employees.
“I spoke with former Manager Andrejchak on two separate occasions, and during both conversations, he confirmed that while he was aware of the trip sheet compliance issue, he never suspected that anything illegal was being done with EMS billing. Manager Andrejchak told me that he assigned Lt. Lawrence to EMS in part to assist Diane Fitzhenry, due to her multiple requests for the same, and also because he believed that the Lt. could help streamline the processes there.
“The Mayor has raised her allegations of a conflict of interest in a legal pleading when she sued the Acting Manager and sought an injunction that would have precluded her from disciplining Chief Bonace.
“The Judge didn’t buy into the argument, and the injunction request was denied. To prevail on a request for preliminary injunction, the Plaintiff, here, the Mayor, must show that there is a substantial likelihood of prevailing on the merits of the matter. Because the Judge denied the request, he would have had to determine that the substantial likelihood of prevailing on the merits threshold was not met.
“Additionally, she brought her concerns to the four other Council members. None of them bought into the argument either, and all confirmed that discipline decisions were the Acting Manager’s and the Acting Manager’s alone to make.
“This “investigation,” if there was one, raises additional questions: if Diane Fitzhenry was being accused of any unlawful conduct, why didn’t the Chief commence an investigation when he became Acting Chief? Why didn’t Chief Bonace discipline Diane Fitzhenry when he became the Acting Manager and had the authority to do so? Why did the Mayor appoint Diane Fitzhenry to the role of Acting Manager when all of these ‘red herrings’ were hanging out there?
“These questions need to be answered before the allegations can be taken seriously.
“With regard to whistleblower claims and claims of retaliation, time will tell what the Chief decides to do with these claims, but in my opinion, it’s pretty hard to blow a whistle on issues that are widely known and have existed for decades. With regard to whether the Chief’s firing was retaliatory, the Chief is well aware of the reasons that were relied on. The Chief can share that if he wanted to, but instead relies on accusations of retaliation as a subterfuge for the actual facts at hand.
“An additional point that might call this all into question is that compliance review was only commenced immediately after the Acting Manager granted a grievance that was filed where it was alleged that the Chief unilaterally moved a police officer, resulting in a demotion in pay without just cause, despite ample time to do so.”
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