Cumberland County Commissioner Vince DiFilippo defended himself Wednesday against what he said were false accusations made by fellow Commissioner Gary Eichelberger.

In late October, Eichelberger questioned the integrity of the process the county had set up to recommend and award grants using federal American Rescue Plan Act funds.

Eichelberger had accused DiFilippo and Commissioner Jean Foschi of having influence over how grant applications were reviewed in the lead-up to votes on awarding the funds.

“He continued to spread these false accusations for many months without having any proof whatsoever of wrongdoing,” DiFilippo said Wednesday while reading from a prepared statement during a monthly commissioners meeting.

“Enough is enough,” DiFilippo said. “For the first time in my political career, which spans almost 18 years, I requested information in the form of a Right-to-Know request. The results of the request have indicated that Eichelberger used county property to spread false accusations to multiple recipients regarding me and others over the county ... process and the ARPA grant funds.”

DiFilippo was referring to a series of emails that were sent by Eichelberger using the county network. He asked that copies of those emails be attached to the meeting minutes.

“It’s time for the voters of this county to find out the truth about this matter,” DiFilippo said. “I will not allow anyone to attack my integrity with false accusations that defame my character.”

DiFilippo mentioned a December 2021 public meeting during which the commissioners agreed unanimously to a plan to review, recommend and allocate a portion of the $49 million in Rescue Plan Act funds the county received to address the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

That plan included the formation of a committee of six county employees and one consultant to handle the application review and recommendation process, DiFilippo said. “That committee completed its work with, in my opinion, great integrity and transparency. For my own peace of mind, I talked to six of the seven members of the committee. ... These conversations occurred between July 25 and Aug. 1 of this year.” One committee member – a former county employee – was unavailable.

“When I asked the remaining six if I ever influenced, interfered or asked for any special favors, all of them told me that I never interfered or influenced them in any way,” DiFilippo said. “In fact, some of them actually laughed at the question. Some told me that no commissioners interfered in the process. Yet, Eichelberger continues to accuse me and Commissioner Foschi of such actions.

“It’s one thing to disagree on an issue,” DiFilippo said. “An elected official’s vote is his privilege. Sometimes votes are unanimous. Sometimes they are not. There is expected to be disagreement on some issues. But when a vote doesn’t go your way, when false accusations are being made repeatedly to different people that disparage and defame that is a serious matter that’s simply inexcusable.”

Eichelberger responded that his accusations are true. “To say that you didn’t try to influence any of them, I know for a fact is incorrect,” he told DiFilippo.

“Where’s your proof?” DiFilippo asked.

“It’s verbal. I don’t record people who offer me something,” Eichelberger said. “When this process started, I recommended that we adopt the same process we have used throughout my tenure, that we empanel subject matter experts who are an arm’s length or more from the county commissioners. You talked to these people.

“The problem is structural,” he said. “Every one of these people [on the committee] is under the thumb of the commissioners. They know that. They can certainly perceive threats and act as yes men and yes women, even if that is not the intention.”

Eichelberger referred to the May primary during which he received 9,528 votes for the Republican nomination for commissioner compared to the 5,072 votes DiFilippo received.

“What we’re seeing is an exhibition of sour grapes over the outcome of the election,” Eichelberger said.

Later, Eichelberger said the matter has been resolved and that further discussion would not be helpful to the county or any of the grant recipients.

“That happens to be where we stand,” Eichelberger said.

That word choice drew a sharp response from Foschi. “This is where you stand. Don’t say we,” she said. Foschi then asked Eichelberger if he really believed all of his statements to DiFilippo.

“Yes, that is what I need to know,” he said. “I also know that we [the commissioners] should not access those [grant] applications. I heard numerous comments that we offered opinions on them.”

The exchange sparked an argument between Eichelberger and Foschi that continued for over eight minutes before the commissioners moved ahead with Wednesday’s agenda.