Severson Prosecution: Bad News for AG Hopeful Morganelli

Yesterday, District Judge Ralph Litzenberger ruled there is sufficient evidence to believe that political consultant Thomas "Scissorhands" Severson is a criminal. He'll now have to answer charges of terroristic threats, simple assault, disorderly conduct and harassment in common pleas court. These charges were filed after Severson disrupted a funeral mass in Pen Argyl with taunts and threats aimed primarily at Northampton County Council member Ron Angle.

Both The Express Times and Morning Call have detailed accounts of yesterday's two-hour preliminary hearing, conducted in a small, but packed, courtroom before a no-nonsense magistrate.

This is the play by play, and it's bad news for John Morganelli, who wants to use Severson as a political consultant in his AG bid. Severson may not have touched Angle, but he certainly hurt Morganelli.

Senior Deputy AG Marc Constanzo headed the prosecution team, while Severson was represented by one of the Lehigh Valley's best criminal defense lawyers, George Heitczman. During a preliminary hearing, the Commonwealth has a very low burden - it need only show that it is likely that a person has committed a crime. Most defense attorneys simply use the hearing to gather information and pin witnesses down. Most prosecutors try to get away with as little evidence as possible. Constanzo produced five witnesses, and tried to keep it brief. The witnesses were sequestered.

1. Edmund Mugavero. This elderly gentleman was sitting in church with his wife and daughter. Severson sat behind him, and when his cell phone rang, actually answered it and started talking during a funeral mass. He did hear some sort of "disturbance" behind him, but had few details beyond that. At some point, Mugavero turned around and asked Severson to step outside if he wanted to talk. At first, Mugavero claimed that was it. He had to be shown his previous statement before remembering that Severson had told him to "shut up and sit down."
Mugavero was the Commonwealth's weakest witness.

2. Frank Febbo. Febbo was seated next to his wife, and she was next to Severson, who also happens to be a neighbor. He testified there was some "commotion," and that Severson was "very upset" about something. At one point, Severson started shouting, "You haven't seen anything yet! Wait 'till we're outside." Febbo saw Severson tell Mugavero to sit down, noting that he was very loud and said it a few times. He also heard Severson say, "If you want a real show, wait 'till we're in the parking lot." He claimed that Severson's cell phone went off a few times and he continued to take calls during a funeral mass.

After the service was over, Severson came up to Febbo and put his arm around him. He started bragging about his time in the service and showed him his Vietnam pin, He claimed he was not afraid of anybody and told Febbo, "Anybody gives you a hard time, just let me know. ... I'm a born killer."

Febbo characterized these remarks as inappropriate but felt they were said kiddingly. He distinguished them from how Severson was acting in church, which he said made him "pretty alarmed."

3. Mary Ensslin. Ms. Ensslin testified she was seated at the rear of the church and was alone. In fact, she was there to mourn, and wanted to be alone. But she was eventually met by Ron Angle, who at one time served with her on Northampton County Council and the Bangor Area School District. Angle sat beside her in the rear of the church.

After mass had started, Severson walked in the church and found a seat in front of them, a few pews away. Severson because worked in her first primary campaign for Northampton County Council as a political consultant.

After a few minutes, Severson turned around, noticing both her and Angle. He immediately began making aggressive gestures and sounds and actually stood up. She claimed his arms were making a punching-like motion but was unable to recall whether he used the finger. She heard Severson say, "We're going to settle this."

A few minutes later, Severson stood up and turned around a second time. Putting his hand in his pocket, he began to point and jab it at Angle, saying "We're going to settle this. I'm going to stick this in you outside."

When he turned around, Angle asked Ensslin, "Who is that?"

Ensslin: "That's Tom Severson. Don't you know him?"

Angle: "No. I've never seen him. He's wound a little tight tonight."

Severson then stood and turned around a third time, continuing to make the remarks and jabbing motions. "I'm going to stick this in you in the parking lot." She was alarmed and so was Angle.

As the mass was ending and everyone was turned away, Angle told Ensslin he had better leave and slipped out a side door. When Severson turned around and discovered it, he got out of his pew and started heading towards Ensslin. As she ran away towards Lenny Zito, Severson thundered at her, shouting "If you ever run for public office, I'm going to destroy you."

She believed Severson was armed, was fearful and asked Zito to walk her to her car. She refused to go to the burial service the next day because she was afraid.

4. Ron Angle. Angle explained he was in church to pay his respects, having known the family for forty years. Asked to say for the mass, he looked for and found a seat in the back of the church, where he sat with Mary Ensslin. After mass had started, a man he later learned is Severson came in and sat a few pews in front of him.

A few minutes after mass had started, Severson jumped up, got irate, gave him the finger and said "Fuck you!"

Angle waved hello, turned to Ensslin and said, "Must be an unhappy constituent." Angle then saw the exchange with Mugavero, and noted that Severson told this elderly person to sit down.

Severson continued making derogatory remarks throughout the entire service, yelling, talking or glaring the entire time. Ensslin told Ron this angry man was Tom Severson.

Angle testified, "He kept saying, 'I'm going to get your fucking ass. I'm going to kill you.'" Severson even pulled the end of a switchblade knife from his pants pocket and said, "I'm going to kill you." According to Ron, "I felt this guy was capable of killing me. He was out of his mind."

He decided to make an early exit out a side door and was just able to get in and lock his truck when Severson was out there too, yelling again that he was going to kill Angle. He stopped when people began leaving the church.

After Angle got home, his wife told him to call the police, but he instead took a sleeping pill and went to bed. After thinking the matter over, he decided to report it. "This guy is capable of killing me. If I don't go, he might kill someone else."

5. Pen Argyl Police Officer Jonathan M Hoadley. Hoadley told Litzenberger that Severson, of his own volition, actually gave him a typed and signed statement, admitting that he had given Angle the finger. he also admitted saying "Fuck You," "I'm gonna' get you" and "We'll finish this outside."

Litzenberger had no choice other than binding this matter over. With these charges hanging over Severson, John Morganelli will have to drop him or surely lose. Morganelli has always been loyal to his friends, but the person who Severson really stabbed is John himself.

During the entire hearing, Severson made a point of sneering at Deputy AG Constanzo as much as possible, instead of keeping a low profile. If he thinks his switchblades and Vietnam pins are going to intimidate a state prosecutor, he is in for a rude awakening. If anything, he is just encouraging Constanzo to pursue an investigation into Severson's possible election law violations.