New Kensington controller listed neighbor's home for sale, but the owner wasn't selling

Jul. 9—Frank Coscarelli was getting ready to leave for work one day in January when someone knocked at the door of his New Kensington home interested in buying it.

When Coscarelli told him it wasn't for sale, the man insisted he had found it on the online classified site Craigslist.

Turns out, the home was indeed listed on Craigslist. Coscarelli had no knowledge of this.

He would later learn that his neighbor, John Zavadak, with whom he had a dispute, had listed Coscarelli's home on East Hills Drive for sale.

Zavadak, 59, is the elected controller of the city of New Kensington, and is running for re-election this year.

Three different prospective buyers came to Coscarelli's house in response to the ad before it was taken down.

"I was surprised. Why would someone do this?" Coscarelli said. "It was so stupid for someone to do something like that."

Zavadak pleaded guilty last month to two summary charges, disorderly conduct and harassment. He was fined $300 for each, plus costs.

According to the two citations issued by Westmoreland County detectives, Zavadak, with the intent to harass Coscarelli, created a fraudulent Craigslist ad listing Coscarelli's residence for sale without Coscarelli's authorization. In doing so, he also "created a physically offensive condition," the handwritten disorderly conduct citation reads.

Zavadak and Coscarelli's homes are on the same side of East Hills Drive, separated by a wooded lot.

Reached at his home Friday, Zavadak said he had no comment.

Zavadak, a Democrat, was first sworn into office as controller in January 2002. He is unopposed for re-election in November. No Republican write-ins received enough votes to get on the ballot, according to the Westmoreland County Elections Bureau.

Mayor Tom Guzzo on Friday said he did not know much about the matter until a reporter outlined the basic facts.

"It's a personal situation, not a city situation," he said. "It hasn't reached us yet. I'm sure if it does we'll discuss it.

"If Mr. Zavadak took responsibility, that's a good thing," Guzzo said.

Coscarelli, 61, said he grew up in his house, which his parents lived in for 50 to 60 years. He bought the house and moved into it in 2017, after the death of his father in 2014 and mother in 2016.

Coscarelli said his problems with Zavadak started in 2020 after he had complained about earthwork Zavadak was doing on his property right to the edge of the property line.

"He found out about that," Coscarelli said. "He got mad."

With a partial photo of Coscarelli's home, the Craigslist ad said it was "for sale by owner" and "as-is" for $130,000. It described the house as having three bedrooms and two bathrooms, sitting on 10 acres with a paved driveway and barn/garage.

"Looking to sell our home, convenient location, great neighbors, secluded woods for privacy," the ad states. "Big yard! Easy access to downtown New Kensington & Lower Burrell!"

After his son found the ad, Coscarelli said he had a friend respond to it. He received a reply inviting him to "stop in at anytime and walk around the property and take pictures.

"We are excited to see a new family to be able to move in our home and start making memories, the house is just to (sic) big for just the 2 of us.

"Thanks for looking please share," it said.

Coscarelli said he initially reported the matter to New Kensington police, and the investigation took months. He was later told the case had been transferred to county detectives because of Zavadak's position as a city official.

Westmoreland County Det. Ray Dupilka said the case was referred to his office a month or two ago. He said New Kensington police handled the entire investigation, and that he only filed the charges.

Coscarelli said Zavadak has not been bothering him recently, and he was told to contact county detectives should anything else happen.

"They've cooled down a lot since he got fined," Coscarelli said.

Brian C. Rittmeyer is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Brian at 724-226-4701, brittmeyer@triblive.com or via Twitter .