Stan Rebert, pioneer of the modern York County District Attorney's Office, has died

Stan Rebert, the man who transformed the York County District Attorney's Office during his tenure from 1986 to 2010, and approved the landmark grand jury investigation into the York race riots that resulted in a dozen criminal convictions, died Sunday morning following a lengthy illness, his family reported.

He was 81.

Kuhner Associates Funeral Directors, Inc.. is in charge of funeral arrangements, according to his obituary.

"He fought like hell," his daughter, Liz, said Sunday night, referencing her father's lengthy battle with multiple sclerosis. "He held on for longer than anybody would expect. He finally let go."

Rebert was York County's first full-time district attorney. He served in the position for six terms, earning a reputation as a passionate prosecutor who was prone, at times, to making injudicious comments. Many people who worked under him went on to hold such distinguished positions in the legal profession as assistant U.S. attorney, district attorney and judge.

"For decades, Stan Rebert fought to achieve justice for victims of crime," said current York County DA David Sunday. "His record of service and positive impact on the York community will be felt for generations. I pray for his family during this tremendously difficult time."

“He is the best district attorney this county has had — and will probably ever have,” said Karen Comery. She worked in the district attorney's office from 2001 to 2012 and rose to the rank of chief deputy prosecutor. “He knew when to impose justice, and he knew the definition of justice,” she added. “He knew when to impose a harsh penalty, and he knew when to show compassion.”

"Stan was one of a kind," said Tom Kearney, who defeated Rebert in the Republican primary in 2009 and went on to become DA. "They don't make them like Stan anymore. We tried many cases on opposite sides. He was a colorful opponent and a worthy adversary who called them as he saw them. I always respected him tremendously."

'Evolution' of the criminal justice system

Hugh Stanley Rebert was born on May 5, 1943, in Philadelphia. His parents moved to York when he was 6.

Rebert studied political science and graduated from Brown University in 1966. He went on to earn his juris doctor at the Boston University School of Law.

In 1971, Rebert became the first full-time assistant public defender in York County. He then served as chief public defender from 1978 to 1981 before going into private practice in 1982.

Following two unsuccessful runs for district attorney, Rebert, a Republican, was elected in 1985. He campaigned, in part, on the promise that he’d make the position a full-time job.

Rebert dragged the York County District Attorney’s Office into the 20th century kicking and screaming and guided it into the 21st. Before he took office, the position of district attorney was a part-time gig. Earlier civic-minded attorneys took turns running for the office, serving one four-year term. Some of his predecessors went on to be elected to the bench.

More than 2,000 criminal cases were filed each year when he took office. The number exceeded 8,000 when he left.

Rebert was instrumental in creating a child abuse prosecution unit and a victim-witness program. That’s in addition to starting the York County Drug Task Force and the York County Quick Response Team.

“He had an influence on the evolution of the criminal justice system in York County,” said Bruce Blocher, who served as Chief Public Defender, and would become friends with Rebert.

'He viewed the office as a family'

Jonelle Harter Eshbach worked in the district attorney's office from 1988 to 2000 and helped run it as first deputy prosecutor. Rebert, she said, was "one of a kind."

Later, Eshbach worked in the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office from 2000 to 2012, where she supervised the grand jury investigation into former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky.

Rebert was good at communicating with staff. He didn’t micromanage, she said, and trusted the judgment of the people who worked for him.  He’d also publicly support his prosecutors — even if he had disagreements with them.

Eshbach said he was forward-thinking and willing to think outside “the typical prosecution box.”

He was also an excellent person for a new attorney to work under, she said.

He’d end staff meetings with the refrain from Sgt. Phil Esterhaus in the TV series “Hill Street Blues:” “Let's be careful out there.” He threw a holiday party and would sing “(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction” by The Rolling Stones.

“He viewed the office as a family,” said Eshbach. “Everyone on the same team."

'My successes are not a result of me'

Rebert was the DA who gave the OK for his staff to look into the long dormant murder cases from York's 1969 race riots.

During the riots, two people were shot to death: York City Police Officer Henry Schaad, who was white, and Lillie Belle Allen, a Black woman who'd been visiting family. But at the time, no one was charged in either murder.

Then, 30 years later, York's daily newspapers published a look back about the riots and the killings. A team from the York County District Attorney's Office, York City Police Department and Pennsylvania State Police reopened the case, interviewed about 100 people and uncovered new leads.

Rebert announced that his office would ask then-President Judge John C. Uhler to authorize a grand jury to investigate the murders.

Uhler impaneled the grand jury on Sept. 27, 2000.

Three Black men were convicted of killing Schaad. Two white men were convicted of killing Allen and seven others pleaded guilty to varying degrees of responsibility for participating in the gunfire that shot up the car.

York Mayor Charlie Robertson, who worked as a police officer during the riots, was found not guilty of inciting the white gang violence and providing ammunition to at least one of the shooters.

RELATED: York's race riots were a war that left dozens injured and two people dead

“It was a terrific investigation,” Rebert said. "I think we did the right thing.”But he said his real pride was in the people who worked for him during his 24 years in office.

"My successes are not a result of me,” he said. “My successes are a result of the people I have working for me.”

'He cared about the employee'

Prosecutors who served under him went on to work at Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, U.S. Attorney’s Office in Harrisburg or start their own successful law firms.

At least six became judges on the York County Court of Common Pleas. That includes the late Chuck Patterson, the first Black person elected to the county bench.

“He, first of all, hired good people. And, secondly, gave us free reign,” said Christy Fawcett, who worked in the DA's office from 1982 to 1997. “If we had a good idea and wanted to run with, he let us run with it.”

Fawcett, who later served as chief of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Harrisburg and as an appointed judge on the York County Court of Common Pleas, started under District Attorney J. Christian Ness.

Rebert let his employees take the glory — which, she said, required a lot of self-confidence and security. He took pride in their success.

One time, Rebert called the wife of one of an employee who was having problems with being prepared to find out if everything was OK.

“I thought, ‘Oh man, in this day and age, you could never do something like that,’” Fawcett said. “But he did it. Because he cared about the employee.”

'He had your back'

Rebert also gave people who didn’t have any experience as prosecutors a start.

Christopher Moore said he remembered applying to a position at the district attorney's office and being rejected because he either hadn’t taken the bar or received the results back.

He was offered a job at the York County Public Defender’s Office. But before accepting the position, Moore called Rebert.

“Are you sure you want to reject me?” Moore asked.

“No,” Rebert replied, “I’m not sure.”

So Moore came in from Massachusetts and interviewed. Rebert offered him a job.

Moore worked in the district attorney’s office from 2004 to 2010. He eventually became chief deputy prosecutor.

When Kelley Margetas first started in the district attorney's office in 2004, she was assigned a burglary case that involved multiple witnesses.

Margetas lost. She remembered making a remark about not understanding the verdict. A colleague lashed out at her and, in essence, stated, “If you didn't get a guilty verdict, you didn't do your job."

Rebert put his head down onto his arms, she said, as if to indicate, “Yikes. Chill out.”

"You didn't have to win every case. And when you came down, if you didn't win, he had your back,” said Margetas.

“You weren’t going to get inquisitioned or berated or lectured,” she added. "He was supportive.”

A prosecutor who 'shot from the lip'

Rebert didn’t fry Quinterio “Poncho” Smart’s ass.But the threat to do so remains the most recognizable statement attributed to the former district attorney.

During the trial for the man accused of murder, Rebert got angry when Smart refused to cooperate with him.

“I ain’t giving you nothing,” Smart said.

“You don’t have to give me anything,” Rebert replied. “I’m going to fry your ass anyway.”

Smart didn’t get the death penalty. He was convicted of third-degree murder for the rape and fatal beating of Judy Ann Ketterman, 29, a mother of two.

Though Smart didn’t fry, Rebert would later comment that the rapist and killer was doing “a slow boil.” (The threat would later appear on a T-shirt for a chili cook-off that also featured a pepper in an electric chair.)

Smart’s co-defendant, Carlos “Zeke” Moose Jr., continued to be a thorn in Rebert’s side for years. Rebert was hauled before the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania on accusations of misconduct.After years of hearings, the board found no intentional wrongdoing on Rebert’s part. Moose, after his first-degree murder conviction and life sentence were overturned, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, rape and conspiracy in exchange for a 15- to 30-year sentence.

As one prosecutor used to tell him, Rebert “shot from the lip.” Here’s a look at some of his other off-color remarks:

• Rebert spoke to The Philadelphia Inquirer about a case in which two 80-year-old women were found guilty of murdering their 82-year-old sister. "I don't know what the hell to do with them," he said. "Do I try to send them up for life or six months, whichever is longer?
• “That sucks,” Rebert once told a judge who set bail in a murder case.
• Ticked off due to a perceived lack of pomp and circumstance during a swearing-in ceremony presided over by Common Pleas Judge John H. Chronister, Rebert remarked that “it could have been handled better in front of Judge Judy.”

Karl Chambers saw his first death sentence overturned on appeal because Rebert invoked the Bible in his arguments to the jury. (The second death sentence was overturned because of improper jury instructions.)

"Karl Chambers has taken a life," Rebert said. "As the Bible says, 'And the murderer shall be put to death.'"

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that Rebert had "overstepped the bounds of oratorical flair" and ordered that Chambers get a new sentencing hearing. Rebert called the court’s decision “ludicrous.”

His former chief county detective, Becky Downing, sued him for wrongful termination, alleging that the district attorney's office was rife with cronyism, political malfeasance and bending of the law for personal preference or gain. Though Rebert denied the allegations, the lawsuit was settled in 2006 when the county's insurance carrier agreed to pay $200,000.

'I’m proud of what we’ve done'

Rebert rarely shied away from publicity. When the York Daily Record editorial board once called for his resignation, he responded, “Print what you want but make sure you spell my name right.”But one thing he and his family and close friends did keep under wraps for years was his diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.

Rebert finally went public with his illness in 2001, when it began to at times visibly affect his balance.

He had relapsing-remitting MS, which manifests itself in flare-ups followed by periods of remission. The chronic, debilitating neurological disorder affects the brain and spinal cord and interferes with the brain’s signals to the rest of the body. He had been diagnosed at 41 — before he became district attorney.The disease affected his balance over the years, first leading to his use of a cane and then to an electric chair.

He blamed the disease, in part, for his loss in the GOP primary in 2009. That, along with a lack of party support after the death of John Thompson Sr., who'd been the longtime head of the local Republican Party.

Rebert lost to Tom Kearney, who, coincidentally, he had defeated in 1985 on the way to becoming DA.

Following his defeat, Rebert told reporters that he was going to go out in style.

“I’m proud of what we’ve done,” Rebert said. “I’m proud of what we’ve put in place over the years.”

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Stan Rebert, pioneer of the modern York County District Attorney's Office, has died