Rocco Urella; led Pa. State Police

Rocco P. Urella, who as Pennsylvania State Police commissioner in 1971 became the first in the nation to hire female troopers but who was later fired after a wiretapping scandal, has died.

Urella, 92, died Jan. 1 in Homosassa, Fla., according to Mary Urella, his wife of more than 60 years.

Born in Mount Carmel, Northumberland County, Mr. Urella identified his career path at an early age.

"Being from the coal region . . . I often say to people, you either become a miner, a priest, or a policeman," he told a state police archivist in 2006.

Mr. Urella said he was so desperate to join the force that he lied on his application, saying he was 21 when he was 19. He joined the Pennsylvania Motor Police in 1938.

In the ensuing three decades, he had postings in Philadelphia, Delaware County, and Reading. In 1944, Mr. Urella was wounded during a gunfight while trying to capture an escaped convict at the Chester docks. Mr. Urella killed the man.

In the early 1960s, Mr. Urella said, he was sent to Reading with an edict to crack down on gambling there. He was so busy, he said, the newspapers soon had a nickname for him and his unit: Rocco's Raiders.

In 1971, Gov. Milton Shapp named Mr. Urella state police commissioner. Mr. Urella said he had been on the job only a few weeks when he walked into Shapp's office with an idea.

"I said, 'Milt, I want to put some women on the job,' " Mr. Urella told the archivist. The governor was aghast, the former commissioner said.

"He said, 'They don't have women in the state police.' I said, 'Yeah, we need them.' "

In 1972, the first class of 14 female troopers graduated. Today, women account for about 4 percent of the roughly 4,500 state police officers.

Mr. Urella's motivations weren't purely chivalrous. He said he recognized that women were committing more crimes and that the force needed female officers to deal with female suspects. Still, he called the move the "big highlight" of his career.

"Today, power is intelligence," he told the archivist. "And ladies can do that just as well as the man."

In 1972, however, Mr. Urella became entangled in a political and interagency feud that cost him his post. That November three of his troopers were accused of wiretapping the phones of officers investigating corruption for the Pennsylvania Crime Commission. Mr. Urella's role in the taps was never completely clear, but Shapp swiftly fired him.

Mr. Urella landed as chief of criminal investigations for Delaware County.

"He was probably one of the best bosses I have worked for," said John McKenna, chief of Delaware County's Criminal Investigation Division. "He was my mentor for a good number of years."

Mr. Urella later ran a private investigation firm until retiring to Florida five years ago.

"He was always on the move," his wife said.

In addition to his wife, Mr. Urella is survived by a brother-in-law, a sister-in-law, and nephews and nieces. His two sons, Rocco Jr. and Phillip, died earlier.