A former Butler County jury commissioner on Monday waived to court charges of tainting the juror selection process.

Jon Galante, 29, of Butler Township faces four counts of interfering with selection of jurors, a second degree misdemeanor.

Galante waived his right to a preliminary hearing before Butler District Judge Pete Shaffer.

Although the case is moving to Butler County court with a May 20 arraignment, a deal still could be reached.

Laurel Brandstetter, senior deputy attorney general for Pennsylvania, said both sides have not reached a plea agreement yet.

“Still negotiating,” she said.

Christopher Capozzi, the Pittsburgh attorney representing Galante, declined to comment.

“We’re not discussing the case right now,” Capozzi said.

Galante allegedly bypassed the random juror selection process to purposely send jury candidate questionnaires to three county officials and a Connoquenessing Township resident on Sept. 30.

According to the affidavit, Galante admitted taking the action to prove a point: the system could be tainted.

Two of the men receiving the questionnaires were county commissioners Bill McCarrier and Dale Pinkerton, who voted last May to cut the part-time jury commissioner posts.

The third man was county solicitor Mike English, who advised the commissioners that eliminating jury commissioners was legal.

The fourth person was township resident Mark Krenitsky, who publicly supported the abolishment of the posts.

McCarrier and Krenitsky, who returned the questionnaires, received summons for jury duty. They were excused from service.

Galante and the other former jury commissioner, Clinton Bonetti, last year argued against the elimination of their jobs.

The men said the potential existed for someone to corrupt jury pools without independent elected officials overseeing the process.

No charges were filed against Bonetti.

After the three county officials discovered they each received the questionnaires the same day, court administration was notified.

The state attorney general’s office was subsequently contacted.

After learning of the attorney general investigation, county President Judge Thomas Doerr issued a Nov. 22 court order removing Galante and Bonetti from the jury pool selection process before the end of their terms.

When McCarrier and Pinkerton abolished the jury commissioner posts, they cited cost savings.

County court administration absorbed the duties of the jury commissioners without hiring additional staff.

The salaries and benefits of the two posts — one Democrat and the other Republican — were budgeted at roughly $71,000 for 2013.