Wecht Wants to Work For County Again

Former Allegheny County Coroner and Medical Examiner Cyril Wecht says he wants his old job back.

The 80-year-old physician resigned as Medical Examiner in January 2006 after he was indicted on federal corruption charges involving misuse of his staff and county assets. Wecht's 2008 trial ended with a deadlocked jury, and prosecutors dropped the charges months later.

Wecht gained fame by inquiring into the deaths of well-known figures including Elvis Presley, JonBenet Ramsey and Vincent Foster.

Dr. Karl Williams currently holds the Medical Examiner position but his five-year term expired in December. That means he is technically “acting” Examiner. County Executive Dan Onorato says there is no question that Wecht is qualified for the job and he understands Wecht’s arguments for why he should be reappointed. “He and his family have been through over the last couple of years… that is now behind him,” says Onorato.

However, the County Executive says he is not ready to make an appointment today. “There are a lot of other things that are in play right now,” says Onorato. Among the things mentioned by Onorato is the ongoing County Executive’s race. Onorato would not go so far as to say he will put off the decision long enough to allow the next County Executive to make the choice.

Conference on Forensic Death Investigation

"Cause of Death” is the topic of the 10th annual conference at the Cyril H. Wecht Institute of Forensic Science and Law at Duquesne University today and tomorrow. Speakers include forensic experts, criminal investigators, attorneys, and judges presenting the latest methods and strategies in forensic science.

The first presentation was by Dr. Henry Lee, a prominent forensic scientist most people have seen on TV in high profile court cases. He says the ever-growing forensic database and new instruments and equipment offer unprecedented opportunities for gathering physical evidence at crime scenes.

Dr. Cyril Wecht, chairman of the Institute’s advisory board, says prospective jurors today tend to expect definitive physical evidence, though it doesn’t always exist, and they get angry when disappointed, so defense attorneys and prosecutors may ask if people in the jury pool watch CSI.

Dr. Lee says it’s the prosecutor’s job to explain the physical evidence, or lack thereof, to the jury, and he’s found juries to be eminently reasonable.

Dr. Wecht says the field of forensics grows in sophistication constantly, but there's been no earth-shaking discovery since DNA forensic profiling became possible in the mid-1980s.

Wecht Off Hook

Federal fraud charges against former Allegheny County Coroner Cyril Wecht have been dropped. U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan asked a judge to dismiss the remaining 14 charges against Wecht saying she no longer felt she had enough evidence to get a conviction. Last year a federal jury was declared to be hung on more than 80 counts. Last month a judge ruled that key evidence was gathered under a search warrant that was too broad and could not be used in court. Buchanan says without that evidence it would be very hard to prosecute but she says her mind has not changed on the validity of the case. Buchanan says, “If I could have a do-over, I'd still bring the case. This was a use of county resources. A use of our taxpayer dollars for private gain. That’s fraud. That’s a crime.” The prosecution had alleged that Wecht used county employees and assets to further his private pathology business. Buchanan says the judges evidentiary ruling will be used as a teaching tool for new prosecutors entering the office. She says, "This is something I doubt will ever happen again in the Western District of Pennsylvania."

Judge Throws Out Evidence Against Wecht

Evidence collected by FBI agents that is key to the 14 remaining fraud and theft charges against former Allegheny County Coroner Dr. Cycril Wecht, is being thrown out by U.S. District Judge Sean McLaughlin. He says the search warrants they used were unconstitutional and is excluding more than 20 boxes of evidence taken in 2005 from Wecht's office, as well as evidence from a laptop used by one of his secretaries. Wecht is charged with using his public office for private gain, and his attorney Jerry McDevitt says he cannot see the case being pursued very much further.
U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan will make a recommendation on whether to continue the case, but the decision is up to the U.S. solicitor general.

Lawyers ask for Charges Against Wecht to be Dismissed

Attorneys for former Allegheny County Coroner Cyril Wecht filed a motion today to have the remaining federal counts against their client discharged. Atty. Jerry McDevitt argued the U.S Attorney’s office does not have what it needs to prove its case. He also argued that much of the evidence that would be shown to the new jury was the product of faulty and overly broad search warrants. McDevitt says the fact that the government has dropped all but 14 of the original 84 counts proves their case is weak. The US Attorney’s office is expected to file a response in two weeks. When making his filing today McDevitt walked Judge Sean McLaughlin through the entire history of the case including the declaration of a mistrial. McLaughlin was assigned the case after it was taken away from Judge Arthur Schwab.

In the meantime the U.S Attorney's Office is expected to ask Friday for a change in venue. McDevitt would have two weeks to respond to that filing. He says it is interesting the prosecution would ask for a change in venue contending they could not get a fair trial in Pittsburgh when they originally painted Cyril Wecht as a great villain who stole from the people of Allegheny County to make himself rich.

McDevitt says if this case is not heard until after the Obama administration takes office, which will most likely result in U.S. Attorney for the Western District of PA Mary Beth Buchanan leaving the office, he thinks the next person in that office will probably want to review the case and will most likely decide to stop pursuing prosecution. However, he says he does not want to win that way. He says he would rather get an acquittal.

Wecht to Stand Trial Again

Former Allegheny County Coroner Cyril Wecht will stand trial again on theft and fraud charges, but there will be a different judge presiding. Wecht is accused of using his county office to benefit his private pathology practice. The first trial on 41 felony counts ended with a hung jury and U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab declared a mistrial April 8. The defense argued that a second trial would be double jeopardy. The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that although Judge Schwab did not follow proper procedures in declaring the mistrial, that was not enough to dismiss the charges. The appellate court did order that Judge Schwab be removed from the case and another judge assigned. U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan, whose office is prosecuting Wecht, issued a statement saying that her office is pleased the Court of Appeals concluded that the double jeopardy clause does not preclude a retrial in the case.

Wecht Asks For Charges to be Dropped.

Lawyers for former Allegheny County Coroner Cyril Wecht argued to have the charges against their client dismissed using a federal court rule and a Supreme Court ruling. The defense says all charges should be dropped because the judge who declared a mistrial after 54 hours of deliberations did so unfairly. By rule, before ordering a mistrial, the court must “give each defendant and the government an opportunity to comment on the propriety of the order, to state whether that party consents or objects, and to suggest alternatives.” The district attorney’s office says those requirements were met a few days before the declaration of a mistrial when the defense argued for the mistrial after the jury said it was deadlocked. The prosecution says the judge had no reason to assume that the defense’s position had changed at the time of a third note from the jury. The difference from the first jury request to the final was that the members in the first instance only said they were at an impasse while in the final instance they said they were at an impasse on charge number 38. There were 41 charges and many felt number 38 was among the prosecution’s strongest cases. The defense also cited a Supreme Court case where it was ruled that a jury could be biased against either side if the members knew that lawyers had argued to keep them in deliberations beyond their wishes. The defense claims that is why they were unable to argue against the mistrial while the jury was in the room.

Wecht gets a mistrial

The jury in the federal fraud trial of former Allegheny county coroner Cyril Wecht has been dismissed. DUQ’s Mark Nootbaar has more on the judge’s declaration of a mis trial.



After 10 days of deliberations the jury told the judge it was deadlock on the 41 counts against Cyril Wecht. The prosecution immediately asked for a retrial and the judge quickly set a new trial date of May 27th. Visibly agitated defense lawyer Jerry Mc Devitt says that was an utter disgrace. He says it was “the most bizarre ending to one of the most unfair trials in Pittsburgh. Mc Devitt says to not even take a moment to poll the jury or reflect on the trial before asking for a retrial and then for the judge to have a date ready that quickly history wreaks of orchestration. He says the decision seems to be politically motivated and vindictive, aimed at making sure his client “does not have a single day of rest.” The defense has until April 18th to file motions to have the case dismissed. Mc Devitt says several motions will be filed. Wecht is accused of misusing county assets to further his private business, improperly billing clients and trading unclaimed bodies for lab space at a local college.

Closing Arguments In Cyril Wecht Trial

After 7 weeks and 44 witnesses, the case was handed over to the jury after closing arguments by first the prosecution, then the defense, and one last opportunity for the government team. Each had a total of 2 hours.
Assistant US Attorney James Wilson first walked the jury through the nuances of the law, explaining that the "scheme to fraud" language in the indictment didn't mean some cartoon Snidely Whiplash villain, but someone with a plan to abuse trust put into them and enrich themselves. He went through what seemed like each testimony, drawing out where the prosecution had met its burden of proof, including the "specific intent" of Dr. Wecht to defraud the residents of the county as well as his private clients. "You don't, in a fit of inattention, produce $790,000 in a calendar year," Wilson said.
Lead defense attorney Jerry McDevitt countered most of the points Wilson raised, including the issue of intent. He said the prosecution talked a lot about everyone but Wecht, it seemed. There is no way to prove intent in other people's action that Wecht wasn't aware of, according to McDevitt. He called the indictments "legal buckshot" and a desperate attempt to take down Dr. Wecht. His team's motion to dismiss the case due to lack of evidence was denied last Friday, but McDevitt tried to prove that again today through pointing out what he called uncorroborated testimony, implying that witnesses were saying whatever the prosecution wanted in exchange for immunity. The defense did not call any witnesses during the trial.
Assistant US Attorney Stephen Stallings used the government's remaining 20 minutes to show documents he said proved that Wecht knew about his private work happening on county time. One included a letter from his office concerning his role as an expert witness, with a handwritten warning from his son against using the Coroner's Office letterhead.
US District Judge Arthur Schwab gave the jury final instructions then sent them to deliberate. They chose to deliberate from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., except Fridays, which they'll take off.

Dr. Cyril Wecht on Trial- Day 3

Testimony in the federal case against the former Allegheny County coroner and famed pathologist continued, with witnesses telling gruesome stories of Dr. Cyril Wecht's disregard for the duties of his office.
First to the stand was Daniel D'Alessandro, director of a Lawrenceville funeral home. He says when he collected the body of Charles DuMont from the county's possession, he found a Y- shaped autopsy incision in the embalmed corpse. The family had not asked for one, and none was recorded on the death certificate. D'Alessandro called it an "illegal and unnecessary" though he didn't know where the autopsy was performed. The government claims Wecht traded bodies like Mr. DuMont's as educational cadavers for free lab space in then Carlow College.
Richard Lorah was a deputy coroner under Wecht, and says the "Wecht details" were just a part of the job, but they took precedence to county duties. He says he was told to go on a Wecht detail instead of collecting the body of a woman who'd backed her car off of a downtown parking ramp. He says he overheard Wecht say, "Let her wait, she's not going anywhere."
Lorah also testified that he saw 20-30 boxes of private case files stacked in an executive assistant's office on a February Friday, and after the media reported the beginning of an investigation into Dr. Wecht's affairs, he saw the boxes being removed.
The defense tried to impeach Mr. Lorah by scrutinizing his grand jury testimony for discrepancies. Lorah told the grand jury he'd heard the removal of the boxes, but did not say that he'd seen it. Lorah maintained his eye-witness account.
Lead defense lawyer Jerry McDevitt also brought up Lorah's personnel record at the coroner's office, which includes several reprimands. Lorah admitted one of those reprimands was for profane language while talking about Dr. Wecht. In re-cross examination, Lorah says Wecht swore at him, calling him an "(expletive) Neanderthal" for stopping on the wrong side of the street to pick him up.
Darlene Craig, another county employee that started as a deputy coroner, also testified that "Wecht details" were more imporant than county business. She says she drove with Dr. Wecht to the airport, and picked him and his family up from the Byham theater. When construction forced her to drive across the river while she waited for Dr. Wecht, Craig says he was upset when she was "late." She drove across the river and back 4 times.
In 2005, the coroner's office received a call to collect the body of a hanging suicide, which occured outside. Craig says she took the call, but before she could leave was told by a supervisor that she needed to drop items off to Wecht's law firm, Duquesne University, and an office in the PPG building before going to the scene. Craig says the body was still hanging outside when she arrived.
The defense brought up that Craig didn't pass a necessary exam to become a forensic investigator, but Dr. Wecht did not follow protocol and fire her, but let her have another chance. Craig admitted she didn't know why Wecht was going to the airport when she accompanied him to return the car, or what exactly she delivered for him. She admitted it could have been for county business.
Craig says she was upset at leaving the body, and Wecht didn't give the order directly, but she didn't take advantage of the open-door policy Dr. Wecht had, ending her remark "there was a reason for that." Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Stallings gave her the chance to explain in re-cross. She says that no matter who the order came from, if it was a Wecht detail then Dr. Wecht had told someone it needed done.
Both former employees testified that "Wecht details" were not favors, but orders, more important than their other duties as county employees.