With just a few days left in President Obama's term, Murrysville businessman Michael A. Tedesco doubted he would receive the pardon he long dreamed about.

“Just on Monday, I told my wife, Cindy, that it likely wasn't ever going to happen in my lifetime,” said Tedesco, 59.

A day later, Tedesco was among 64 others pardoned by Obama under the U.S. Constitution, which grants the president the discretion to allow a person who has been convicted of a federal crime to be free and absolved of that conviction.

Tedesco called it the relief of a lifetime.

“It was a very peaceful moment knowing I had really been forgiven now. It's a true blessing, and I am really thankful,” he said.

In 1990, Tedesco was 33 and living in Plum when he pleaded guilty to his role in a cocaine trafficking conspiracy headed by the late Charles “Chucky” Porter's gang, which was headquartered in Penn Hills. Tedesco served seven months in prison and five years on probation.

“I made a mistake then,” Tedesco said. “I admitted what I did wrong and moved on with my life and have tried to do the right thing since then.

“I've built my business, and I've always tried to help where I could the past 25 years. ... But I was always a convicted felon,” Tedesco said.

His longtime friend and attorney, David A. Regoli of New Kensington, has helped with his pardon applications “on and off” over the last five years. On Tuesday morning, Regoli got a telephone call from the office of the U.S. Pardon Attorney telling him the president had signed Tedesco's pardon.

“It was ironic, because Mr. Tedesco had just told me that with President Obama leaving office Friday, he didn't think it was going to happen. I wanted to see the look on his face when I told him, so I called him and said it was important and we'd meet at his office,” Regoli said.

In August, Regoli had a visit from an FBI agent to review Tedesco's application but hadn't heard anything since.

Regoli made his last pardon application a year ago. It included documentation of how Tedesco built his business, Cars Protection Plus, a car warranty business in Murrysville that employs 110 people, and listed examples of how he has helped others.

“I personally know how he's turned his life around and has really used his good fortune to help others,” Regoli said. “I know numerous people who have fallen on hard times he's helped back on their feet and has given to the community, often anonymously.

“There was one homeless man who he helped find a place to stay and provided him a car so he could drive to work; an area community whose code enforcement administrator didn't have a vehicle, so Michael donated a truck; two employees of his who had cancer who he continued to pay while they stayed home to continue treatment and continued all their health benefits. ... There's been funeral expenses he's paid for people who couldn't afford it,” Regoli said.

Because Regoli wanted to deliver news of the pardon personally, he asked Tedesco for the meeting Tuesday.

“When I arrived at his office, Michael asked, “What did I do now?' ” Regoli said, laughing. “When I told him he was pardoned, he was just overwhelmed. He hugged his wife, Cindy, and me ... and I did see him tear up, too.”

Tedesco said the pardon means he can expand his business into states including Louisiana and Florida, where the principals undergo stringent background reviews and anyone with a felony criminal record is barred from doing business.

“And at airports when you go through TSA (Transportation Security Administration) checkpoints, you're always the guy left behind because your name comes up on the list,” Tedesco said.

“But it's good to know that you can be forgiven.”

Paul Pierce is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at ppierce@tribweb.com.

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