Convicted con artist's properties up for sale

The federal government is looking to sell two Greensburg properties formerly owned by convicted con man Dennis G. Cerilli.

The sales proposal calls for homes at 755 and 759 Highland Ave. to be sold to an undisclosed buyer for $17,000, Greensburg officials said.

"They may have a potential buyer," Greensburg Planner Barbara Ciampini said. "They're going to remodel them."

The houses have been vacant since the late 1990s and have been a source of numerous complaints to Greensburg city hall because of their dilapidated condition, said Sue Trout, city administrator.

In 2004, Cerilli, 59, formerly of Hempfield Township, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh to serve 51 months in prison on his guilty plea to one count of mail fraud. That sentence was to run consecutively to another five-year sentence he received for preying on ill and elderly investors in a bogus investment scam.

The mail fraud sentence stemmed from a scheme that Cerilli concocted to bilk investors out of money for events he promoted at the Westmoreland Fairgrounds in Mt. Pleasant Township and bogus plans to build a concert amphitheater.

In order for the homes to be sold, the city, Greensburg Salem School District and Westmoreland County commissioners must agree to waive nearly $54,200 in current and delinquent taxes owed on the properties, officials said.

Greensburg Council has agreed to waive the taxes, saying the city had little recourse because of the involvement of the federal government in the sale. Trout said the city had wanted to demolish the houses because they are in poor condition.

The school district and county have been sent letters about the proposed sale and the waiving of their share of taxes.

The federal government took title to the Highland Avenue properties via a 2001 court order. Federal marshals took custody of the properties and others in the late 1990s as Cerilli faced legal troubles.

Also part of the proceedings are Cerilli's former properties at 309 Grant St. and 209 Alexander Ave., both in Greensburg, and at 1339 Broad St., in South Greensburg, according to court documents. They were also confiscated by the U.S. Attorney's Office and turned over to the marshal's office.

Shawn Murphy purchased the property at 209 Alexander Ave. in November 2004 from the U.S. Marshal's Office.