Criminal charges dropped against coroner Wecht, but animosity remains

A jubilant Cyril H. Wecht proclaimed victory Tuesday when the government dropped federal criminal charges against him more than three years after accusing him of cheating Allegheny County taxpayers and trading unclaimed bodies from the morgue he ran.

"I'm delighted this is over," said Wecht, 78, of Squirrel Hill. "I never knew what the power of the U.S. Attorney's Office was. I never knew."

U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan asked a federal judge in Erie to dismiss the public corruption case against the renowned forensic pathologist her office unsuccessfully tried once — and planned to retry — on accusations he used his elected coroner's office for private gain.

U.S. District Judge Sean McLaughlin, who signed her request, two weeks ago tossed evidence for the case, saying the government unconstitutionally executed search warrants. Buchanan said the ruling made winning a second trial unlikely.

Animosity that permeated the case remained palpable at the end.

"Even with the tremendous criticism that has been dumped on this office, I still believe a crime was committed here," Buchanan said. "He wasn't acquitted of anything. It was a hung jury. However, everybody in our society is innocent until proven guilty. ... If I could have a do-over, I would still bring the case."

Wecht blasted Buchanan for her statements.

"She has no shame at all, absolutely none," Wecht said. "Whether it is a biological, genetic or an environmental infectious contaminant of some kind, she is simply incapable of telling the truth, and not to mention then being a gracious loser."

A grand jury indicted Wecht in January 2006 on 84 counts of fraud and theft, accusing him of using county-paid employees and resources to benefit Cyril H. Wecht and Pathology Consultants Inc., his private consulting business. Part of that indictment included allegations that he gave bodies to Carlow University in exchange for laboratory space. Wecht also was accused of bilking private clients through inflated or bogus travel invoices.

Prosecutors dropped more than half of the charges before trial.

A mistrial was declared in April 2008 when jurors failed to reach a verdict on 41 remaining counts after seven weeks of testimony and three weeks of deliberations. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals then removed U.S. District Judge Arthur J. Schwab from the case. Wecht's lawyers repeatedly accused Schwab of bias.

Prosecutors planned to retry Wecht on 14 counts. But McLaughlin ruled FBI agents used search warrants that were general or overly broad to seize boxes of private autopsy files from Wecht's personal office and a laptop computer used by a secretary who worked for his firm and the coroner's office.

McLaughlin said the searches would have been legal if prosecutors had attached affidavits to the warrants. But the government kept the affidavits secret.

"Had we used two staples, we'd still have the evidence," Buchanan said.

Jerry McDevitt, Wecht's lead defense attorney, said Buchanan should resign because of her comments about Wecht after withdrawing the charges.

"She showed the same lack of judgment that she showed in the case all along," he said. "She should resign now."

Buchanan, a Republican appointed in 2001 by President Bush, said she intends to remain in office until President Obama names a replacement. "When I am ready to announce my future plans, you will know," she said.

The case created an unusual pairing of Wecht, a powerful Allegheny County Democrat, and Dick Thornburgh, a heavy hitter in Republican circles.

Thornburgh, who was U.S. attorney in Pittsburgh before becoming governor and then U.S. attorney general under President Reagan, said he thinks Buchanan's last day in office will come "sooner, rather than later."

A photograph of Buchanan and Thornburgh that hung on her office wall disappeared after he agreed to help defend Wecht. Calling them "nickel and dime charges," Thornburgh said he warned Buchanan she would regret bringing the criminal case.

"That turned out to be truly prophetic," he said.

Louis "Hop" Kendrick, a friend of Wecht's since high school who served more than 50 years as a Republican and then Democratic committeeman in Pittsburgh, said the trial oddly elevated Wecht's popularity.

"He's always been popular. I think he might be more popular now," Kendrick said. "Everybody loves an underdog."

Jurors from Wecht's trial are planning a celebratory get-together.

"Through it all, Dr. Wecht never gave up hope, he never quit working, and the people kept hiring him because they believed in him, too," said Dawn Cashmere of Cranberry, who said she called Wecht to congratulate him. "Things have a way of working out as they should, and this is no exception."

Wecht was fired as the county's first medical examiner, an appointed office that replaced the coroner's elective office, after his indictment. He remained busy during the past three years working as a private consultant and continued to perform autopsies, including those on the late actress and model Anna Nicole Smith and her son, Daniel.

Wecht's celebrity has grown since 1978, when he testified before Congress to debunk the theory that a single bullet killed President Kennedy. He reviewed the deaths of numerous public figures, including Robert Kennedy and Elvis Presley, and JonBenet Ramsey.

Wecht served two 10-year stints as coroner, first in the 1970s and then beginning in 1996. A state jury acquitted Wecht in 1981 on theft-of-services charges after he was accused of selling pituitary glands removed from bodies without families' permission. He settled a civil lawsuit filed by the county over the matter for $200,000.

Wecht served as a county commissioner from 1980 to 1984, when he unsuccessfully ran for U.S. Senate. He lost his bid in 1999 to become the county's first elected executive.

Jim Roddey, a Republican who beat Wecht in that race, said he is happy the criminal case against his former political nemesis is over.

"Politics is a funny thing. Fortunes go up and down," said Roddey, 76. He noted the two once joked about vying for county executive in 2011 and said, "Tell him I'm ready."