Friend of former police Chief Harper given probation in bid-rigging scheme

A longtime friend of former Pittsburgh police Chief Nate Harper said on Tuesday that Harper betrayed him during the federal investigation of a bid-rigging scheme.

“Don't trust all your friends,” Arthur Bedway, 64, a Robinson businessman, said after walking out of the federal courthouse with a sentence of probation.

Robert Del Greco, one of Harper's attorneys, said that's one thing on which the former friends can agree. “I think I can safely say without consulting the chief that the feeling is mutual,” he said.

The federal investigation of how Bedway's company, Alpha Outfitters, won a city contract to install laptops in police cruisers led to ongoing federal investigations of police department finances and city operations.

Harper resigned and pleaded guilty to charges of tapping into secret police accounts for personal use and failing to file income taxes, but he was not charged with participating in the bid-rigging scheme. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 25.

Bedway pleaded guilty in August to conspiracy, bribing a city official and mail fraud. U.S. District Judge Cathy Bissoon on Tuesday sentenced him to three years of probation and fined him $30,000.

Bedway was a friend of Harper and Harper's wife, Cynthia, a former police officer, who consulted for another of Bedway's companies, Victory Security.

Bedway claims he paid Harper $9,000 and former city employee Christine Kebr $6,000 while keeping $3,000 for himself from the profits on the contract.

Kebr has pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 11.

Del Greco said the chief told the FBI in multiple interviews that he wasn't involved in the conspiracy, and the fact that they haven't indicted him is proof investigators and prosecutors found his version more credible than Bedway's.

Bedway's indictment alleged that he, Kebr and an unnamed third person formed the conspiracy. The U.S. Attorney's Office has repeatedly refused to identify the third person and declined to comment on Tuesday.

Federal sentencing guidelines recommended Bedway serve 12 to 18 months in prison based on the details of his crimes.

Bissoon said she sentenced him to probation because of his otherwise law-abiding life, his cooperation with federal investigators, his remorse and charitable work.

She noted that Bedway, who has worked in private security for decades, lost his profession because his felony conviction will prevent him from holding a private security license, and he's unlikely to commit another crime.

Sonya Toler, spokeswoman for Mayor Bill Peduto, declined comment on the sentence.

David Harris, a University of Pittsburgh law professor, said he “was a little surprised that he didn't get a prison sentence within the guidelines.”

If Harper was the unnamed third conspirator in the bid-rigging scheme, the fact that he resigned and pleaded guilty to unrelated charges means that none of the people involved in the bid-rigging are in a position to do it again, he said.

The government didn't file court documents or make oral arguments asking for a tougher sentence.

“They don't seem to challenge any of the statements that Bedway has made about Harper starting the scheme and so forth, so what it looks like from all appearances is that the government got and really appreciated his (Bedway's) cooperation,” he said.

During the hearing, the judge approved a motion by the government to reduce Bedway's possible sentence.

Prosecutors wouldn't have done that if they thought Bedway was withholding information or lying to them, said Bruce Antkowiak, a former federal prosecutor and St. Vincent College law professor. Given that context, a probationary sentence isn't surprising, he said.

“If there was some measure of cooperation, it's not a shock to me at all,” Antkowiak said.

Bedway contends Harper thought of the idea of setting up Alpha Outfitters and brought in Kebr to help them manipulate bid documents so that the company could win a contract in which the city paid the company $327,000 to install laptops in Pittsburgh police cruisers.

During the sentencing hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee Karl told Bissoon that the government doesn't have evidence Bedway is lying about how the scheme started.

“No,” Karl said. “We do not. We take him at his word.”

Noting that Bedway's version of events remains “unchallenged” by the government, Bissoon said she found “his explanation credible but not excusable.”

Karl declined comment after the hearing.

“That's about as close to a public admission that you're going to get,” Antkowiak said of Karl's statement during the hearing.

Federal prosecutors generally don't identify people they believe committed crimes unless they're willing to charge them and prove it in court, and the public shouldn't want them to alter that practice even in a high-profile case, he said.

Martin Dietz, Bedway's attorney, said the judge's statement is validation for his client's version of what happened.

“It's on the record,” he said. “She made a factual finding.”

Brian Bowling is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-324-4301 or bbowling@tribweb.com.