For seven weeks, federal prosecutors built their case alleging Dr. Cyril Wecht hatched a scheme to make millions off his $64,000-a-year position as Allegheny County coroner. Prosecutors Stephen Stallings and James Wilson called 44 witnesses and presented hundreds of documents. They tried to show Wecht used employees and equipment in the coroner's office to help operate his forensic pathology consulting firm, knowing it was wrong but doing it anyway. Jurors are scheduled to begin deliberations Monday without having heard from Wecht himself or any witnesses testifying on his behalf -- a bold tactic, legal experts said. "There is a basic belief by jurors that if I was accused of doing something I did not do, that nothing would keep me from taking the stand and telling the truth," said Art Patterson, a jury consultant in State College. Wecht is charged with 41 counts of theft and fraud to benefit his consulting business, Cyril H. Wecht and Pathology Associates, and to defraud his private clients by submitting fake or inflated travel expenses. Defense attorneys Jerry McDevitt and Mark Rush rested without calling any witnesses. Instead, they cross-examined prosecution witnesses in an effort to prove Wecht never intended wrongdoing. Defendants have a right to not testify. U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab is expected to tell jurors that Wecht's decision not to testify cannot be held against him. But it does weigh on jurors' minds, said defense attorneys not involved in the case. "They're all wondering it -- 'Why didn't he take the stand and defend himself?' " said Patrick Hanly, a defense attorney in Sacramento, Calif., with extensive experience in public corruption cases. "That's a bold strategic move." Had Wecht taken the stand, Hanly said, positive points made by his lawyers might have been undermined by any nasty exchanges between him and prosecutors. "You don't want to have your client convict himself," Hanly said. Defense witnesses would have allowed prosecutors "two bites at the apple," Hanly said, by giving them a second chance to present evidence. Hanly also said a defendant faces more time in prison if he or she testifies and is convicted. Federal prosecutors often argue a conviction proves a defendant committed perjury on the stand. Experts disagree whether Wecht's celebrity status will hurt or help him. Wecht earned fame during four decades of testimony and television appearances discussing the deaths of Elvis Presley and Anna Nicole Smith, among other celebrities and high-profile homicides. He is considered an expert on the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Wecht served as elected county coroner from 1970 to 1980, when he started a four-year term as county commissioner. He was re-elected coroner in 1996 and served until 2006. That year, the coroner's position was eliminated and replaced by an appointed medical examiner. Wecht served as medical examiner for 20 days before he was indicted Jan. 20, 2006, and stepped down. Hanly pointed to the murder trials of O.J. Simpson and Phil Spector as well as actor Wesley Snipes' recent federal tax case as examples of high-profile defendants who did not testify in their own defense but were acquitted. Hanly said some celebrities and public figures get off because jurors like them and vote "not guilty" despite evidence to the contrary. Patterson doubts that will happen in this case. "I'm not optimistic about Wecht's chances," Patterson said. Federal prosecutors win more than 80 percent of public corruption cases. From 2000 through 2004, the latest year statistics are available, the government won convictions in 4,757 of 5,586 cases nationwide. Prosecutors called witnesses who testified that employees in the coroner's office ran errands for Wecht and his family, worked on his son David's political campaigns or performed clerical duties for his private business. The government claims Wecht performed autopsies at Carlow University on bodies from the morgue to receive free laboratory space for his private business. Prosecutors presented evidence that private clients were billed more than Wecht paid for airfare and that nearly all were charged for $90 limousine rides that Wecht never took. Under cross-examination by Wecht's attorneys, some county employees testified that Wecht never knew they were at the morgue working on his private cases. Some deputy coroners said he paid them to do things outside their normal job duties. Former secretaries testified Wecht paid them to work on his business matters. Sister Grace Ann Geibel, a former Carlow president, testified no deal existed to trade lab space for county cadavers. One of Wecht's former secretaries testified that private clients were billed in advance, including for travel expenses, and that Wecht chose to charge for limo services to cover incidental expenses instead of submitting itemized bills when he returned. Wecht's lawyers tried to build up good will for their client using the government's witnesses. Former employees gushed about what a good person Wecht is and how valuable he's been to Western Pennsylvania. One former client said he'd hire Wecht again despite the travel expenses. "It's going to take a pretty unusual case to win when you don't take the stand and say, 'I didn't do it,' " Patterson said.

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