FBI Agent Grilled In Wecht Federal Evidence Hearing

POSTED: 11:56 am EDT September 18, 2007
UPDATED: 6:25 pm EDT September 18, 2007

PITTSBURGH -- The lead FBI agent in the public corruption case against former Allegheny County medical examiner Dr. Cyril Wecht was grilled on Tuesday about his disciplinary record when he still worked in New Jersey.

Wecht is charged with theft, mail fraud and wire fraud in the alleged unlawful use of his public office for private financial gain.

At issue is the credibility of the FBI agent who signed documents for search warrants in the case.

Brad Orsini is the FBI agent who led the investigation. He was on the witness stand Tuesday in the evidence suppression hearing.

Wecht's attorneys are attacking Orsini's credibility, saying the FBI disciplined him years ago for falsifying other agents' signatures on documents.

Wecht's attorneys spent the morning questioning Orsini, hinting that he made witnesses cry and intimidated them.

Orsini acknowledged falsifying other agents' initials on various reports in the past, but said he did nothing wrong while investigating charges that Wecht used his former county staff to do work that benefited his private pathology practice.

Orsini is also accused of failing to notify prosecutors of past history, despite a policy that required him to do so. He said he didn't know about the policy.

"The FBI agent has the responsibility to tell the prosecutor when they have a history like he has before they take an oath in any proceeding," said Wecht attorney Jerry McDevitt.

A federal judge said he'll rule on whether to throw out some evidence the agent gathered after attorneys for both sides file written arguments next month.

"I think what ultimately the judge has to decide is whether there were deliberate acts of dishonesty in that search warrant application," said McDevitt. "Anytime you show somebody has been dishonest in the past, it's an indication of their credibility. That's why you get to introduce that stuff."

The 76-year-old Wecht is a nationally known pathologist who has consulted on the deaths of JonBenet Ramsey and Elvis Presley, among others. He has denied wrongdoing.

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