PITTSBURGH -- The trial for Pittsburgh city Councilwoman Twanda Carlisle began on Monday.

District attorney's office investigators said Carlisle channeled tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars to three co-conspirators who then allegedly kicked back the cash to the councilwoman. Carlisle is then accused of depositing that money into her personal or campaign checking accounts.

At the trial, the District Attorney's Office requested that the city freeze Carlisle's salary. The request was granted by a judge on Monday, who also ordered a freeze on access to Carlisle's pension fund. The judge also told Carlisle to return a $4,500 fur jacket she bought with the money she allegedly stole from the city.

In paperwork filed with the court on Monday, the district attorney's office went into great detail about what they accuse Carlisle of stealing.

They said Carlisle hired bogus consultants, used tax dollars to pay them for work not done, and then had them "kick back the money to her personal account."

The list included about $2,000 in jewelry that the DA's office said she bought. They said she used another $3,400 for trips.

In all, the DA's office estimates Carlisle stole about $44,000 in a two-year span.

The trial is scheduled to go back to court on Nov. 13. The judge said at that time he will revisit whether Carlisle would get paid.

Last week, a day after a co-conspirator in a case involving alleged kickbacks to Carlisle pleaded guilty in court, Carlisle said she and her attorney would take the next step in their defense strategy.

On Monday, Darlene Miller pleaded guilty to taking $33,000 in checks from Carlisle's office and then kicking back about $20,000.

For pleading guilty, the felony charges against Miller were reduced to misdemeanors. Also , as part of the agreement, she will testify against Carlisle.

Carlisle, 48, of Homewood, who represents eastern city neighborhoods in District 9, is facing a number of charges, including perjury, theft and conspiracy.

According to a criminal complaint, 80 deposits were made to Carlisle's personal and campaign bank accounts, 63 of them made in cash.

Miller said she believes she was used by Carlisle.

At the time, Miller said she didn't understand exactly what was happening as she conducted money transfers, but that she eventually caught on.

"My client quit her job," said Miller's attorney, Gary Gerson. "She didn't lose her job. She was fed up with what was going on. She wanted to disengage in bad behavior so she left. She will testify truthfully and at length what her involvement in this conspiracy was. I feel that my client was victimized. She made some poor decisions but in the larger scheme, she was victimized."

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