PITTSBURGH -- The case against former Allegheny County coroner Dr. Cyril Wecht brought witnesses to the stand on Thursday testifying about golf balls, anger and trips to the theater.

---

Watch Bob Mayo's Report

---

Wecht's trial jurors heard more about the kinds of personal errands the former coroner's deputies testified they were ordered to do on his behalf.

Wecht, who has led inquiries into the deaths of Elvis Presley, JonBenet Ramsey and Vincent Foster among others, is accused of using his government staff as bookkeepers, secretaries, couriers and gofers for his family and his private pathology practice.

Prosecutors said Wecht, 76, illegally used the county workers to cut costs in his private practice, which grossed nearly $9 million from 1997 through 2004. He never made more than $64,000 a year as county coroner.

Jessica Pikutis, like several others who worked as deputies under Wecht until he was indicted and resigned in January 2006, said doing personal errands for the pathologist was a daily routine. She testified Thursday, the fourth day of Wecht's fraud trial.

Pikutis said she was once sent while in uniform and on county time to Honus Wagner's sports store to buy tennis balls with Wecht's credit card, but that he got mad when she returned with the wrong brand.

A Wecht defense attorney asked Pikutis if she knew whether the tennis balls were for a forensic experiment or to play tennis, but she said she wasn't told.

"It's a shame somebody so smart could be so stupid," said prosecution witness and ex-coroner's officer employee Nicholette Lupinacci.

Lupinacci testified on Thursday that she was ordered to do political work on county time for Wecht's son, David.

Coroner's deputy Tiffani Hunt also testified she was ordered with Lupinacci to make fundraiser calls for David Wecht for two and a half hours once at an Oxford Center office.

Now a Common Pleas judge, David Wecht had previously been elected county Register of Wills, but Hunt didn't say during which campaign the calls were made.

On another occasion, Hunt said she was told not to wear her uniform to work for a couple of days because she would be driving around the county selling fundraising tickets and collecting money to benefit David Wecht's campaign. It should have been clear that Hunt was a coroner's staffer, however, because she drove around using a coroner's van, Hunt testified.

On another occasion, Hunt said she was told not to wear her uniform to work for a couple of days because she would be driving around the county selling fundraising tickets and collecting money to benefit David Wecht's campaign. It should have been clear that Hunt was a coroner's staffer, however, because she drove around using a coroner's van, Hunt testified.

---

Related Links:
More County News

Get RSS | E-Mail Alerts

---