PITTSBURGH -- The federal trial of ex-Allegheny County Coroner Dr. Cyril Wecht resumed on Thursday after a courthouse power outage forced a two-day delay.

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Wecht, 76, is accused of using government employees as secretaries, gofers and chauffeurs for himself and his private pathology business. He has said the charges -- including wire fraud, mail fraud and theft -- are politically motivated.

Eileen Young, a former administrative assistant, spent much of the day on the witness stand. She confirmed case after case of documents that she wrote dealing with Wecht's private work, which were prepared on county time on a county computer at the coroner's office.

According to testimony, Young would often send the first 21 pages of Wecht's 78-page resume to private clients on a county fax.

Young also e-mailed answers to business prospects that came in at Cyrilwecht.com, according to the testimony.

Then, the questioning turned to politics.

Young testified that she sent form letters to doctors and lawyers, seeking contributions to the Superior Court campaign for Wecht's son, David. That work was done on county time on a county computer.

The letter told the potential contributors to call her at the coroner's office.

Young said her work for the county never suffered, and she always got the county work done in a timely fashion.

Maribeth Blettner, another ex-Wecht administrative assistant, was asked by the defense about her meeting with investigators before the trial.

"When you were interviewed by FBI agents in this case, did you get the impression they weren't looking to hear anything good about Dr. Wecht?" attorney Jerry McDevitt asked Blettner.

Before she could respond, U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab sustained the prosecution's objection to the question. Schwab told McDevitt that "the investigations and its methods are not on trial here."

At one point, Blettner, responding to defense questioning, said nobody ever complained about Wecht's limousine fees. Then, she faced questioning from prosecutor Steve Stallings.

"You said no one ever complained," Stallings said. "Did you ever tell a private client, 'We're sending you a limo bill, but he never took a limo?'" Blettner responded, "No."

"So they didn't know enough to complain about it?" Stallings asked.

"No," Blettner responded.

The trial will resume on Tuesday.

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