Day 16: Bob Mayo Blogs The Cyril Wecht Trial In Pittsburgh Channel 4 Action News reporter Bob Mayo is covering the trial of Dr. Cyril Wecht at the federal courthouse in downtown Pittsburgh. He will be posting blogs as often as possible from court. These are the raw notes that were sent on his mobile device. Wecht Day 16 - Feb. 27, 2008 8:35 AM Defense attorney Mark Rush is resuming his cross-examination of prosecution witness Eileen Young. Rush establishes through his questions some points about his evidence introduced yesterday: -That the figures on fax costs and time spent related only to the specific counts discussed. They acknowledge that she sent other faxes. -That Wecht paid her separately for her work for his private business.Moves on to other questioning.Young testifies that she met with Wecht's accountant Brian Hinds on occasion and would provide him with financial information from Wecht's private business. Rush asks if she ever didn't give to the accountant anything he asked for. He also asks if Wecht ever instructed her not to give information. She answers that she gave everything the accountant requested and never withheld anything and was never instructed to withhold anything.Rush walks Young though some entries in the calendar she maintained for Wecht. The apparent purpose here is to show that Wecht gave of hi times to speak to students, including his own time in the evening. The defense also notes Wecht's national TV appearances, and attempts to point out that an image of Pittsburgh always appeared behind him during those appearances. The defense has noted this before, suggesting that Wecht's appearances promoted the region.Monday, Sept 29, 2003, 1-3 PM Wecht calendar entry: lecturing at Pitt dental school.Saturday, Nov. 15 10 AM: Spoke to gathering of students at Westinghouse High School.Monday, March 8, 2003, 7 PM: Wecht spoke to inductees of National Honor Society at Penn Hills High School.Friday, April 8, 2003: Meets with high school students on careers in forensics.Wed. July 16, 2003 8:45 PM Appears on Dan Abrams TV show via Pgh Video Tech to talk about Kobe Bryant case.10:30 AM: Press Conference at Carlow College to announce new autopsy degree program.Another date: 8 PM three national TV appearances in evening, back to back: on Michael Dresser show, concerning his book, then Larry King show on Peterson DNA, then Greta Van Susteren with Michael Baden to debate JFK single bullet theory.Sunday, November 16: 10 PM Geraldo Rivera Show with Michael Baden. Rush has her confirm that in all of these national TV appearances an image of Pittsburgh appeared behind Wecht.Another date: 6 AM: On Good Morning America, Today Show, and 3WS Radio Morning Show, back to back. 6 PM that evening: a speaking appearance.Another date: Catherine Crier show on JFK case.Now turns to speaking engagements:Tuesday, March 23rd, 1999. 8:15 PM: Speaking engagement with Funeral Directors Association of Allegheny County, educating them on relationship with coroner's office.Feb. 6, 2003 , 5:30 PM : Canon McMillan School district, speaking on safe and drug free schools.Next: Sat Feb. 1, 11 AM phone conference at Wecht's home with a Westmoreland County Assistant District Attorney.Rush shows document-- letter from March 9, 2001. It's a letter to a doctor seeking support for the political campaign of Wecht's son David's campaign for state superior court. To Young: did you work on any of David Wecht's campaigns? Yes, I did. Rush asks if she did the work on this letter because she was an Allegheny County employee or because she supported David Wecht? She answers yes, and that she's known David Wecht since he was a small child.Rush has Young recap her good relationship with Cyril Wecht and years of working for him.Rush to Young: No other questions, thanks for her time.9:01 AM Prosecutor Jim Wilson begins re-direct questioning. Says he wants to clarify some things brought up during questioning by defense. Concerning U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan: Goes to Wecht calendar entry showing Buchanan guest hosting radio show. Wilson asks if she knows the interview concerned a federal grant to the coroner's office. Wilson: that was clearly something he was doing in his capacity as coroner as Allegheny County? She acknowledges. Now goes to mention earlier of Wecht appearing at Buchanan news conference. Wilson asks if the news conference concerned a federal grant to the coroner's office on DNA testing. Asks if that didn't have something to do with his job as coroner.Wilson shows form that indicates when Wecht traveled for Allegheny County, he had to sign a document certifying that the travel actually occurred. She agrees. He points out he didn't have to sign any such document for his private business. She agrees.Wilson shows a document from the controller's office, seeking an itemized receipt from Wecht for a county related trip. Now shows a February 21, 2003 letter from Chief Deputy Coroner Joe Dominick to the controller's office explaining that Wecht did not have individual receipts from the hotel for meals during the trip in question. Now Wilson shows receipts that include Wecht's meal but also shows other food items on the receipts. Shows cab receipt from Chicago trip.Wilson asks if she specifically told one of Wecht's private clients that Wecht didn't really take a limo even though she was billing them for a limo trip. She says she verbally said "transportation", but acknowledges that the invoice said limo. She was so excited, I don't think she would care if he took the Pony Express. Client wouldn't care if she was lied to? Says she didn't lie to her.Wilson is now walking Young though additional documents related to travel expenses submitted to Wecht's private clients.Now turns her attention to count 26. Shows her a document from June 3, 2004. A letter from her to an attorney concerning an invoice for tissue slides. He says Young testified that it would take about 12 minutes to prepare the letter to send this out. Now he shows the invoice for $300. He asks whether there was more involved on behalf of Wecht Pathology than the letter itself. Wilson asks if this doesn't come at the end of a long process. Wilson is now showing Young one of the phone bills the defense used yesterday to try to identify the cost of the fax named in one of the indictment count. Wilson points out there are faxes to other cities around the country on the same bill. He questions whether those were all Allegheny County business. Young answers that other people used that fax machine in addition to her. Was she the principal user? She says she was the principal user, but not the only user. Wilson notes that the faxes on the list are to all over the country and even to outside the country. This bill is from May and June of 2003. Wilson continues to show phone bills used by the defense yesterday to show each fax noted by the defense is surrounded by many other faxes to numbers across the country.9:54 AM. I'm leaving the trial for now to join in the coverage of the death of Myron Cope. Copyright 2008 by ThePittsburghChannel. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. | Special Coverage
Blogs
------------------- Detailed testimony from the trial: ------------------- Video Blogs
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