Prosecutors Want To Move Cyril Wecht Trial Out Of Pittsburgh

Judge Holds Conference With Lawyers From Both Sides

POSTED: 8:41 am EST November 7, 2008
UPDATED: 6:53 pm EST November 7, 2008

PITTSBURGH -- Following a status conference with U.S. District Judge Sean McLaughlin, federal prosecutors said on Friday that they will file a motion to move the retrial of ex-Allegheny County Coroner Dr. Cyril Wecht to Erie, Pa.

In addition, WTAE Channel 4's Bob Mayo reported that assistant U.S. Attorneys Leo Dillon and James Wilson indicated their intent to drop 27 "honest services" counts.

That leaves just 14 counts from the original 84-count public corruption case.

"How many people do you know that could weather the storm of having 70 federal felony charges made against you and dropped? I don't know why they just don't drop the whole thing at this point," said defense attorney Jerry McDevitt.

To back up their request for a change of venue, the prosecutors said they will provide extraordinary documentation -- including Web site links -- of the "absolute saturation of the media" of the Wecht case in Pittsburgh. They said it's not possible to pick "an unpolluted jury" locally.

Wecht's defense team said it will oppose the government's plans to ask Judge Sean McLaughlin to move the retrial to Erie. The first trial lasted months and ended in a hung jury.

"He's already had to spend his life's fortune defending this thing. We don't have an office up in Erie, so we'd have to rent office space, we'd have to have hotels for all the legal staff, for Dr. Wecht, for all the witnesses," said McDevitt.

McDevitt said it's unusual for prosecutors to be the ones to ask to move jury selection and a trial out of town.

"We love Pittsburgh. I mean, nothing against Erie, but we love Pittsburgh. We want to try the case here. It's an Allegheny County case. The witnesses are here; the charges are centered here," McDevitt said.

Both sides will have up to a month to file motions on other matters before this case appears before the judge in a courtroom again.

Wecht's first trial ended with a hung jury in April. It was overseen by U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab, who was later removed from the case by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Wecht is accused of using his former county coroner's staff to benefit his lucrative private practice. He's charged with a 41-count indictment, mostly wire and mail fraud charges.

During Friday's conference with McLaughlin, defense attorneys indicated they would ask him to revisit motions that Schwab had denied. They believe the new judge could rule in their favor, which could end the case.

Timothy Lewis, a Pittsburgh native and former circuit judge, acted as a mediator for both sides over the past few months without any success.

Speaking from Washington, D.C., Lewis told Channel 4 Action News that he's frustrated by one side's unwillingness to cooperate. He didn't say which side.

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