ALLEGHENY COUNTY, Pa. -- A federal judge has denied a motion to suppress all evidence seized by search warrants in the theft of services and fraud case filed against former coroner Cyril Wecht.

But Judge Arthur Schwab said he will hold a hearing next month on the way one of those search warrants was carried out when boxes were seized from Wecht's private office.

Wecht's lawyers argued that his private files on high-profile cases involving the deaths of Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Kurt Cobain and others were taken in an unconstitutional general search of Wecht's office.

The judge said that seizure of computers from the coroner's office in the search for evidence against Wecht was proper and that Wecht "raises numerous interesting -- but ultimately irrelevant -- arguments."

The Wecht defense team had attacked District Attorney Stephen Zappala and Federal Bureau of Investigation agent Bradley Orsini's roles in the case.

The judge said "provocative speculation ... may make interesting reading and attract much publicity, but it does not satisfy the legal threshold that a defendant must make."

The hearing on the execution of the warrant seizing boxes from Wecht's private office is set for Thursday, June 8.

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