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Indicted Pa. coroner known for big ego as well as big cases |
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Written by DeadGirl
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Sunday, 26 March 2006 |
JOE MANDAK
Associated Press
PITTSBURGH - Forensic pathologist Cyril Wecht gained celebrity status as a critic of the Warren Commission's investigation of John F. Kennedy's assassination and as a consultant on high-profile cases from the death of Elvis Presley to the murder of JonBenet Ramsey.
But in Wecht's home base of western Pennsylvania, admiration for his accomplishments and decades of public service is tempered by tales of unbridled egotism that some say led to the criminal charges he now faces.
"Sometimes he doesn't think the rules are really meant for him," said Morton Coleman, a retired political science professor who has known Wecht since they attended the University of Pittsburgh.
"I just think he thinks the county's lucky to have such an important person as their coroner and they shouldn't mind that he cuts corners, as it were," Coleman said.
Federal prosecutors in Pittsburgh say Wecht used his former county coroner's staff - as well as some unclaimed morgue cadavers allegedly traded for private lab space at a university - to expand the scope and profit of his multimillion-dollar pathology practice. They also allege Wecht overbilled private clients using faked travel agency "limousine" bills, when, in fact, county workers chauffeured Wecht using county cars, time and gasoline.
Wecht, 74, resigned from public office a few days after a federal grand jury indicted him in January on charges including theft of honest services and wire and mail fraud. But he continues to crisscross the country as an expert witness in murders and wrongful death cases, even as he plies friends with letters seeking donations for his legal defense team.
Buried in the 84-count indictment is the relatively tame allegation that Wecht had his former county secretary type a nasty letter to Keith Sueker, a retired engineer who poked fun of Wecht's failed run for county executive in 1999.
Federal authorities allege it's just another instance of Wecht misusing a county worker for his private benefit - in this case, political retribution. But for longtime Wecht watchers, it shows an ugly side of Wecht generally hidden from national view.
Wecht's letter reads:
"Mr. Sueker:
"When I am testifying as an expert witness in major cases around the country; appearing on national television and radio shows; lecturing at major universities; writing books; accepting honors and accolades from various organizations; and making a hell of a lot of money, I have found that I am able to enhance and sustain the substantial pleasures and great joy that accompany such endeavors and accomplishments by thinking of insignificant a------- like you.
"Sincerely,
"Cyril H. Wecht, M.D., J.D."
Three years ago, Wecht wrote to the attorney for a citizens reform group that wanted to eliminate Wecht's row office.
"Anytime you or any of your minions, sycophants, or other assorted motley crew wish to publicly debate the activities of my office, just let me know," Wecht wrote. "I can only hope that you will have occasion to require the services of this office in the most possible personal fashion. Very truly yours, Cyril H. Wecht, M.D., J.D."
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette columnist Brian O'Neill considers the Sueker letter the "Mona Lisa" of Wecht's poison pen letters. He should know. He has collected Wecht's letters for years, including one targeting him.
"He's accomplished. He's very smart. He's very energetic," O'Neill said. "But I have my doubts that really brilliant guys do some of the things he does."
Coleman said that if Wecht "could ever sleep on anything, it might be a good idea."
"This is a tremendously talented guy. He could have been a concert violinist; he has almost a completely retentive memory; he was a first-class athlete. He was a real renaissance guy. He was president of everything at Pitt," he said.
Wecht's attorneys refused to let him be interviewed.
Last month, Wecht told CNN's Larry King that he had never done anything "politically corrupt or criminal" while coroner since 1996. But former Pennsylvania governor Dick Thornburgh, a member of Wecht's defense team, acknowledged on the same show that there were "some accounting irregularities here and probably some inappropriate use of county employees."
Another defense attorney, Mark Rush, later sought to clarify Thornburgh's remarks.
"What Dick said was there were possible accounting errors - but it has no tie whatsoever to the coroner's office," Rush said. "If there are, we will right any wrong that exists. There would be refunds made."
The government has said Wecht used a "substantial" amount of county resources, from equipment to employee time, to generate millions of dollars of income for himself.
In Wecht's defense, Rush said the federal case is similar to charges state officials filed against him in 1981 following his first 10-year stint as coroner. Wecht was acquitted of misusing county resources, but paid the county $200,000 to settle related litigation.
"You would think, having been through (the state prosecution), that he would be extra careful about not mixing his private and public work," said Jim Roddey, the businessman who beat Wecht in the 1999 campaign to become Allegheny County's first county executive. "But Cyril always feels that whatever he is doing somehow is OK because he's Cyril Wecht. He's a very complex individual."
Roddey has contributed money to Wecht's defense fund and said Wecht was a model manager who always abided by the coroner's office budget.
"We're not close, we're not bosom buddies ... but I would hope he will find a way to extricate himself from these charges," Roddey said. "But I suppose he'll get his hand slapped for something before it's all over."
Dr. Henry Lee, a longtime friend of Wecht's and retired Connecticut criminalist who has also worked on high-profile cases, said it can be difficult for forensic investigators to separate public and private business.
"The reality is, you put in 16 hours a day, seven days a week. It's hard work," Lee said. "It's really hard to have a clear-cut idea of which portion of your time is public and which is private."
http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/news/politics/14186354.htm |
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Taphophilia?
taphophilia (taf′ō-fil′ē-ă)
ORIGIN:
From the Greek words taphos, meaning "tomb" or "sepulcher" and philia, meaning "attraction or affinity to something, in particular the love or obsession with something"
DEFINITION: 1. An excessive interest in graves and cemeteries. 2. A love or fondness for funerals, graves, and cemeteries. 3. In psychiatry, a morbid attraction to graves and cemeteries
Quote Repository
“Death is the starlit strip between the companionship of yesterday and the reunion of tomorrow.” on monument erected to Mark Tw
Shirtless and Sculpted
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