Jan 20, 2006 11:13 pm US/Eastern
Wecht Says He'll Survive Indictment
by Ralph Iannotti
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ―
A federal grand jury says Dr. Cyril Wecht mixed his public and private business, defrauding clients and taxpayers alike.
"This morning, a federal grand jury here in the Western District of Pennsylvania returned an indictment naming Allegheny County Medical Examiner Dr. Cyril Wecht as the defendant," said U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan.
Wecht appeared mostly unfazed by the indictment.
"Well, I think I'll survive," Wecht said.
"We believe that this indictment is unwarranted, and fatally flawed," said Mark Ruch, Wecht's attorney.
His long career has spanned decades involving autopsies numbering in the thousands.
Now, Wecht will be going from the autopsy room to the courtroom, where he's likely to face his biggest challenge ever.
The government says he used county employees to run personal errands on county time.
He also allegedly drove a county car, or was driven to entertainment and private business functions and used bogus limousine and travel agency bills to overcharge private clients.
Rush downplayed the charges describing them as politically motivated, stemming from a dispute he had with district attorney Steven Zapalla.
"The investigation and indictment is unwarranted because - among other reasons - the investigation has it's genesis in local politics," Rush said.
Wecht resigned his job as Allegheny County Medical Examiner.
Buchanan says Wecht allowed autopsies to be done on people who never gave their consent and where autopsies weren't necessary.
The government is still trying to calculate the total value of the fraud that Wecht allegedly committed.
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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