Happy Anniversary to Chuck McCullough! (When Does The Trial Start?)

Tomorrow, it will be 6 years to the day since this happened:

Allegheny County Councilman Charles McCullough was arrested and arraigned today on nearly two dozen counts following an investigation last year of his handling of an elderly widow's trust funds.

That's 6 complete years or:

• 2,191 days or
• 52,584 hours or
• 3,155,040 minutes or
• 189,302,400 seconds.

And still, there's been no trial. 

We've already had a little fun with stuff that's happened quicker than "Chucktime" (the time between his arrest and the present).  For example we already know that at 2,191 days, Chucktime is already longer than:

• WWII in the Pacific (1,347 days)
• The entire time Richard Nixon was President (2,027 days)

But did you also know that 2,191 more than:

• the number of days between the date Michelangelo signed the contract to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (May 10, 1508) and the date the ceiling was first shown to the public (November 1, 1512) - 1,636 days?
• the number of days between the adoption of the Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1776) and the British surrender at Yorktown (October 19, 1781) - 1,933 days?
• the number of days between the  date Attorney General Janet Reno named Robert Fiske as Special Counsel to investigate Whitewater (January 20, 1994) and Clinton's acquittal at the end of his Impeachment trial (February 12, 1999) - 1,849 days?

Look again at that last one.  The entire Whitewater investigation has taken a shorter amount of time than it's taking Allegheny County (or whomever is supposed to be handling this case) to take Chuck McCullough to trial.

Why can't they put the guy on trial?  It's been longer than WWII, Nixon's presidency, Beatlemania, and the Whitewater investigation!

2,095 Days (And Counting): A Chuck McCullough Follow-Up (UPDATED)

I was fascinated by the fact that yesterday marked the 2,094th day since Chuck McCullough was arrested and yet still not faced trial.

I was wondering how that span of time (now it's up to 2,095) compares to some other famous time spans.  For example:

• WWII in the Pacific - December 7, 1941 (Attack on Pearl Harbor) to August 15, 1945 (VJ Day): 1,347 days
• WWII in Europe - September 1, 1939 (Germany invades Poland) to May 7, 1945 (Germany Surrenders) 2,075 days
• The Beatles - February 9, 1964 (Beatles first performance on the Ed Sullivan Show) to January 30, 1969 (their last public performance on the rooftop of Apple Studios): 1,817 days
• Nixon Presidency - January 20, 1969 (Nixon's First Inauguration) to August 9, 1974 (Nixon's resignation): 2,027 days
• Breaking Bad - January 20, 2008 (First episode) to September 29, 2013 (Last episode): 2,074 days
• Brady Bunch - September 26, 1969 (First episode) to March 8, 1974 (Last episode): 1,624 days

It's taking longer to get Chuck McCullough to trial than it took to defeat Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan in WWII.  The time between Chuck McCullough's arrest and his (still to be begun) trial is longer than Beatlemania (the actual cultural event, the Broadway Show only lasted 869 days).  It's also been longer than each of the original runs of both Breaking Bad and The Brady Bunch.

I make no pronouncements as to the man's guilt or innocence.  That's why there's supposed to be a trial.  But 2,095 days?  Heck Lt Col Oliver North was indicted (on March 16 1988), convicted (on May 4, 1989) and had his conviction vacated (on July 20, 1990) all within 856 days!

Think about that for a second.

UPDATE:  Here's a few more.

• JFK - November 22, 1963 (Assassination of JFK) to September 24, 1964 (Publication of the Warren Commission Report): 307 days
• Civil War - April 12, 1861 (Confederate forces fire on Fort Sumpter) to April 9, 1865 (Lee surrenders to Grant at Appomattox): 1,458 days
• WWI - July 28, 1914 (Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand) to November 11, 1918 (Armistice signed): 1,597 days

It's taking longer to get Chuck McCullough to trial than it took the Warren Commission to issue its report, for the North to defeat the South in the misnamed (by many) "War of Northern Aggression" and for the Allied Powers to defeat the Central Powers in the equally misnamed "War to End All Wars."

Chuck McCullough STILL Hasn't Faced Trial. STILL

Yesterday, an astute reader emailed in a reminder about a certain former County Council member who was arrested more than 5 years ago.

At this point I have no idea what the charges are now and listing what they were might be unfair, if some of them were dismissed.

The last time I wrote about this, it was warm and July and this was to be found in the Tribune-Review:

Authorities charged McCullough, 59, of Upper St. Clair in June 2009 with bilking $200,000 from the $14.7 million estate of widow Shirley Jordan, who died in 2010 at 93. Prosecutors accused him of trying to further his political career while acting as trustee of her estate in 2006 and 2007.

But as I wrote in July of 2009, there were other charges as well including this one:

Two counts of making false reports to law enforcement. McCullough is charged with falsely reporting to Upper St. Clair police that P-G reporter Dennis Roddy had harassed Jordan when no harassment occurred

But at this point, more than 5 years later, who knows what's still on the list of charges?

But let's take another look at the time frame here.  He was arrested on February 19, 2009.  Only about 20 days after the first inauguration of Barack Obama.  The first inauguration of Barack Obama.

So what else has happned between now and McCullough's arrest?
According to the US Census, the estimated population of the United States of America on Feburary 19, 2009 is:

305,846,934

And the estimated population of the United States today (November 14, 2014) is:

319,261,675

That means that there are about 13.4 million more citizens of the US since the day Chuck was arrested.

According to Google, The day Chuck McCullough was arrested, The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at:

7,465.95

It closed yesterday at:

17,652.79

That's more than 200% growth, right?

Let's see what else has happened since Chuck McCullough was arrested:

• April 17, 1013, Dr. Autumn Klein collapsed and later died of cyanide poisoning.
• July 15, 2013, Dr Klein's husband, Robert Ferrante is arrested and charged with her murder
• October 23, 1014, The trial begins
• November 7, 1014, The jury finds him guilty of murder in the first degree.

Take a look at what I wrote last April:

• Jerry Sandusky was arrested in November 2011 and he was found guilty the following July.
• Richard Poplawski killed three police officers in April 2009 and he was found guilty in June 2011 
• Jane Orie was indicted in April 2010 and was convicted March 2012

Of course we can add that Jane Orie's already been released.

Given it's been 2,094 days (or 5 years, 8 months and 26 days) since he was arrested, I have to ask:

WHEN WILL CHUCK MCCULLOUGH'S TRIAL BEGIN?

In Case You Missed It, McCullough Trial Delayed. AGAIN

From the Trib:

Five years since a grand jury accused attorney Charles McCullough of taking money from an elderly woman's estate, the former Allegheny County councilman has yet to stand trial.

The case has been delayed at least eight times since September 2009, for various reasons, and appeals tacked on two more years of delays.

At a status conference on Wednesday, Common Pleas Judge Donald E. Machen stepped down from the case because scheduling conflicts would go beyond his November retirement, causing another delay.

The case goes to the court's administrative judge for reassignment, and it could be a month before a trial date is set.

And from the P-G:

It has been delayed at least nine times.

“This case has been around a long time,” Judge Machen said. “And I've entertained every one of your requests for continuance. I’m sending the case back for reassignment.

“Best of luck to all of you.”

The delays have been for various reasons, including both defendants’ switching counsel repeatedly.

Let's review the timeline here.  On Feburary 19, 2009, I blogged that Chuck McCullough had been arrested.

Some of the things that happened since Chuck McCullough was arrested and today:

• Jerry Sandusky arrested (November 5, 2011)
• Jerry Sandusky's trial began (June 11, 2011)
• Jerry Sandusky was found guilty (June 22,2012)
• H.R. 3590, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) was introduced in the House of Representatives (September 17, 2009)
• H.R. 3590 was signed into law (March 23, 2010)
• Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot by Jared Lee Loughner (January 8, 2011)
• Jared Lee Loughner pled guilty (August 7, 2012)

The list is endless.  If all these extremely complicated events could occur between February 19, 2009 and today, why can't we get Chuck McCullough in a court room to stand trial?

I'm just asking.

How Long Has It Been??

Hey, you remember former County Councilman Chuck McCullough, right?

You remember that 52-page document that a Grand Jury presented?  Here's how the P-G described it:

A county grand jury today handed up a 52-page presentment that alleges Mr. McCullough, an attorney, and his sister, Kathleen A. McCullough, bilked money from the $14.5 million trust fund of an Upper St. Clair widow, Shirley H. Jordan, 90.

The investigation began after an article appeared in the Post-Gazette in April 2007 in which Mrs. Jordan denied that she donated $10,000 to each of four political candidates the year before, according to an affidavit that accompanied the arrests of Mr. McCullough and his sister.

And so on.  Did you see the date on that?

Chuck McCullough was arrested a little more than 5 years ago.

Has there been a trial yet?

Um, no.  In fact an astute reader emailed a legal document to me a few days ago.  Here's the first paragraph:

Appellant, Charles P. McCullough, appeals from the denial of his pre-trial motions to dismiss criminal charges, pursuant to this Court’s grant of McCullough’s pro se petition for review on May 23, 2012. After careful review, we affirm the trial court’s pre-trial rulings.

If I am reading the rest of it correctly (and as I am not an attorney, that's always a possibility), it says that McCullough's appeal to have the charges dropped were denied.  A point reinforced by my astute reader, who wrote:

Basically the Superior Court dismissed his appeal of the lower court's refusal to dismiss the charges. I assume he will now appeal to Pa. Supreme Court. If he loses there, I would think there is no reason the trial can't finally start, subject, of course, to whatever legal maneuvers he has up his sleeve. To me, the most interesting thing is that he is representing himself.

So how long has it been?

Let's put this in some context.

• Jerry Sandusky was arrested in November 2011 and he was found guilty the following July.
• Richard Poplawski killed three police officers in April 2009 and he was found guilty in June 2011
• Jane Orie was indicted in April 2010 and was convicted March 2012

I am NOT saying that McCullough is guilty.  He has every assumption of innocence until proven guilty that everyone else has.  Nor am I saying that he's been charged with anything as heinous as killing a police officer or raping young boys.

What I AM asking is this: How is it that such high profile cases as Sandusky, Poplawski and Orie can go to trial and our friend Chuck is still filing appeals?

Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due. Again.

Don't normally agree with the Trib's Eric Heyl, but he's 100%, absolutely, totally and without any sort of snarky bloggery sarcasm, completely correct with this column.

Here, I'll let Eric frame the argument:

There's due process, then there's overdue process.

Chuck McCullough's criminal case long ago turned into a protracted process whose resolution is ridiculously overdue.

And:

McCullough, 58, an Upper St. Clair attorney, is accused of bilking an elderly client, the late Shirley Jordan, out of more than $200,000. He was arrested in February 2009. That was 56 months ago.[Emphasis added.]

If I may point out something, if you google "Chuck McCullough arrested" you will get, on top of google's search list, this blog post - the date was February 9, 2009.

That was only 20 days after the President Obama's first inauguration.  Think of that for a second.  The Kenyan Socialist President's time in the White House exceeds McCullough's post-arrest-pre-trial time by a skosh under three weeks.  Think of all that's happened in that administration in those 56 weeks.

• American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (February 17, 2009)
• Cash for Clunkers (August 6, 2009)
• The Nobel Peace Prize (October 9, 2009)
• The Affordable Health Care Act (March 23, 2010)
• Don't Ask Don't Tell Repeal Act (December 22, 2010)

And so on.

What movies were were released after Chuck McCullough was arrested?

• Avatar (Premiered December, 2009)
• Both Star Trek films (April, 2009 and April, 2013)

So you remember seeing Avatar in the theatre?  However long ago you think that was, Chuck McCullough was arrested before that happened.

And so on.

Eric ends with:

If he hasn't succumbed to old age by the time the trial begins, McCullough might be sorely inconvenienced attempting to attend the proceedings. It wouldn't be the relatively quick commute from his home in Alpha Centauri that would prove irksome.

I'm glad Eric brought this up.  Did you know that Alpha Cenari is 4.37 light years away?  That's about 53 months.

So if they had sensitive enough equipment and if that sensitive enough equipment is pointed our way and if they could understand Pittsburghese, the residents on whatever planets that may be circling around Alpha Centauri are just hearing the news about Chuck McCullough's arrest.

Think about that.

And It's A NO For Chuck Running For DA

From Jim O'Toole at Early Returns:

Former county Councilman Chuck McCullough will not be running for district attorney.

And then:

Mark Wolosik, the county elections chief, said that the unofficial count of write-ins found that Mr. McCullough gains 103 votes for district attorney, leaving him well short of the minimum of 500 that would have been needed to secure a post on the ballot. Mr. Zapata, unopposed for the Democratic nomination for district attorney, came in first among the GOP write-ins as well, with 296, a total that was still well short of the threshold he would have needed to gain that nomination as well. [emphasis added.]

I think that should be Zappala not Zapata. But that, as my old music theory teacher would say, is neither here nor there.

Nevertheless, this is done. I'd think that O'Toole quoting the county elections chief is a pretty reliable source, however unofficial (and therefore informal) this still might be.

Chuck McCullough Update

This will be in two parts. First the "it's restored my faith in the rationality of those with whom I disagree politically" part:

Squirrel Hill business owner and former County Council President Rich Fitzgerald legged out a victory over County Controller Mark Patrick Flaherty in the Democratic primary for Allegheny County executive on Tuesday night.

Fitzgerald will face Mt. Lebanon entrepreneur D. Raja, who handily beat former County Councilman Chuck McCullough in the Republican primary 71 percent to 28 percent, riding a wave of endorsements, cash and concerns about criminal charges filed against McCullough. [emphasis added.]

And now the part that could completely up end that first part.

It started with this Tim McNulty Early Returns post from early yesterday evening:

Here's our first juicy election rumor of the day:

An effort is underway today to write-in a certain big Republican name for county District Attorney, to take on Stephen A. Zappala in the fall. It's an attorney who has held elected office. He's been praised in the Post-Gazette recently for his legal acumen -- he's also been mentioned in the P-G many many for his own issues with the law.

Chuck McCullough.

All he would need is 500 write-in votes and he's on the ballot.

A few hours later McNulty posted:

Chuck McCullough never did call us back to confirm the write-in bid for District Attorney, but a last look at the numbers below is all you need. Republicans inked 1,418 write-ins (with 500 necessary) for the DA spot and only 357 in the next-highest tally for county exec.

This might turn out to be something completely different, as McNulty always points out. It won't be known for about a week exactly whose name is on those write-ins.

But still, it looks pretty suspicious.

Have you seen the most recent Docket with Chuck's name on it? As of this writing (7:26am on 5/18/11) he's still facing 24 charges - from violating 18 § 4906 §§ A (Filing a False Report) to violating 18 § 3921 §§ A (Theft by Unlawful Taking or Disposition). We can go charge by charge, you know.

Is this the guy that 1400 Allegheny County Residents want as the DA?

Geez, I hope not. I hope the rumor is completely untrue and it turns out to be something completely different.

The Coverage Should Chuck Win

It's Primary elections time. Both The Trib and The P-G have published their respective endorsements.

But that's just the frame. The real story here is what coverage of the race for County Executive will look like should Chuck McCullough win. From our friends at The Trib:

Lance: To delay, delay, delay. "Scheduling conflicts" are said to have pushed the theft and fraud trial of Chuck McCullough to Sept. 1. The former Allegheny County solicitor, county councilman and, now, Republican candidate for chief executive is accused of ripping off an elderly woman's trust money. The upshot is this downside -- if Mr. McCullough wins next week's primary, the GOP nominee then will face trial on serious charges. And that's embarrassing.

Lance: To the PA Republican Leadership Council. Never mind that Chuck McCullough faces the aforementioned felony charges, it has endorsed him for the Republican ACE nomination. It cites "the beliefs and principles" of the group, one of which is fealty to the concept of constitutions. But Mr. McCullough, in addition to his legal problems, has been leading the charge to subvert the Pennsylvania Constitution by engaging in machinations to thwart the repeatedly court-ordered property reassessment. The RLC is misguided. [emphases added.]

In eight sentences (this is including the sentence fragments that begin each paragraph) there were five references to McCullough's "legal problems."

Should Chuck win the GOP nomination this Tuesday, this is what the coverage will look like. And though I am not a member of the GOP, I do have to agree with the braintrust here.

This is embarrassing.

Oh, Come ON!

On the one hand, the blogger in me is ecstatic that this has occurred:

Chuck McCullough's county exec chances -- should he win the primary next week -- got a boost by Judge Donald Machen today. From Vivian Nereim:

The criminal trial of Republican county executive candidate Charles P. McCullough has been postponed until Nov. 14, one week after the general election.

Mr. McCullough's trial had previously been scheduled to start the week before the May 17 primary, but his lawyers asked for a delay. The former county council member is accused of diverting the funds of a 90-year-old widow to make political and charitable contributions without her knowledge.

Mr. McCullough, 56, of Upper St. Clair, has denied any wrongdoing.

For a blogger, the thought of having a guy who's been arrested running for such an important job is a promise for just endless blogger fun.

But as a resident of Allegheny County, I can't imagine a worse situation.

More On Chuck McCullough (Another Followup)

For those of you who don't know, Chuck McCullough's running for County Executive and right now he's in a race for the Republican Party nod with D. Raja. Last poll numbers I saw had Chuck up by 6 points.

Did you know Chuck McCullough's had some trouble with the law? We've written about it here and there at 2PJ but if you're looking for a single place to all the coverage of Chuck's legal dance, my friend Chad's got a great run down of the facts all in one place.

So far, Raja's been endorsed by (among others) Senator Toomey, Congressman Murphy, and my old friend former member of the US House of Representatives, Melissa Hart.

Chuck's website says he's endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 91 and LIFEPAC.

I wonder if Chuck's still up by 6. I still wonder why he was up by 6 in the first place.

More On Chuck McCullough (Yet Again)

Today, I am quoting the Trib but not to criticize what it says there. I'm just setting the stage:

What a mess: A judge once again has delayed the felony theft trial of Chuck McCullough of Upper St. Clair. And that means Republican voters could nominate for Allegheny County chief executive a fella in the May primary who, if convicted, would have to be yanked from the November ballot. Mr. McCullough, you'll recall, won an at-large County Council seat four years ago, after the criminal investigation was publicly known. Democrats are highly amused.

There are two more amusing things to be found at the P-G. First some more info from McNulty:

Republican county executive candidate Chuck McCullough got some great news last week.

Just about every story on the attorney and former Allegheny County councilman-at-large mentions two things: that he's awaiting trial on charges he stole money from elderly client, and that the trial is set May 9, just a week before the May 17 primary. Can you take the second half of that out of the boilerplate.

Last week Common Pleas Court Judge Donald Machen granted a postponement of the trial, as requested by defense attorney Patrick Thomassey. They plan to schedule a new one this week.

McCullough was charged in February 2009.

He is running against tech executive and Mt. Lebanon commissioner D. Raja for the party's nod for exec. Tea party official Patti Weaver dropped from the race March 23.

The postponement, we are told, is due to an out of state personal matter Chuck's defense attorney has to attend to.

In case you've forgotten the charges, here's the what the P-G had to say in February, 2009:

The Allegheny County councilman accused nearly two years ago of improperly making $40,000 in political contributions from an elderly widow's trust fund has been charged with 23 criminal counts, including theft, misapplication of property, criminal conspiracy and making false reports.

Charles P. McCullough, who was elected in 2007 after some of the allegations had come to light, was arrested yesterday and released on $20,000 straight bond.

Also charged was Mr. McCullough's sister, Kathleen, who is named in relation to the trust account in the jury presentment. She also was charged in a separate embezzlement case.

His sister's already been convicted of that separate embezzlement case, though Chuck was involved in that case, too.

And why is this so amusing? From the other report at Early Returns yesterday:

The first poll on the GOP side of the county executive race shows Chuck McCullough with a 6-point lead over D. Raja, with a lot of undecideds and high negatives for both candidates, according to PoliticsPa.

An automated poll of 385 registered Republicans by Municipoll for PP showed McCullough with 30% to 24% for Raja, with 46% undecided and a 5 point MoE. The high negatives? 21% for McCullough and 18% for Raja.

From PoliticsPa:

However, McCullough’s pending legal issues seem to have put a dent in his approval ratings. A mere 5.4 percent of voters have a favorable impression of the Councilman, who has been accused of defrauding an elderly widow. (The Post-Gazette reported Sunday that his trial has been postponed until after the May 17 primary). 21 percent have a negative opinion of McCullough, with 73 percent undecided.

The local powers that be in the GOP are not happy. From the Trib:

The delay could bring political help or damage to McCullough, 56, a Republican from Upper St. Clair, said GOP Chairman Jim Roddey. But it's definitely bad for Republicans, he said.

If McCullough would defeat D. Raja, 45, of Mt. Lebanon in the primary, but gets convicted of bilking the multimillion-dollar estate of widow Shirley Jordan before the general election in November, he would have to be removed from the ballot.

"Unfortunately, I think there's a real risk," Roddey said. "I don't know what the contingency plan would be."

So with all that bad press (and some serious legal action pending) McCullough is still 6 points up among likely Republican voters and nearly three quarters are still undecided?

THAT'S amusing. Even from a non-Democrat like me.

Roddy Relocates

From the City Paper:

Dennis Roddy, a fixture of Pittsburgh journalism for nearly four decades, is leaving the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and taking a job in the fledgling Corbett Administration.

"It was time for me, at age 57, to find out if I possess any transferable skills," says Roddy.

Roddy's job will be in communications. And while he says his exact duties have yet to be defined, he won't be a spokesman: "Let's face it -- no one would believe anything a reporter has to say."

Well, let's take a look at what this reporter HAS said.

It was Roddy who wrote about the Richard Mellon Scaife divorce:

The divorce case titled Scaife v. Scaife has wound its way through the courts under a blanket of secrecy as both sides struggle over a storied Pittsburgh fortune surpassing $1.4 billion and a temporary monthly alimony payment bigger than the life savings of most people.

Margaret Ritchie Battle Scaife, 60, and her husband, Mellon banking and oil heir Richard Mellon Scaife, 75, have been unable to agree on support payments, whether one of his newspapers is a hobby or a business investment, and even the date of their separation. She says they split in December 2005, after she caught him in an affair. He says they separated 10 months earlier.

Details of the dispute have remained out of the public eye for more than a year. Lawyers for Mr. Scaife, a reclusive financier of the political right who underwrote much of the campaign against the Clinton administration in the 1990s, asked Allegheny County Judge Alan Hertzberg to seal the record of his divorce. The judge complied.

Yea, I led with Scaife. Deal with it. By the way, the temporary alimony payments Roddy mentioned? $725,000 per month.

And it was Dennis Roddy who wrote so lovingly about everyone's favorite County Council man Chuck McCullough:

The single largest donor to Allegheny County candidates this year is a 90-year-old Upper St. Clair widow who hasn't voted for seven years and says she never agreed to give $10,000 each to four Republican candidates, including one for Superior Court and three for Allegheny County Council.

Shirley H. Jordan, whose late husband, attorney Fred Jordan, pioneered workers' compensation law and invested widely, is on record with contributions of $10,000 each to Cheryl Allen, who is seeking the GOP nomination for Superior Court, and County Council candidates Vince Gastgeb, Jan Rea and Susan Caldwell. The checks were drawn from the Shirley Jordan Trust, housed at Northwest Savings Bank, and signed by a bank trustee.

And:

She blamed the donation on her attorney, Charles McCullough, himself a candidate for County Council. Mr. McCullough took control of Mrs. Jordan's affairs following a court dispute that began after she was taken in 2005 to St. Clair Hospital, where a doctor diagnosed her with moderate dementia. A Common Pleas Court judge later declared her incapacitated.

McCullough's still on County Council - even after being indicted. And although his trial is scheduled to begin in May, he's showing he's got some humongous cojones. From Jim O'Toole at the P-G:

The next few days could clarify the murky Republican picture on the race to succeed Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato.

So far, no one has declared for the GOP nomination, but three potential candidates -- each of them surprising in different ways -- are reported to be considering the race.

Perhaps most startling is the possibility that county Councilman Chuck McCullough could flout his criminal court indictment by running for the GOP nomination for the county's top job.

It's amazing that the Allegheny County GOP can include BOTH Mark DeSantis (who's a good guy) and Chuck McCullough (who, if all this reporting is to be believed, just isn't).

Roddy even became part of the McCullough story. From June of '09, we was reported (quoting the criminal indictment) that McCullough was being charged with:

Two counts of making false reports to law enforcement. McCullough is charged with falsely reporting to Upper St. Clair police that P-G reporter Dennis Roddy had harassed Jordan when no harassment occurred.

Did I say that Chuck's still on County Council?

And let's not forget Dennis being on the receiving end of Mayor Luke's more memorable examples of public safety largess. At G20 time, Dennis was among those gassed by the Luke's police in Oakland.

Bon Voyage, my friend. Knock 'em dead in Harrisburg.

More On McCullough Corruption (The Kathleen Edition)

I stumbled across this in the P-G yesterday while enjoying yet another good fine lunchtime meal downtown.

The news isn't good:

An Allegheny County jury found a Collier woman guilty Tuesday of stealing more than $1.3 million from two separate employers over a period of several years.

Kathleen A. McCullough, 47, was charged with taking $1.2 million from Mackin Engineering, where she worked as the company's controller, and later from the Radiance Surgery Center in Upper St. Clair, where she worked as office manager.

The jury in the case before Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Jill E. Rangos deliberated less than three hours before returning the verdict: guilty on all counts. Ms. McCullough will be sentenced on Aug. 27. She could face a sentence of up to three to six years in prison.

You remember Kathleen McCullough, right? You will in a minute.

Here's a clue:

Ms. McCullough is charged in a separate case, along with her brother, attorney and Allegheny County Councilman Charles McCullough, with defrauding an elderly Upper St. Clair widow. Mr. McCullough is charged with taking nearly $200,000 from her while acting as her attorney.

Ms. McCullough is accused of being paid to be a companion to the woman though she had no professional experience or licenses.

That case is scheduled to go to trial in October.

While the two are in charged in that separate case, the P-G reported awhile ago that Chuck McCullough was involved in this case as well:

Italo V. Mackin, president and CEO of Mackin Engineering, testified that when Ms. McCullough handled the finances and accounting for the company, she wrote more than $1 million worth of checks to herself, primarily to pay bills for her American Express card that were as high as $94,000 for a month. Mr. Mackin said he did not authorize the payments.

Mr. Mackin said he fired Ms. McCullough on a Friday in July 2006 once he learned she had been making unauthorized payments to herself. The following Monday, he said, Charles McCullough and an attorney were in his office. They met privately with Mackin vice president Jerome Schwertz.

In the meeting, Mr. Schwertz testified, Mr. McCullough maintained that the money was not stolen and accused Mr. Schwertz and Ms. McCullough of having an affair, saying Mr. Schwertz had authorized the payments. Mr. Schwertz testified that he did have an affair with Ms. McCullough for several years, but he denied it at the time.

A paragraph or so later:

Then the parties drew up a confidentiality agreement that neither side would press criminal charges or sue. Mr. Mackin said he did so to protect his family and prevent the affair from becoming public. Mr. Schwertz is married to Mr. Mackin's daughter.

From his website:

Council Member Chuck McCullough has served as an At-Large representative for the citizens of Allegheny County since January 2008. He views his role as doing whatever he can to try to help the residents of Allegheny County who are in need and is committed to doing so.

Isn't it nice to see an Allegheny County Councilman working so hard on behalf of a constituent?

Chuck McCullough's Going To Trial

Both the P-G and the Trib have the details.

We've been been following this for some time now. I've met a few of the players of this particular drama and for the sake of full disclosure let me say that one of my old jobs was at a law firm that also employed McCullough at the same time - we didn't have that much interaction and none of it has anything to do with this story.

What makes this particularly newsworthy is that despite the charges, the arrest and now the trial, attorney Charles P. "Chuck" McCullough is as of this writing STILL on Allegheny County Council.

Did you know he's on the Government Reform committee?

From the County website:

Chuck McCullough was elected to one of the County Council At Large seats in the November, 2007 election, and brings 25 years of government expertise to Council. Chuck was the Homestead Borough Solicitor from 1984-1990 and the Allegheny County Solicitor from 2002-2004. He has been the Township Attorney for the Township of Upper St. Clair since 1998 and also serves as Special Counsel to the Upper St. Clair School District and to South Park Township. Additionally, he has served in different capacities as legal counsel in various state and local government bond issues.

Chuck has developed effective, pragmatic and non-partisan resolutions to many of our regions’ issues. His reputation for success in this regard resulted in his selection by Governor Rendell to be a member of Commonwealth’s negotiating team with U.S. Airways and his selection by his peers, the solicitors for the municipalities in the Alcosan collection system, to be one of the lead attorneys in negotiations with EPA, DEP and the County Health Department for a county-wide administrative consent order to study and assess our regions’ sewerage systems. The resulting consent order is estimated to have saved the municipalities millions of dollars in fines and litigation expense and over a billion dollars in compliance with environmental regulations. Chuck was also selected by County Council in 2005 to be a member of the County’s Government Study Review Commission, which conducted a comprehensive review of the functions and effectiveness of County governmen

Good for him. Now look what's happened. From the P-G:

After 30 witnesses, reams of paperwork and continuances that made the preliminary hearing -- typically a single-day affair -- stretch over nearly two months, Allegheny County Councilman Charles P. McCullough was ordered to stand trial yesterday on all 24 counts against him.

The P-G has the original police criminal complaint. Here are the charges listed on the complaint:

• One count of making unsworn falsification to authorities. McCullough is charged with failing to disclose on a state ethics commission financial statement income from the Jordan trust.
  
• Two counts of making false reports to law enforcement. McCullough is charged with falsely reporting to Upper St. Clair police that P-G reporter Dennis Roddy had harassed Jordan when no harassment occurred
• Nine counts of misapplication of entrusted property. McCullough is charged with making a number of checks out of Jordan's trust without her knowledge.
• Seven counts of theft by taking. More checks from Jordan's trust without her approval.
• Two counts of theft by deception. McCullough is charged with getting paid for stuff he didn't do.
• One count of criminal conspiracy. This has to do with the charges McCullough's sister is facing, as far as I can tell.
  
• One count of tampering with public records. This has to do with his failure to report the Jordan income.
• One count of failing to properly report statement of financial interests.

And that's 24.

From the P-G:

Mr. McCullough, 54, is charged with using his control of Shirley H. Jordan's assets to reward himself, friends, political allies and family members, including his sister Kathleen McCullough, who also was ordered to stand trial on three theft charges yesterday. Ms. McCullough, in addition to receiving money from Mrs. Jordan through her brother, is charged with embezzling more than $1 million from an engineering firm where she worked as an accountant.

We wrote about the embezzling here. Messy biz, that.

In all fairness, we should say that from the Trib we learn that:

McCullough's actions were approved by an Orphans' Court judge, [McCullough's lead attorney Thomas] Farrell argued. Allegations he misused Jordan's money do not amount to criminal charges, and would be more appropriate for a lawyers' disciplinary review board, Farrell added.

Which is all well and good, but I don't think it doesn't address the allegations of making false reports to the police, does it?

One interesting thing about both articles is that both contain the same quotation from Assistant District Attorney Lawrence Claus:

They had a cash cow here, and Mr. McCullough was going to milk it for all it's worth.

Let's just leave it with that.

More On Chuck McCullough

You remember Chuck McCullough, right?

One time member of the Allegheny County Council and beneficiary of God's electoral largess who was arrested and charged with financial mismanagement?

There's more of the story in today's P-G.

I am not sure exactly what charges McCullough is facing (I'm not a lawyer - though when I was a lad, I served a term washing windows at an attorney's firm - but that didn't work out. Go figure.) but I think we might be able to add a few to the list.

I'll let Malloy of the P-G explain:

Italo V. Mackin, president and CEO of Mackin Engineering, testified that when Ms. McCullough handled the finances and accounting for the company, she wrote more than $1 million worth of checks to herself, primarily to pay bills for her American Express card that were as high as $94,000 for a month. Mr. Mackin said he did not authorize the payments.

Mr. Mackin said he fired Ms. McCullough on a Friday in July 2006 once he learned she had been making unauthorized payments to herself. The following Monday, he said, Charles McCullough and an attorney were in his office. They met privately with Mackin vice president Jerome Schwertz.

After the private meeting, Mr. Mackin said, Mr. McCullough told him that Mr. Schwertz was having an affair with Ms. McCullough and he had authorized the payments. "She will not be paying the money back," Mr. McCullough said, according to Mr. Mackin.

Then the parties drew up a confidentiality agreement that neither side would press criminal charges or sue. Mr. Mackin said he did so to protect his family and prevent the affair from becoming public. Mr. Schwertz is married to Mr. Mackin's daughter.

I wonder if McCullough ever had one of those WWJD wrist bands. And if he did I wonder if he ever was able to conclude from the Beatitudes that Jesus thought it OK to draw up a confidentiality agreement to cover the sins of adultery and theft.

I mean, McCullough did say that God had a hand in his election. Does he also think that God had a hand in his extortion?

Another Independent Bid for Mayor: Kevin Acklin

Kevin Acklin has been mentioned (see here and here) as a possible Republican challenger to Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl. Yesterday, he announced that he will run as an Independent:

Today I filed with the Allegheny County Elections Division to register as an Independent. Over the next two months, I’ll be meeting with residents and activists, with public servants and private citizens, with elected officials and community leaders of all parties and political persuasions, to hear more about what they want for Pittsburgh, and to test the waters for an independent mayoral run.

Many people have approached me and encouraged me to seek the Republican nomination for mayor of the city of Pittsburgh. My name has often been mentioned in the press as a potential, even likely, candidate for that nomination. While I appreciate both the support and the encouragement, I’ve decided, after careful thought and deliberation, that I cannot in good conscience follow that path.

I’ve spent countless hours working and volunteering all across Pittsburgh, helping to revitalize the city one project and one neighborhood at a time.. As I've been working in the neighborhoods, many people have approached me to talk about the new kind of leadership they want for Pittsburgh, and they’ve urged me to help bring that change. They’ve told me to listen to my heart, to follow the courage of my convictions, and to consider running for mayor as an Independent. I’ve been listening to them, and I’m going to continue to do so.

I’ve set this timeline and established this process because I want to be sure that whatever I do is in the best interests of the people and the city of Pittsburgh. If I decide to enter the mayor’s race, I want to be the kind of candidate who’s both inspired and empowered by his fellow citizens.. And I pledge to run the kind of campaign that makes it possible to run the best kind of government: one that unites, and that truly speaks for, everyone in the city.

You may remember Acklin as the guy who ran (and lost) against Chuck McCullough for an at-large seat on Allegheny County Council.

While Acklin, an attorney, doesn't appear to have been your typical R (he provides volunteer pro bono legal services for green technology companies, community groups, and victims of domestic violence; he's the founder and Executive Director of RenewPittsburgh which, among other things, helped in the restoration of playwright August Wilson's boyhood home in the Hill District; he attended the January rally for equal rights for the LGBT community) make no mistake, his heart belongs to (the) daddy (party).

If it was up to Acklin, Mittens would be Prez, Missy Hart would be back in the House, and he ♥s Tim Murphy. Ick!

Of course, he'd still be better than Lil Mayor Luke but that's damning him (and anybody else) with faint praise.
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The week that was (and the circle of life)

Tis the season -- gearing up for May primaries -- when there's oodles and oodles of local political news.

First, we have City Councilor Patrick Dowd officially announcing his Democratic primary run for Mayor of Pittsburgh on Thursday.

Also on Thursday, newly minted now-fellow City Councilor Theresa Smith Kail-Smith Smith got sworn into office. As Bram noted Smith, "thanks God once; thanks Pete Wagner three times." As I will note, her statement that:

"Throughout the last several months, so many people offered insight about who controlled the votes in District 2 and what I should do to capture the votes," she said in her speech. "In my heart, I believe there is only one person who truly controls the votes, and I thank God for guiding me here."

does makes me wonder if she is saying that God is in the touch screens (like the devil is the details) or if she just called her deity a person (which would make them not a deity by definition).

Her statement did remind me of yet another person in the news this week: Charles P. McCullough. Also a councilor -- county, not city -- McCullough got himself arrested as the result of a criminal investigation that started back before another primary...two years ago. When Chucky won that primary he stated:

"Obviously, it was by the hand of God and also by the voters of the county (that I won)."

Which makes one wonder if God is so invested in the politics of this city how come there isn't more smiting taking place?

And, since we're on a metaphysical bent here, we cannot not mention another election this week (Hey, the judges do vote!). Teh bloogers' favorite Top Chef real-life Muppet, Carla, made it to the final three. I like Carla and hope she wins the whole enchilada (or maybe that should be the whole amuse-bouche) even though she sometimes consults her "spirit guides" on what to cook.

Better a chef with culinary-inclined spirit guides than a councilor with a deity with a thumb on the scale, I always say.

And, Carla brings us back full circle to Patrick Dowd.

How, you may ask?

Well, Top Chef is all about the gourmet cooking and it's on the Bravo channel which used to be très artsy. And, here in the Burgh our Democratic primary elections often have the same dynamic as the R vs. D presidential elections. Namely, a self-proclaimed Real American^TM candidate vs. a smarty-pants elitist who can't understand real Americans. Locally, of course, this plays out as the self-proclaimed Real Pittsburgher^TM vs. the smarty-pants elitist who can't understand real Pittsburghers.

Think Luke vs. Bill; think getting trashed at a Steelers game and handcuffed vs. being a member of the cupcake class; think anyone Matt H endorses (Real Pittsburgher^TM) vs. anyone who runs against his endorsed candidate (smarty-pants elitist).

Lil Mayor Luke Ravenstahl is of course a self-proclaimed Real Pittsburgher^TM. Dowd undoubtedly is the kind of guy who might actually watch the Bravo channel -- he taught at a private school for chrissakes -- while Ravenstahl is the kind of guy who changes his name to Steelerstahl and whose TIVO is undoubtedly entirely filled up with sports events.

The one thing that might give Lukey pause is that Dowd beat this dynamic before.

Dowd was the smarty-pants elitist who beat self-proclaimed Real Pittsburgher^TM Len Bodack (a man so "real" that his own supporters called foul on having any debates because they said he wouldn't be up to the task).

Dowd can and is running on "change" (though unfortunately also pocket change) at a time when we're all scared shitless of the status quo. And, I have to agree with Chris Potter that the "Nobody's Boy" bit is a good one (while also having the same reservations about Dowd's style that Potter expresses).

So there you have the Pittsburgh Circle of Political Life, or maybe it's Six Degrees of Matt H Chad Hermann Mark Rauterkus Carla!
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More On Chuck McCullough

There's more details from the P-G. In case you didn't know:

The Allegheny County councilman accused nearly two years ago of improperly making $40,000 in political contributions from an elderly widow's trust fund has been charged with 23 criminal counts, including theft, misapplication of property, criminal conspiracy and making false reports.

Charles P. McCullough, who was elected in 2007 after some of the allegations had come to light, was arrested yesterday and released on $20,000 straight bond.

And a word from his attorney:

"He feels very strongly that he is innocent of the charges, and we will fight them vigorously," [Mr. McCullough's attorney, Clifford] Levine said.

And let's remember that this is still America where an accused is innocent of the charges until proven guilty. But what are the charges?

The investigation involves Mr. McCullough's handling of the trust account of Mrs. Jordan, a 91-year-old widow in Upper St. Clair. The investigation began in April 2007, following the publication of a story in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette revealing that Mrs. Jordan had been the single largest donor to four local Republican candidates even though she hadn't voted in seven years.

Mrs. Jordan, who resides in nursing home, told the Post-Gazette in an interview that she never approved the $40,000 in donations. She attributed the checks to her attorney, Mr. McCullough, who had power of attorney over her financial affairs and represented her in her trust fund.

And:

Officials say another $10,000 donation -- this one without Mr. McCullough's name on it -- was made to Catholic Charities at the last minute to ensure the organization met its fund-raising goals. Mr. McCullough's wife was the executive director of the charity at the time.

Well that doesn't look good either. You might ask yourself how did these two (McCullough and Jordan) meet?

Court papers accuse Mr. McCullough -- who met Mrs. Jordan in his capacity as solicitor for Upper St. Clair during a dispute with her over installing sidewalks in front of her home -- of inappropriately using a power of attorney dated Feb. 15, 2006. [Emphasis added]

Whah? Is that even ethical? How much time elapsed between the meeting and his becoming her Power of Attorney? Isn't that a conflict of interest of some sort?

Then there's this part. Considering that McCullough was the solicitor for Upper St. Clair, what can be made of this?

Five days after the article ran in the Post-Gazette, Mr. McCullough went to the Upper St. Clair police and filed a complaint against reporter Dennis Roddy, who wrote the initial story.

Upper St. Clair Police Chief Ronald J. Pardini testified to the grand jury that Mr. McCullough alleged that Mr. Roddy had agitated Mrs. Jordan, forcing her to hide in a bathroom, and requiring her caretaker to run and get help. Mr. McCullough also said that Mr. Roddy failed to identify himself as a reporter or sign in to the nursing home.

However, a police investigation determined those allegations were not true.

So despite all the allegations of financial impropriety, McCullough was looking to sick the cops on Dennis Roddy.

Over at the Trib there's basically the same story though this part is added:

Jordan has a history of giving conflicting directions and opinions, and several lawyers will testify to that at trial, defense attorney Clifford Levine said. Levine denounced the grand jury process and said an Orphans' Court review and audit of the Jordan estate should have concluded the case.

When I first looked at the piece on line this morning, I noticed what had to be the worst picture (ever) of McCullough's attorney, Clifford Levine, who I met a few times during the past presidential election. Then I took a closer look.

That's what it looks like as of 7am this morning. Look's like the Trib's made a boo-boo. I'm sure they'll correct it soon.

CHUCK MCCULLOUGH ARRESTED

From the P-G:

Allegheny County Councilman Charles McCullough was arrested and arraigned today on nearly two dozen counts following an investigation last year of his handling of an elderly widow's trust funds.

A county grand jury today handed up a 52-page presentment that alleges Mr. McCullough, an attorney, and his sister, Kathleen A. McCullough, bilked money from the $14.5 million trust fund of an Upper St. Clair widow, Shirley H. Jordan, 90.

And PXI has the perp walk.

The P-G has the criminal complaint.

More from the P-G:

This afternoon, the attorney representing Mr. McCullough said that he was "surprised and very disappointed," by the criminal charges.

Following the publication of the Post-Gazette stories, said Attorney Clifford Levine, Allegheny County Orphan's Court required Mr. McCullough and Northwest Savings Bank, which oversaw Ms. Jordan's trust, to provide a thorough accounting of expenditures. That was done in May 2007, and in August 2008, the court signed off on it, Mr. Levine said.

"We thought that matter had been put to rest, and we could move past that."

Notice anything interesting? Republican McCullough's attorney is Clifford Levine. This Clifford Levine:

Pittsburgh attorney Clifford Levine, who was chairman of the fundraiser [of June, 2007], said 225 people participated in the event, which raised about $150,000 for Obama's campaign.

"The luncheon was extremely successful," Levine said.

The event helped expand the campaign's Western Pennsylvania steering committee, Levine said. The committee hopes to have Obama return to Pittsburgh in the fall for "a big community rally," he said.

THAT must've been an interesting first meeting!

It should be noted that I interviewed Attorney Levine a number of months ago when I sat in for Lynn Cullen.

UPDATE: Something interesting from page 8 of the Complaint:

18 4906A FALSE REPORTS TO LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTH M2 1 COUNT

The actor knowingly gave false testimony namely ON APRIL 18, 2007 DEFENDANT KNOWINGLY AND FALSELY REPORTED TO UPPER ST. CLAIR POLICE DEPARTMENT THAT DENNIS RODDY HARASSED SHIRLEY H. JORDAN WHEN NO SUCH INCIDENT OF HARASSMENT BY DENNIS RODDY HAD OCCURRED to a law enforcement officer with intent to implicate another in violation of 18 Pa. C. S. § 4906(a) [Caps in original]

So whether the handling of the Ms Jordan's funds is illegal (and let's remember McCullough is innocent until proven guilty) there's the side issue of the false reports to law enforcement.

That can't be good. For Chuck.