Long Time Coming

The web page of the Pennsylvania Disciplinary Board reported the suspension of a recently-convicted attorney.

Trib Live News had reported on allegations

When an Allegheny County grand jury recommended charges against former county Councilman and Solicitor Charles McCullough for allegedly taking money from an elderly woman’s estate, the Steelers were Super Bowl champions, Barack Obama had recently become the first black president, and the iPhone 3 was relatively new.

In the five years since, the Steelers have not won a Super Bowl, Obama won a second term and the iPhone 6 is Apple’s latest device. Meanwhile, the case against the Upper St. Clair Republican has been mired in continuances and appeals. Common Pleas Judge Donald E. Machen, who was presiding over the case, retired.

The case has muddled through two defense attorneys, two judges, six continuances, three status hearings, at least 15 motions and two appeals.

For the first time since McCullough’s arrest Feb. 19, 2009, his lawyer believes the case is finally on track. Common Pleas Judge David R. Cashman, administrative judge for the court’s criminal division, assigned the case to Judge Lester G. Nauhaus in November and scheduled a trial for April 13.

The trial will go forward unless something “completely unexpected” happens, said McCullough’s lawyer, Jon Pushinsky.

“He always wanted his opportunity to vindicate himself and put the government’s allegations to the test of evidence,” Pushinsky said. “We remain hopeful that what he is accused of was not a violation of the law.”

Prosecutors say McCullough, 59, abused his power of attorney to take about $200,000 from the $14.7 million estate of Shirley Jordan, an elderly dementia patient who died in 2010 at 93. They say McCullough used the money to enrich his family and political allies.

Pushinsky contends that an Orphans’ Court judge approved his client’s actions regarding Jordan’s estate, and what he did was not illegal. McCullough, county solicitor for a year before serving as a county councilman from 2007 to 2011, faces two dozen counts, including nine counts of felony theft.

Mike Manko, a spokesman for the District Attorney’s Office, declined to comment, as did McCullough.

Authorities say McCullough stole the money from Jordan’s estate in 2006 and 2007 while acting as its co-trustee. The grand jury said he illegally paid himself and his sister, Kathleen McCullough, and donated $50,000 to Republican election campaigns and a charity run by his wife, Patricia A. McCullough, now a Commonwealth Court judge.

Jordan told a district attorney’s detective during interviews in 2007 that Charles McCullough stole her money. “Yes, he handles everything now, and I did not give him permission.”

Kathleen McCullough, 52, of Collier is charged with theft and conspiracy in connection with the case. Her trial is scheduled for April 13 before Nauhaus. Neither she nor her court-appointed lawyer could be reached.

According to the grand jury, Charles McCullough arranged for his sister to get $60 an hour to be a companion for Jordan when Kathleen McCullough was fired from her job at Mackin Engineering amid accusations that she embezzled $1.25 million — a crime for which she was sentenced in August 2010 to two to four years in prison.

According to the grand jury, Charles McCullough’s son was paid to cut grass at Jordan’s home, and Catholic Charities received a check for $10,000 from Jordan’s estate while his wife was the group’s executive director. Patricia McCullough is not charged.

Jordan told investigators that she did not authorize the contribution, according to the criminal complaint.

“Oh, come on. Would I be crazy enough to give out a check for $10,000 to someone that I didn’t know?” Jordan told investigators.

Several County Council members who served with Charles McCullough declined to comment.

Pushinsky said most of the continuances over the years were “part of the process” of a complex case involving more than 10,000 pages of documents. “This is not a routine case,” he said.

Pushinsky was responsible for an April 2012 continuance, and a delay occurred in September 2011 when McCullough fired his lawyer, Patrick Thomassey, over “irreconcilable differences.”

The case was continued again in July because of a death in Pushinsky’s family.

(Mike Frisch)