send to a friend | print | comment

Wecht trial could be a political headache for Buchanan

In January 2006, then-U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan charged former Allegheny County Croner Cyril Wecht with 84 counts of fraud and theft, alleging that he used his public office for private gain. The legal saga lasted more than three years, during which Wecht’s lawyers claimed the charges were politically motivated, and much of the prosecution’s evidence was eventually thrown out due to faulty search warrants. The case ended in a mistrial after the jury failed to agree on a verdict, and was finally killed for good when Buchanan dropped the charges last June.

Now, years after it all began, party insiders on both ends of the political spectrum are predicting the Wecht trial may come back to haunt Buchanan as she prepares to launch a Republican run for Congress in the 4th District. And Wecht is more than happy to get involved on incumbent Democrat Jason Altmire’s behalf—if asked.

“The Wecht case is going to stand out like a sore thumb on Buchanan’s resume,” Allegheny County Democratic Party chair Jim Burn told pa2010.com. “When you look at the high-profile prosecutions Buchanan has conducted over the years, one can’t help but ask whether or not they were politically motivated. Even after the Wecht case was dismissed, she held a defiant press conference, refusing to accept the reality that she spent millions of taxpayer dollars with little result.”

And Burn argued that the support for Wecht during that trial was bipartisan. Beaver County GOP chairman Marty Matthews recently acknowledged that the prosecution could prove a political obstacle for Buchanan.

It is unclear what impact any comments made by Wecht would have on the race, but the former coroner has told a number of high-level Democrats that he’s ready speak out against Buchanan if asked to do so.

“I’m not going to intrude on the race if I am not invited,” Wecht said recently, before opting against a run for governor. “But I will say that I would eagerly and enthusiastically answer any question that will let people know what kind of a person Buchanan is.

“I do not consider her to have the moral and ethical background that I would like to see in a member of the U.S. Congress,” he added. “My comments are not based on the fact that she is a conservative Republican. My concern is that she will not make decisions based upon objective, honest reasoning.”

Requests for comment from Buchanan were answered by Republican media consultant John Brabender, who is helping Buchanan get her still-undeclared campaign off the ground. Buchanan was doing her duty to taxpayers in prosecuting Wecht, Brabender said.

“If anyone, Republican or Democrat, wants to attack Buchanan for overzealousness, then so be it,” Brabender said. “Ms. Buchanan thought there was abuse going on, and so she went after the problem. That was her job, and she took it seriously.”

And he downplayed the importance of the trial on the race, saying the contest would be defined by the “more relevant matter of big government versus little government”—a sentiment reflecting GOP hopes of nationalizing local races wherever possible.

“There is a major divide between Buchanan and Altmire in terms of political outlook, and that is going to be the focal point of this race,” Brabender said. “Pennsylvanians are going to have to choose between the Obama and Pelosi styles of government, with more taxes and more spending, and the conservative style with less taxes and less spending.”

Allegheny County GOP chair Jim Roddey also downplayed the trial’s political significance, while acknowledging he had been critical of some of Buchanan’s moves.

“I didn’t agree with continuing the Wecht case after the hung jury, but that is just one case,” Roddey said. “Buchanan handled many other cases, including high profile drug busts, in which she did more than a good job.”

February 8, 2010 at 2:15 pm

--John Manganaro

Tags: Cyril Wecht, Jason Altmire, Mary Beth Buchanan, PA-4

comments

comments [3] | post a comment