Former County Councilman Found Guilty Of Stealing From Elderly Woman

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Former Allegheny County councilman Chuck McCullough stole money from an elderly wealthy woman for whom the Upper St. Clair lawyer served as power of attorney and co-trustee of her trust fund.

That's what Judge Lester Nauhaus found in a non-jury trial, finding McCullough guilty of 10 counts of taking $10,000 from Shirley Jordan and donating it to Catholic Charities, then run by his wife.

He was also found guilty of stealing and giving $40,000 to Republican candidates Cheryl Allen, Sue Crawford, Vince Gastgeb, and Jan Rea.

McCullough was found not guilty of 14 other charges.

McCullough had no comments after the verdict, but eight years ago told KDKA political editor Jon Delano he was innocent.

McCullough: "I can assure the public that there was absolutely no benefit to my campaign. I didn't take any money that I wasn't entitled to or the firm wasn't entitled to."

Delano: "There was never an attempt to use her money for political purposes?"

McCullough: "Not for political purposes that she didn't want it used for, Jon."

McCullough said the contributions were always made with Mrs. Jordan's approval.

In a statement, District Attorney Stephen Zappala said, "I am pleased that this defendant, an attorney retained to protect Mrs. Jordan's financial interests, is being held responsible for what I consider an egregious misuse of trust."

McCullough's attorney Jon Pushinsky said it's been a long ordeal for the McCullough family.

"Now, we're going to move on and focus on the sentencing. That's the next stage. That's where my energy and thoughts are going to be drawn to," said Pushinsky.

Sentencing is set for Nov. 7 and could range from probation to house arrest to up to seven years in jail on each felony count.

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