Dir. Of Charity For Ill Children Pleads Guilty To Federal Fraud Charges

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Former Freedom Area High School coach Steven Wetzel arrived at the Federal Courthouse in Pittsburgh with his attorney Friday and pleaded guilty to mail fraud and tax evasion after setting up a charity called the Heroes Fund.

Federal investigators say they can trace $91,000 worth of Heroes Fund money they say Wetzel used for paying his own utility bills, home remodeling, Pirates tickets and even flower deliveries.

Wetzel, as Freedom High's baseball coach in Beaver County, was in the public eye when he helped established a legitimate foundation called the John Challis Courage for Life Foundation when student John Challis was dying of cancer in 2008.

But while the Challis Foundation was and is legitimate, Wetzel eventually left that foundation to form his own charity called the Heroes Program, which federal investigators says was not operated in a legitimate way financially.

He accepted responsibility for the theft from the Heroes Fund.

"I sat with him in the courtroom today," said defense attorney Steve Toprani. "He was moved by the gravity of the circumstance, the weight of the charges and I'm pleased that he accepted responsibility and is willing to move forward."

Accepting that responsibility in federal court could mean lengthy prison time.

"The government's recommendation as stated in court today is approximately 27 months," his defense attorney said. "We're hoping that he'll get a better outcome than this given his cooperation and his level of remorse. We'll speak to those issues at sentencing."

Wetzel will find out his sentence in January.

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