Today on "As the Burg Turns"

A clinical, three-page paper written by Dr. Cyril H. Wecht has sparked a criminal investigation of Allegheny County's coroner. Sounds like a great script in the continuing saga for a city in shambles.
(Opening scene: District attorney is complaining about the coroner)
District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. insists Dr. Cyril H. Wecht may have violated state and federal ethics laws by using his public office for private gain. Dum... De... Dum... Dum....
Wecht recommended homicide charges in the death of an Altoona man who died from positional asphyxiation during a fight with Mount Oliver police in 2002, and then earned $5,000 as a private consultant to write the report for a federal lawsuit by the man's family.
In March 2003, the family of 43-year-old Charles Dixon filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit against Mount Oliver police. That July, after reviewing testimony at an open inquest and a recommendation by hearing examiner William Manifesto, Wecht recommended that Zappala pursue criminal charges in the case, though he did not identify a culprit.
About two months after that, Wecht was asked by the law firm Lewis, Lewis & Reilly to write a report about positional asphyxiation, which the coroner's office ruled as the cause of Dixon's death. That condition can happen when pressure is applied to the back of someone in a prone position.
Over the three pages, Wecht laid out the cause of Dixon's death and then concluded that "information about the dangers of positional asphyxiation has been widely disseminated to law enforcement agencies" throughout the country. The lawsuit was settled for $850,000.
The Dixon case might be the only one in which Wecht has served as an expert after an open inquest was conducted to determine the cause and manner of death and whether someone was criminally liable.
Wecht did serve as an expert witness on a lawsuit brought by the family of motorist Jonny Gammage, who died of positional asphyxia during a confrontation with police after a traffic stop in Overbrook, but Wecht was not the coroner when the incident happened in 1995. Wecht charges a standard $5,000 fee for consulting on cases, whether "malpractice or murder."
Under the county's Ethics Act, adopted in 2001, row officers and others are required to submit annual statements of financial interest that document gifts, corporate interests, owned properties and the names of immediate family members and whether they belong to county boards or directorships, among other things. Wecht did not file any statements for 2002 or 2003. Tune in next time for another excitingly sad episode of "As the Burg Turns".