Verdict expected in McCullough trial

If a former Allegheny County councilman believed he had permission to spend an elderly widow’s money, he may not have committed theft, a judge said Thursday during the man’s trial.

That judge is expected to render a verdict this morning in the nonjury trial of Charles P. McCullough, 60, of Upper St. Clair.

He is accused of stealing from Shirley H. Jordan, who was worth $14 million and suffered from dementia, when he served as her power of attorney and a cotrustee of her trust fund in 2006 and 2007.

Among funds in dispute were $40,000 in contributions to local Republican candidates and a $10,000 donation made to Catholic Charities.

“If he believes he’s allowed to do that, I don’t think there’s a specific intent to steal,” said Senior Judge Lester G. Nauhaus of the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas.

Cutting checks to candidates wasn’t prohibited by the power of attorney document or the 1996 trust that Mr. McCullough oversaw, defense attorney Jon Pushinsky said during his closing argument Thursday morning. But assistant district attorney John Fitzgerald countered that once Mr. McCullough became involved, her interests became “alarmingly aligned” with his.

And although Mr. Pushinsky said that making a charitable

contribution was in Ms. Jordan’s interest, Mr. Fitzgerald said testimony showed she had never made such a large contribution or any donation to Catholic Charities, which Mr. McCullough’s wife ran at the time.

The trial of Mr. McCullough, who was charged in 2009, began in April and has continued intermittently since then.

Prosecutors rested their case in June, and the defense presented its final witness Thursday.

Mr. McCullough was acquitted of crimes including felony theft and conspiracy in June, and Judge Nauhaus also acquitted Mr. McCullough’s sister, Kathleen McCullough, 52, of theft by unlawful taking and criminal conspiracy, the only charges she faced.

Mr. McCullough’s case languished for years with postponements and questions about jurisdiction.

Ms. Jordan died in 2010.