C M

KYP

GC M

KYP

G

C M

KYP

GC M

KYP

G

Jul 25 2013 11:20:46:319PM Post-Gazette

PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE FridaY, JulY 26, 2013 WWW.POST-GAZETTE.COMB-2

B-2

By Rich LordPittsburgh Post-Gazette

Jared Weinberg was a life-guard earning $6,500 a year in 2009 and 2010, but was renting an apartment and garage that cost $1,795 a month, according to an affidavit filed in federal court.

Those hard-to-reconcile num-bers constituted just one of the red flags noted by IRS criminal investigators as they probed the finances of Damon L. Collins, a friend and frequent financial benefactor to Mr. Weinberg. On Thursday, Mr. Weinberg, 28, of Elkridge, Md., pleaded guilty to money laundering, in a case that prosecutors claimed was tied to one of the region’s biggest cocaine rings.

Mr. Weinberg became a Dis-trict of Columbia police officer in February 2012 and was at roll call at the time of his May arrest. The D.C. police depart-ment would not say whether he was fired or quit.

The affidavit indicated that Mr. Weinberg lived with Mr. Collins in the San Francisco area in early 2009. Then Mr. Weinberg returned to his home in the Columbia, Md., area, and rented the Elkridge apartment while working as a lifeguard at a fitness club.

An IRS investigation found that cash deposits in the approx-imate amount of the rent were regularly made to Mr. Wein-berg’s bank account. The depos-its were made at branches in cities in which Mr. Collins was then residing or traveling.

Email messages between Mr. Weinberg’s parents referred to rent-free accommodations and tension between the young man and a person named Damon, according to the affidavit.

Mr. Collins often used the apartment to conduct cocaine deals, according to assistant

U.S. attorney Ross Lenhardt. Mr. Weinberg sometimes helped count drug money. The former officer admitted to laundering $14,900 — the total paid in apart-ment rent.

Mr. Weinberg agreed with Mr. Lenhardt’s summary of his involvement.

Mr. Lenhardt said Mr. Wein-berg has no prior criminal history and could face 10 to 16 months in prison under federal sentencing guidelines. He was released without bond until sen-tencing, set for Dec. 13 before U.S. District Judge David S. Cer-cone in Pittsburgh.

Mr. Collins has pleaded not guilty to cocaine trafficking charges, and faces a Sept. 30 trial. He is accused of being a supplier to the cocaine ring that investigators said was led by Robert R. Spence of Coraopolis. Mr. Spence, 38, has pleaded not guilty and is not yet scheduled for trial.

Mr. Lenhardt said the ring brought an estimated 2,000 kilo-grams of cocaine into the region over 10 years, describing it as enough “for every current man, woman and child resident of Pennsylvania to have their own $20 rock of crack.”

Rich Lord: rlord@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1542 or Twitter @richelord.

Former cop pleads guilty to money laundering charges

An IRS investigation found that cash deposits in the approximate amount of the rent were regularly made to Mr. Weinberg’s bank account.

testified Thursday that Mr. Siskin should have attempted to account for other types of identification — such as IDs issued by universities and nursing homes — that are also acceptable under the law.

“They might well have other ID that could allow them to vote,” he said. “There are many ways to vote that do not require PennDOT ID.”

Mr. Siskin wrote in his report the challengers asked him to examine only identifi-

cation listed in the PennDOT database.

Mr. Wecker also wrote that there were incidents in which Mr. Siskin counted dead vot-ers as failed matches, a point Mr. Siskin conceded last week in court.

Attorneys for the law’s challengers spent significant time Thursday suggesting Mr. Wecker was wrong to estimate the number of vot-ers without PennDOT ID who may have other acceptable identification by drawing cir-cles of varying radii around

universities, care facilities, military bases and correc-tions centers.

Mr. Wecker reported, for example, that Mr. Siskin had listed as lacking PennDOT identification about 48,000 voters aged 18 to 28 who lived close to a university or col-lege. The challengers of the law argued this was a poor estimate for the number of voters who have an alternate ID in part by showing maps of Pittsburgh and Philadel-phia with circles of a 1-mile radius drawn around the col-leges and universities. The surrounding neighborhoods, they said, are home to many young residents not enrolled in college.

Mr. Wecker said he was not claiming that all those voters had another form of identi-fication, but that Mr. Siskin should have considered that variable.

“They are merely examples illustrating the point I was making,” he said when an attorney for the state ques-tioned him again. “There are people here who need further investigation.”

The trial is scheduled to resume on Tuesday.

Karen Langley: klangley@post-gazette.com or 1-717-787-2141.

Expert rebuts voter ID claimsvoter id, FROM PAGE b-1

By Claire AronsonPittsburgh Post-Gazette

Terry Taylor of Aspinwall trekked through weeds, shrubs and overgrown trees Thursday morning. She wasn’t going on hike, but rather she was going to pay respects to her great-grandparents, who are buried on the hillside.

John and Anna Wach, who immigrated from Vienna, Aus-tria, in the late 1800s, are only two of more than 5,000 people buried at Minersville Cem-etery, a Lutheran graveyard in the Hill District. But, until this week, only a couple of hundred of the tombstones were visible from beneath the foliage. Oth-ers are tilted forward or dam-aged.

Now, the Minersville Cem-etery is being restored after more than a year of discussion. The cemetery has tombstones from Civil War veterans and the Rev. William A. Passavant, who founded Passavant Hospi-tal, which later became UPMC Passavant in McCandless.

“We want to bring it into pristine shape and have it be as beautiful as it should be,” said Cheryl D. Naumann, deaconess at Redeemer Lutheran Church and School in Oakmont. “Death

is not the end. We believe that the resurrection of the dead is the cornerstone of the Chris-tian faith and we want that to be witness to the community at large.”

Right now, ministry board members and other church officials, including Ms. Taylor, are volunteering to shovel the leaves and weeds into trash bins. But, they are hopeful that other people will come out to

volunteer this weekend.“I could not be more

pleased,” Ms. Taylor, the ceme-tery’s functional director, said of the work done so far.

After several problems with past contractors, the cemetery fell into its current condition. But, the Rev. Brian Westgate, president of the Pittsburgh Area Lutheran Ministries, called the restoration much needed.

“By cleaning the place up, we want to emphasize that they will live again and that they are still precious in God’s eyes,” Rev. Westgate said.

Thanks to a $7,300 grant from the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, which owns the cemetery, and $2,400 of local support, the Pittsburgh Area Lutheran Ministries, who has maintained the ceme-tery since 1997, was able to con-tract Bettenissi Landscaping, a father and son team, to making all the tombstones visible once again, Ms. Naumann said.

Once phase one of the resto-ration is complete, Lutheran officials will form a committee on July 30 to create a plan for the ongoing maintenance of the cemetery.

They plan to contact local businesses to donate fencing for the 51⁄2-acre cemetery and cement to repave the roads within the premises and com-plete the paving that was never finished.

For Lutherans, the cemetery is another way to demonstrate their faith, Ms. Taylor said.

“We live our faith,” she said.

Claire Aronson: caronson@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1964 or on Twitter @Claire_Aronson.

Overgrown cemetery on Hill restored

Darrell Sapp / Post-Gazette

Terry Taylor, of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Oakmont, approaches the overgrown marker for her great-grandparents at the Minersville Cemetery at Ossipee Street in the Hill District on Thursday.

By Jessica ContreraPittsburgh Post-Gazette

Allegheny County police have issued an arrest war-rant for a woman who stole and possibly abused the dog of a police clerk in Home-wood — all while imperson-ating a Pittsburgh police officer.

Lisa Patterson, whose age and address are unknown, will be charged with theft, trespass and impersonating a public servant.

The ordeal began on June 24, when Ms. Patterson arrived at the home of Jackie Denson, a clerk at the Pitts-burgh police Zone 5 station. Ms. Denson’s dog, an elderly red chow chow named Blade, was in the back yard.

An affidavit says Ms. Pat-terson attempted to take Blade, saying she worked for Animal Friends and had received a complaint that the dog was kept outside without food or water. Ms. Denson showed Ms. Patter-son the water in Blade’s bowl and denied her entry.

The next day, when Ms. Denson stopped by her Chau-cer Street home at lunch, her dog was gone.

According to the affidavit, Ms. Patterson had taken Blade to the Animal Rescue League. When Blade arrived, he had sustained a severe injury to his tail that caused it to be amputated. Ms. Den-son found him at the shelter and brought him home.

During the next few

weeks, Ms. Patterson made several phone calls to the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society, stating that she was a city police officer.

Ms. Patterson repeat-edly told Humane Society Officer Amber Chapman that she needed to check on Blade. She said she could not perform the check her-self because “her chief does not want any of the officers getting involved in animal issues in that zone,” the affi-davit states.

On June 6, Officer Chap-man went to check on the dog. Ms. Denson explained how Blade had been stolen by Ms. Patterson. The dog looked ill at the time.

According to the affidavit, when Officer Chapman called Ms. Patterson later that day, the woman spontaneously said, “I did not cut that dog’s tail off” and “it was bleeding when I found it.” Still claiming to work for Pittsburgh police, Ms. Patterson declined to admit what zone she worked for, stating it was “top secret.” A male took the phone and said the zone was secret due to “homeland security reasons.”

Three days later, Blade died. His cause of death is not listed in the affidavit.

The situation was taken over by Allegheny County police Officer Christine Luffey, who called Ms. Pat-terson Tuesday. Ms. Patterson refused to provide her address or where she works, but said she would consult with an attorney before she decides to meet with police.

“I’m an animal fanatic vigilante,” she told police.

Jessica Contrera: jcontrera@post-gazette.com.

Woman accusedof impersonating officer, stealing dogPet owned by citypolice clerk diedafter losing tail

By Kevin BegosAssociated Press

With the discovery of shale gas reserves in Brazil and plans to auction drilling rights there, a delegation is visiting Pennsylva-nia to see how its drilling boom has turned the state into one of the leading natural gas produc-ers in the U.S.

The group of Brazilian busi-ness and energy industry profes-sionals hopes to learn from the state’s experience and to explore the possibility of exports to Bra-zil during meetings this week.

Celia Feldpausch, executive director of the Brazil Industries Coalition, said Wednesday the national oil company plans to hold auctions for drilling rights later this year, but shale gas drilling is a new issue for Brazil and “we want to make sure to protect the environment.”

“We’re trying to learn as much as we can,” said Ms. Feld-pausch, whose Washington-based coalition represents Bra-zil’s private sector.

The group is meeting with Pennsylvania regulators and drilling companies and touring a drilling site in Western Penn-sylvania. The visit follows two days of meetings in Washington.

Interest in Pennsylvania’s shale gas operations grew after a trade mission Gov. Tom Corbett made to Brazil last spring, said Ter-rence Murphy of K&L Gates law firm, which has an office in the South American country.

Energy costs in Brazil, with the largest economy in Latin America, are among the highest in the world, its National Confed-eration of Industry says. Brazil-ian energy company executive, Walter Luiz de Oliveira Froes, noted Wednesday that one unit of natural gas that sells for about $4 in the U.S. would go for $18 in his country.

Those high fuel costs could drive businesses away from Bra-zil, said Mr. Froes.

As a source of energy, natural gas emits air and water pollution but far less than coal-fired plants. Also, the gas drilling boom in the U.S. has helped lower whole-sale natural gas costs nationwide and spurred new plans to export natural gas via large ships that can carry a liquefied version of the product.

Ms. Feldpausch said some Brazilian companies are inter-ested in how possible exports of liquefied natural gas from the U.S. might affect Central and South America.

But it’s not clear how success-ful shale gas drilling can be in Brazil. Ms. Feldpausch noted that individual landowners can own mineral rights in the U.S. but not in Brazil, where the gov-ernment owns the rights.

The gas-rich Marcellus and Utica shale formations are thousands of feet below much of Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio and West Virginia.

A regional drilling boom began about five years ago in Pennsylvania. New drilling is also underway in Ohio and West Virginia, while New York has a moratorium on the process of hydraulic fracturing, or frack-ing, because of environmental concerns.

Brazilians seekingPa. shale expertise

Ohio Pick 3: 3-2-4; 3-4-9 Pick 4: 0-7-8-5; 4-8-5-8 Rolling Cash 5: 8-22-23-28-35

West Virginia Daily 3: 6-5-8 Daily 4: 6-4-8-8 Cash 25: 2-12-14-19-21-24

Lot tery resuL tsP e N N s y L V A N I A L o t t e r y

Results over the web? post-gazette.com/lottery/ PA - OH - WV

Wednesday’s Powerball:9-29-40-44-54Powerball: 7

0 1696 1650 1620 4,9661 1710 1650 1656 5,0162 1643 1657 1638 4,9383 1629 1598 1658 4,8854 1656 1692 1624 4,9725 1649 1621 1691 4,9616 1667 1654 1676 4,9977 1671 1659 1657 4,9878 1610 1666 1650 4,9269 1556 1640 1617 4,813

Matches No. of winners Prize5 of 5 numbers: 2 $572,808.504 of 5 numbers: 303 $1683 of 5 numbers: 9,407 $92 of 5 numbers: 104,944 $1

Thursday’s Cash 5 results1-3-7-28-29

Tonight’s CASH 5 is worth an estimated $125,000.

Tonight’s TREASURE HUNT is worth an esti-mated $20,000.

Tonight’s MEGA MILLIONS is worth an esti-mated $19 million.

Monday’s MATCH 6 is worth an estimated $2.7 million.

Tomorrow’s POWERBALL is worth an esti-mated $196 million.

Thursday’s Daily Numbers3-3-0 (day); 9-5-2 (night)Number of winners: 1,221; 2,524

Payout: $183,895; $188,695Last hit straight: 4/12/13; 3/1/12Last hit boxed: 3/6/12; 7/13/13

Thursday’s Big 40-0-2-6 (day); 7-7-8-4 (night)

Number of winners: 253; 237Payout: $59,800; $88,800

Last hit straight: 11/12/09; 8/10/88Last hit boxed: 3/30/12; 5/10/12

Daily Number analysis(Times each number has been picked in the first, second or third positions,

and the total times drawn since the game began March 1, 1977.)

Thursday’s Match 6 results22-25-30-33-42-48

6 of 6 numbers: No jackpot winner

Thursday’s Treasure Hunt results6-15-18-21-27No jackpot winner

The numbers are always

in your favor.

for our full inventory of over 3,500 vehicles

GO TO

Thursday’s Quinto results02901 (day); 86017 (night)

Winner count: 66 (day); 55 (night)

NUMBER FIRST SECOND THIRD TOTAL

Drawings for Thursday, July 25, 2013

North Huntingdon 724-863-9000 Cranberry 724-452-7200

Want a newChevy?

YOU WON’T FIND BIGGER SAVINGS.

KennyRoss.com

NTHONY ARMS

2980 Lebanon Church Road, West Mifflin, PA 15122

412-469-9992 www.AnthonyArms.com

50% OFF RANGE TIME

Expires 8/31/2013One coupon per person per visit. Valid for one hour. *Must be 21.

CHRISTMAS IN JULY SALE

$50 OFF ANY USED IN-STOCK SHOTGUN OR RIFLE

July 26th • 27th • 28th(Friday 10 - 8, Saturday & Sunday 10 - 6)

Up to 75% OFF Select Items Storewide

Home Defense Shotguns On Sale

Ruger & Savage Hunting Rifles

On Sale

For You Reloaders Primers are In

Stock