The jury begins deliberating today in the fraud trial of celebrity autopsy expert witness Cyril Wecht. Wecht is charged in a 41-count federal indictment with using his former Allegheny County coroner’s staff and resources to help him earn millions doing autopsies for hire. The expert witness has become a famous author, TV pundit and public speaker on high-profile cases in which he was involved, including the deaths of Elvis Presley, JonBenet Ramsey and Claus von Bulow. FortMillTimes.com also writes:
Wecht is also accused of cheating some private clients with phony limousine bills and other bogus travel expenses. Finally, he faces the macabre allegation that he traded as many as 16 unclaimed county morgue cadavers for laboratory space at a Pittsburgh university in recent years. Wecht’s attorneys have argued the indictment is a laundry list of administrative peccadilloes, not federal crimes.