A former agent with the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office is accused of stealing $121,000 from the agency’s North Huntingdon office, according to a criminal complaint filed Thursday by Westmoreland County detectives.
Brenda D. Sawyer, 61, of North Versailles also is accused of stealing $52,650 from the McKeesport branch of the NAACP.
She was arrested Thursday on charges of dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, forgery, obstruction, tampering with evidence and three counts of theft. Sawyer didn’t say anything as she was led out of district court after her arraignment to be taken to Westmoreland County Prison.
District Judge Henry Moore set her bail at $100,000. He cited the seriousness of the felony allegations, the amount of money in question and her position of trust with the Attorney General’s Office.
“I feel that a relatively high bond will guarantee your appearance,” he said.
Sawyer retired in February as regional director of the Bureau of Narcotics Investigation and Drug Control at the North Huntingdon office. She took a position as police chief at McKeesport Area School District.
Authorities said financial discrepancies came to light after her retirement, according to court papers.
“Upon discovering missing funds from the Bureau of Narcotics Investigation Section in our North Huntingdon office, our agency referred the matter to the Westmoreland County District Attorney for investigation,” spokesperson Jennifer Crandall wrote in an email to TribLive.
Westmoreland County Detective Ray Dupilka has been investigating since spring.
In court papers, he accused Sawyer of writing checks from two accounts agents at the North Huntingdon office use to make undercover and controlled buys of narcotics and depositing them into her personal accounts.
There were almost 60 checks issued in that manner between Jan. 1, 2019, and the date of Sawyer’s retirement, police said.
In addition, eight evidence envelopes containing nearly $76,000 from the office’s asset forfeiture evidence storage were missing, according to court papers. An agent told Dupilka requests for funds to conduct undercover buys involving mid- to high-level dealers were rebuffed by Sawyer.
“(The agent) stated that he later learned that, had those requests been approved, the account was at risk of being overdrawn,” according to court papers.
During the investigation, police got access to Sawyer’s personal bank accounts and her Rivers Casino players club account. Both showed activity that corresponded with checks issued to Sawyer from the attorney general accounts, according to court papers.
While investigating those financial discrepancies, authorities discovered an account labeled NAACP Community Violence Fund, of which Sawyer had control.
The organization’s treasurer reported to investigators she was unaware of the account. Police said there were numerous cash withdrawals made from the account, some of which took place at Rivers Casino.
Sawyer told investigators during an interview in May she had lost $26,000 in money she had withdrawn from an attorney general’s account and might have misplaced the evidence envelopes during her retirement, according to court papers.
She estimated her salary with the state at $130,000. Sawyer said she planned to hire a private attorney. A preliminary hearing is set for Sept. 13.
Sawyer previously worked as a police officer in McKeesport and was hired in October as McKeesport Area School District’s police chief, according to school board meeting minutes. Her salary was set at $75,000.
A spokesperson for the district did not respond to an inquiry.
According to a state directory, a handful of agents, lawyers and staff work out of the state attorney general’s regional office in North Huntingdon on Route 30 that oversees cases and investigations in Allegheny, Bedford, Fayette, Greene, Somerset, Washington and Westmoreland counties.
Sawyer also is named as a defendant in a federal lawsuit that claims she and other McKeesport officers illegally searched and held at gunpoint a group of city residents as police sought a man who shot a fellow officer in December 2020.
Recent police arrests in Westmoreland
Sawyer is at least the sixth police officer in Westmoreland County to be arrested in recent years:
• Shawn Denning, 43, of Delmont, Greensburg’s former police chief, is awaiting sentencing in federal court on a charge of conspiracy to distribute drugs.
• His former coworker, Regina McAtee, 51, of New Kensington is awaiting sentencing in a related conspiracy to distribute drugs case.
• Suspended state trooper Nicholas Hood, 32, of Derry Township is awaiting action in a domestic case in Westmoreland County Court.
• Former Ligonier Valley police Chief John Berger, 52, of Ligonier Borough is awaiting action in a sexual assault case in Westmoreland County Court.
• Former Greensburg officer Kenneth J. Burke, 37, was sentenced to one year of probation last year in a domestic case.
Renatta Signorini is a TribLive reporter covering breaking news, crime, courts and Jeannette. She has been working at the Trib since 2005. She can be reached at rsignorini@triblive.com.
