PITTSBURGH—Former city police Chief Nathan Harper pleaded guilty Friday to federal charges that he conspired to steal police funds deposited into unauthorized account with the Pittsburgh Police FCU.
Harper, 60, pleaded guilty to diverting about $70,000 from the police department's special events office into a private credit union account and spending $31,986 of that money on personal expenses. He also pleaded guilty to failing to file his income tax returns for four years.
Harper joined the city's police force in 1977 and rose through the ranks before being appointed chief in 2006 by Mayor Luke Ravenstahl. He was forced to resign in March after the probe was made public.
Harper was charged with working with others to send public money to secret accounts at the credit union and tapping the accounts for personal use, including purchases and meals. The indictment lists 14 checks meant for city accounts that went to credit union accounts labeled "Special Events" and "IPF."
The largest check topped $10,000. Harper ordered debit cards from the CU account, issued in the names of eight people, including Mayor Luke Ravenstahl’s bodyguards, according to a federal indictment.
He is the third person to plead guilty to charges coming out of a wide-ranging federal investigation into the city's operations. Harper is scheduled to be sentenced early next year.
