The Pennsylvania Superior Court this week said it will not allow reargument by former Allegheny County Councilman Charles McCullough who is challenging his criminal conviction for theft and misapplication of funds.
That means that McCullough is now left only with asking the state Supreme Court to take his case. If that panel denies his request, which happens more than 90% of the time, he will likely be forced to serve the 2-1/2 to 5-year prison sentence he received in 2015, but has been on hold pending appeal.
In a one-sentence order filed on Monday, the state Superior Court declined McCullough’s request to have a full panel hear his appeal.
A three-judge panel, on March 25, affirmed McCullough’s conviction.
He was found guilty in a nonjury trial of writing more than $40,000 in checks as political contributions from the accounts of an elderly widow he represented without her permission.
The case has dragged on for more than a decade.
Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge David R. Cashman attempted to order McCullough in June to begin serving his prison term, but the state Superior Court said Judge Cashman did not have the authority at the time to do so.
Because McCullough was released pending bond, the appellate court found, he remains free until the final disposition of his case, including an appeal to the state Supreme Court.
First Published: July 9, 2020, 5:03 p.m.
