Ravenstahl's current, former bodyguards appear before federal grand jury

PITTSBURGH — Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's current and former bodyguards and personal secretary have appeared before a grand jury that convened Wednesday to hear testimony in the ongoing federal investigation of Pittsburgh police finances.

Dominick Sciulli, one of Ravenstahl's current bodyguards, entered the grand jury room at 10:14 a.m. on Wednesday. Ravenstahl's secretary, Melissa Demme, testified for about 20 minutes but declined to comment as she left the room.

Demme handles Ravenstahl's daily schedule and coordinates his out of town travel arrangements through a city-issued credit card.

Sciulli, 41, used a debit card for hotel stays and gas purchases during trips with the mayor. The account statement shows 15 charges between Jan. 22, 2009, and Nov. 11, 2011, totaling $1,812.

An account was funded by money that employers paid the city to hire off-duty police officers. The money was supposed to cover the costs of that employment, such as settlements in lawsuits, replacing damaged uniforms, etc.

Sciulli left the grand jury room at 10:54 a.m., but declined comment. His lawyer, who declined to give his name, also declined comment.

Sgt. Matthew Gauntner, a former bodyguard for Ravenstahl, entered the grand jury room at 9:15 a.m. His lawyer, Martin Dietz and assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert Cessar and Lee Karl were already inside the room.

Gauntner left the grand jury room about an hour later, but declined comment. Gauntner had one of the debit cards that are a key part of the investigation into former police Chief Nate Harper's diversion of public money into a secret discretionary spending account at the Greater Pittsburgh Police Federal Credit Union. Several police administrators and the mayor's bodyguards had debit cards tied to the account.

Records show that Gauntner never used his card. Dietz said his client was subpoenaed to testify.

Robert Light, one of the attorneys representing Harper, said Monday that Harper has not been subpoenaed to testify.

Harper, 60, of Stanton Heights, was indicted in March on charges that he illegally diverted more than $70,000 that had been received by the police Special Events Office and spent more than $30,000 of that money for personal expenses, including meals, drinks, gifts and a television.

Ravenstahl asked for and received Harper's resignation on Feb. 20.

This federal grand jury is different from the one that indicted Harper in March. That grand jury, which has since expired, indicted Harper for diversion of public funds and failing to file tax returns for four years.

This article was written by Channel 11’s news exchange partners at TribLIVE.

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