Man charged as co-conspirator in Allegheny County property deed scheme speaks with Channel 11

PITTSBURGH — William Petruskie will have his preliminary hearing at Pittsburgh Municipal Court in September for charges related to a property deed scheme. Police say Petruskie was a co-conspirator even though he told officers and me that he’s to blame.

“I hurt a lot of people by doing things that I did and you know I am sorry that I did it, but I don’t want to see somebody get in trouble that didn’t have anything to do with it,” William Petruskie said.

William Petruskie says he’s trying to right his wrongs. The Allegheny County District Attorney’s office accused both him and William Schneider in a forged property deed scheme.

“I didn’t realize I was going to get caught like that,” Petruskie said.

Petruskie is charged with 10 counts of theft and criminal conspiracy. William Schneider faces over 130 charges for forgery, theft and criminal conspiracy.

Investigators say Schneider submitted fraudulent deed transfers for 43 separate properties in Allegheny County using counterfeit notary stamps bought on Amazon.

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“I could see how easy it is to take a deed. Very easy, and I think the system should be changed big time. All you gotta do is copy, paste, boom it’s done. It’s just one piece of paper,” Petruskie said.

Petruskie is charged with creating an LLC that’s listed on 10 of the 43 forged property deeds.

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But he voluntarily did an interview with Channel 11, claiming he bears most of the responsibility.

“I bought a stamper off Amazon on his account and everything without his knowledge,” Petruskie said.

According to the criminal complaint, Petruskie initially tried to take the blame - saying it was his idea. The paperwork says when police showed Petruskie the information from their investigation, “he admitted that Schneider was forging deeds for a month before he asked Schneider how he could start doing it with him.”

Petruskie says he was on drugs when he committed the crimes.

Channel 11 reached out to William Schneider today, but he said he had no comment.

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