Former Pitt director of emergency management charged with selling stolen PPE

PITTSBURGH — The University of Pittsburgh’s former Emergency Management director was indicted Wednesday and charged with stealing and selling the school’s supply of coronavirus personal protective equipment online.

Christopher D. Casamento, 42, of Pittsburgh, was charged with interstate transportation of stolen property.

According to the indictment, between Feb. 28, 2020 and March 22, 2020, Casamento stole more than 13,000 pieces of PPE, including N-95 masks, surgical face masks and particulate respirator masks, and sold them on ebay, netting nearly $19,000.

He faces the possibility of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

“It’s disturbing too and troublesome because he was the director of emergency management at Pitt. This was not a person who was a low-level employee. He had a position of trust at the University of Pittsburgh,” Steve Kaufman, Acting US Attorney, said. “He stole them from Pitt and tried to profit from the pandemic in a time when everyone was suffering.”

FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Michael Christman said Casamento “had an obligation to make sure there was enough PPE to keep students and staff at the University of Pittsburgh safe. Instead, he chose to line his pockets. The allegations set forth today are upsetting. With so much widespread suffering in our communities due to COVID, having this vital equipment taken away from people is unfortunate. I would like to thank the University of Pittsburgh for their full cooperation in this investigation and hope this continues to send a message that COVID fraud will be fully investigated.”

Pitt released a statement Wednesday, saying “In early July, federal and state law enforcement officials notified the University of Pittsburgh of an investigation into misappropriation of the University’s personal protective equipment supplies during February and March of 2020. The University fully cooperated with the FBI investigation, and Pitt’s internal review revealed Chris Casamento, who was then the University’s director of emergency management, misappropriated personal protective equipment from Pitt’s pandemic supplies. Mr. Casamento’s duties included distributing personal protective equipment designated for essential employees. Upon his admission of the misconduct and completion of our review, Casamento’s employment was terminated effective July 17, 2020. He had been with the University since 2007. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Pittsburgh has maintained an adequate stockpile of PPE sufficient to meet the needs of the University community. Fulfilment of requests for Personal Protective Equipment were not impacted as a result of the misappropriation. The University is seeking restitution for the misappropriated supplies from Mr. Casamento.”

Reaction on campus ranged from confusion to disgust.

“Someone who has a position like that shouldn’t take it for granted and shouldn’t take advantage of it,” student Michelle Pilyugin said.

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