Ex-Pittsburgh building inspector gets probation, avoids prison in bribery case

A former Pittsburgh building inspector will not go to prison after pleading guilty in federal court to accepting bribes.

U.S. District Court Judge Mark Hornak on Wednesday sentenced Walter Eiseman, 59, to 18 months of probation and 90 days of home confinement.

Eiseman also must pay a $1,500 fine and forfeit the value of a stove and a refrigerator — totaling $1,375 — he received from a developer for his home kitchen.

“I love the city,” Eiseman said. “I was proud to work for the city. I know I let people down, dishonored myself and hurt the city I love.”

Eiseman told the court he was “deeply sorry.”

Eiseman in February pleaded guilty to a federal bribery charge for soliciting over $5,400 in items from an unnamed developer.

Prosecutors said in a previous hearing that Eiseman, while working as a city building inspector, solicited and accepted the appliances from December 2018 to March 2019 in exchange for fast-tracking a temporary occupancy permit for a developer that was converting a Downtown commercial building into luxury apartments and hotel rooms.

Eiseman accepted the stove and fridge and agreed, in response, to put the developer’s temporary occupancy permit at the top of his list.

He also solicited more than $4,000 worth of kitchen cabinets from the developer, according to prosecutors.

The schematics for cabinets matching the layout of Eiseman’s Dormont home were found in an email from the developer. The cabinets were never delivered.

Larry Dixon, who previously worked with Eiseman as a city building inspector, spoke on behalf of his former colleague and urged leniency.

“He has really done a lot of good things that I know,” Dixon told the judge. “He’s not an evil or contemptuous person.”

Federal bribery charges come with a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

After leaving his post as a city building inspector, Eiseman worked for the city’s Urban Redevelopment Authority.

Eiseman’s attorney, Stephen Stallings, said Eiseman was fired from the authority after pleading guilty in the bribery case and will likely be unable to receive pension benefits from the city and the authority. Eiseman has been struggling to find work elsewhere, Stallings said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Bengel said Eiseman eroded public trust in the city’s permitting processes by accepting the bribe.

He acknowledged that Eiseman did not issue a permit to a development with safety issues or other problems, only expedited a permit in exchange for bribes.

Still, Bengel said, such treatment is unfair to others waiting for permits, and it sows distrust in the system.

“It causes doubt in the public about whether they’re getting a fair shake,” he said.