Ex-Pittsburgh building inspector pleads guilty to accepting stove, fridge as bribes
A former City of Pittsburgh building inspector pleaded guilty Wednesday to a federal bribery charge for soliciting over $5,400 in items from a developer.
Walter Eiseman entered the plea in U.S. District Court before Judge Mark Hornak.
Prosecutors said during the hearing that Eiseman, a city building inspector at the time, solicited and accepted appliances for his Dormont home from an unnamed developer from December 2018 to March 2019.
Eiseman asked for and received a stove and refrigerator for his home kitchen worth $1,375 while he was in charge of issuing a temporary occupancy permit for a developer involved in a project to convert a Downtown commercial building into luxury apartments and hotel rooms, said prosecutors.
Prosecutors said that when Eiseman accepted the appliances, he agreed to put the developer’s temporary occupancy permit at the top of his list.
The development project received federal benefits in excess of $10,000 during the time period that Eiseman solicited and accepted bribes.
Eiseman also solicited $4,072 worth of kitchen cabinets from the developer. The schematics for the cabinets and the layout to Eiseman’s house were found in an email from the developer, said federal prosecutors, but the cabinets were never delivered.
As part of his plea deal, Eiseman agreed to forfeit the appliances.
Pittsburgh officials said in December that Eiseman, 59, is no longer employed with the city.
He is listed as an assistant director of quality control and inspections with the Urban Redevelopment Authority, an agency that acts as an economic development arm for the city of Pittsburgh. Eiseman joined the authority in March 2020.
Eiseman’s lawyer, Stephen Stallings, said Eiseman is still employed but is on administrative leave and his employment status could change with the outcome of the case.
Tanika Harris, a spokeswoman for the Urban Redevelopment Authority, declined comment beyond confirming Eiseman’s work status.
Federal bribery charges come with a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
Judge Hornak released Eiseman on a $10,000 unsecured bond. Eiseman’s sentencing is scheduled for June 6.
Ryan Deto is a TribLive reporter covering politics, Pittsburgh and Allegheny County news. A native of California’s Bay Area, he joined the Trib in 2022 after spending more than six years covering Pittsburgh at the Pittsburgh City Paper, including serving as managing editor. He can be reached at rdeto@triblive.com.
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