'It wasn't my signature,' NAACP treasurer testifies at hearing for retired Pa. AG investigator accused in $175K theft case

For District Judge Henry Moore, it came down to one charge — forgery.

He grew quiet after listening to five hours of testimony in the case against a North Versailles woman accused of stealing money from the Pennsylvania attorney general’s North Huntingdon office and the McKeesport branch of the NAACP.

It was obvious to Moore that prosecutors had presented enough evidence Thursday that Brenda D. Sawyer, 61, likely was involved in the theft. But he said he struggled with deciding if there was enough evidence to hold the forgery charge for trial on accusations that she forged the name of the local NAACP treasurer to open a bank account.

“There are things that keep jumping through my head,” Moore said.

One of them was testimony from Westmoreland County Detective Ray Dupilka that indicated the NAACP bank account, which held grant money designated for reducing community violence, bore Sawyer’s name and address, rather than a post office box the branch uses for its other accounts.

Another was testimony from Mary Jane Kirby, NAACP McKeesport branch treasurer, who said she didn’t have any role in opening the account. Prosecutors allege her name was forged on a document to open the account.

“It wasn’t my signature,” she testified. “It said my name, but the signature wasn’t even close.”

Moore ultimately held the forgery charge, and six others against Sawyer, for trial, though he said he thought the defense has a good argument on that count.

Six witnesses testified during Sawyer’s preliminary hearing Thursday. She was arrested in September on charges of dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, forgery, obstruction, tampering with evidence and three counts of theft. She is accused of stealing $121,000 from the attorney general’s North Huntingdon office, where she was regional director of the Bureau of Narcotics Investigation and Drug Control until retiring in February.

She also is accused of stealing $52,650 from the McKeesport branch of the NAACP, according to court papers.

Financial discrepancies at the North Huntingdon office came to light after Sawyer’s retirement. She is accused of writing checks from two accounts agents use to make undercover and controlled buys of narcotics and depositing them into her personal accounts.

Eight evidence envelopes containing nearly $76,000 from the office’s asset forfeiture evidence storage were missing during an audit, according to court papers.

“She’s using all of these funds as if they are her own,” Assistant District Attorney James Lazar said.

Dupilka testified that both Sawyer’s personal bank accounts and her Rivers Casino players club account showed activity that corresponded with money removed from the attorney general accounts. He said there was an instance on June 1, 2023 when Sawyer made several deposits and withdrawals in various accounts, which prosecutors argued was indicative of money laundering.

There were numerous cash withdrawals at the casino from the bank account designated for the NAACP community violence grant fund, according to court papers. Sawyer used NAACP money at the casino in the past, Kirby testified.

Kirby first learned a few years ago of money being taken out of a general branch account, for which Sawyer had a debit card, at the casino. Sawyer claimed her personal debit card wasn’t working and promised to put the money back into the NAACP account, Kirby said.

“I didn’t think it was a big deal because the money was placed back,” Kirby said, adding that she didn’t like the situation because the branch has to send their bank account statements to the national organization.

When it happened a second time, Sawyer’s debit card access was taken away, Kirby testified.

“I told her that I just didn’t think that was good book keeping,” she said.

Michael Kanuch, who succeeded Sawyer as regional director, testified that he also encountered a situation with his former boss that caused him concern. That was in 2019 when Sawyer claimed she needed money to help with an investigation in McKeesport and took cash out of a safe deposit box at the bank, he said.

Kanuch testified that he didn’t know if the situation was legitimate or not, but he didn’t question her — “She’s the boss” — and privately created documentation of it. A couple months later, he saw that the money had been deposited back into attorney general accounts, but he had no way to verify if the serial numbers of the cash matched up.

“It just didn’t seem right to me and I was a little uncomfortable with it,” Kanuch said.

He and other employees testified about policies at the North Huntingdon office that call for agents to make formal requests of funds for drug buys. Checks were typically written out to the individual agent. But Sawyer had cash in her office and would sometimes give it to agents who requested it, according to testimony. That was not common practice at other regional offices around the state, said special agent Ryan Caputo, who works in the agency’s internal affairs.

Defense attorney Phil DiLucente focused his argument on the forgery count, saying that there was no evidence presented that Sawyer was the person who wrote Kirby’s name to open the account. It is one of two counts Sawyer is charged with that, if convicted, could potentially result in the loss of her state pension.

“That forgery charge … it just wasn’t proven,” DiLucente said in asking for it to be dismissed. “There’s just not a scintilla of evidence.”

Dupilka conceded that he doesn’t have any direct evidence, but Lazar argued that circumstantial evidence indicated Sawyer was behind the forgery.

Information obtained by the Trib under a request through the state’s Right-to-Know Law showed that Sawyer received an initial lump-sum payment of $229,596.50 in member contributions plus interest on April 23. Money was taken out of that to repay the state some of the missing funds. Dupilka testified that about $75,000 has not been repaid.

Sawyer has received a gross monthly payment of $6,098.06 since her retirement, according to information provided by the state employment retirement system. She made an estimated $130,000 as a state employee.

The Public Employee Pension Forfeiture Act requires a Pennsylvania State Employees’ Retirement System member or participant who commits certain crimes related to their public office or employment to give up all pension and retirement benefits. Forfeiture comes into play when the person is convicted of or pleads guilty or no contest to a list of criminal offenses. In Sawyer’s case, that appears to be forgery and tampering with records or physical evidence.