2 former Allegheny County constables plead guilty to theft, fraud

Two constables pleaded guilty to criminal charges Thursday in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court.

Anthony Cioppa, 49, of Wilkins, was charged in five separate cases, accused of abusing his position as a constable to take money from people involved in the criminal justice system.

In addition, Cioppa and another constable, Steven Wright 47, of Wilkinsburg, also pleaded guilty to filing false billing statements for their services with the county, and racking up tens of thousands of dollars in payments they didn’t deserve.

Both men appeared before Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Thomas E. Flaherty on Thursday.

In Pennsylvania, constables are elected in the municipality in which they reside but have authority to make arrests, by warrant, anywhere in the state.

Cioppa pleaded guilty to five counts of theft, two counts of interference with the custody of children, attempted theft, obstruction, official oppression, conspiracy and deceptive business practices.

As part of a plea agreement, Cioppa will serve 24 months of house arrest, 10 years of probation and pay restitution of $101,000.

In addition, he is required to resign his position as constable and never hold it again.

Steven Wright, 47, of Wilkinsburg pleaded guilty to theft and conspiracy.

Flaherty ordered him to serve five years probation and pay $56,000 in restitution. He also may never serve as a constable again.

According to the five criminal complaints filed against Cioppa, he approached people involved in the court system, and offered to help them in exchange for cash payments.

In one case in June 2018, he charged a Utah woman involved in a child custody dispute hundreds of dollars to try to get her children back for her.

According to investigators, Cioppa demanded $1,310 for his services, but when she balked, he asked her to pay $300 “in good faith.”

In another case, investigators said Cioppa approached a man at a local magistrate’s office in July of that year and offered to help him settle his fines and have his driver’s license restored from PennDOT.

The man’s mother then sent Cioppa money orders totaling $14,050.

None of the money ever went to the man’s fines, and his license was not restored.

In another case, in February 2019, Cioppa offered to help a woman get her boyfriend out of jail if she paid him.

The woman paid Cioppa $5,280, the complaint said, to cover what she thought would be her boyfriend’s court fees and restitution in a Washington County case, and then another $3,500 for a case he had in Allegheny County.

However, investigators said that the courts never received any of that money.

In another case, Cioppa offered to help a woman who was involved in a custody case in exchange for fees of about $5,000. He told the woman he was an investigator for a law firm.

On April 12, 2019, the woman paid Cioppa $2,250, and then another $1,000 the next day, the complaint said.

The woman became suspicious and contacted police for a theft report.

Cioppa was arrested in October 2019.

He and Wright were then charged in March 2020 with submitting 673 false fee vouchers to the county for billing between 2018 and 2019.

The false information included holding times for defendants at their hearings; billed work done at one magistrate’s office while working for another at the same time; billing twice for the same warrant; and submitting paperwork for warrants that had been dismissed months or years earlier.

In total, according to the criminal complaint, Cioppa billed the county for $75,892 of fraudulent charges, and Wright billed $56,132.