Pittsburgh police sergeant facing charges over accusations he falsified time cards

PITTSBURGH — A Pittsburgh Police officer who worked a secondary employment theft prevention detail at a store in East Liberty is accused of stealing time.

Sgt. Brian Marckisotto was charged Tuesday morning with theft by deception and unlawful use of a computer.

Investigators said Marckisotto was working a secondary detail at Target when he allegedly falsified time cards.

“On numerous occasions, Sgt. Marckisotto entered times inconsistent with his actual departure times shown on video and still photographs obtained by Target’s video security system, or as witnessed by other officers working the detail,” a criminal complaint states.

Investigators said they discovered 65 hours and 29 minutes worth of discrepancies over 19 days for a total of $5,715.79.

Investigators said Marckisotto was paid that money but never worked the time.

“Obviously I mean we trust our officers a lot, and hold them to the highest standard and are obviously disappointed when things like this happen,” Pittsburgh Public Safety Director Lee Schmidt said.

According to the criminal complaint, a fellow officer discovered the time card discrepancies after Marckisotto had scheduled himself for shifts, which the officer said he wasn’t allowed to do.

Marckisotto had been on paid administrative leave since the department began its investigation, but now that charges have been filed, that will change.

“It will switch to unpaid because of the charges, and that’s where that is until everything is adjudicated,” Schmidt said.

Marckisotto’s attorney, Phil DiLucente, declined to comment.

Marckisotto was released on his own recognizance, and must now appear for a preliminary hearing.

He is now on unpaid administrative leave, pending the outcome of the case.

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