Allegheny County employees charged with public record tampering

ALLEGHENY COUNTY, Pa. — Two Allegheny County plumbing inspectors are facing felony charges for allegedly falsifying public records.

Michael Kevin O’Toole, 57, of Pittsburgh and Timothy Chelosky, 53, of McKeesport were charged Thursday with tampering with public records or information.

According to police, an investigation into plumbing inspections was launched after the Allegheny County Health Department received information about wrongdoing in late June.

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Allegheny County detectives reviewed records and automated processes associated with the inspections. They also conducted physical surveillance of county plumbing inspectors and the sites where inspections were to happen.

O’Toole and Chelosky were taken to the Allegheny County Jail to await arraignment.

The investigation into the plumbing program is ongoing. Anyone with additional information is asked to call the Allegheny County Police Tipline at 1-833-ALL-TIPS or through the department’s social media channels. Callers can remain anonymous.

The PWSA sent Channel 11 the following statement about plumbing inspectors accused of not doing their job:

PWSA takes extensive measures to inspect and document all contracted construction work. All PWSA projects include a construction inspection firm to oversee, photograph, and report construction work from beginning to end, independent of the County inspection. The PWSA project team reviews and maintains documentation of all work completed by our contractors – we are confident that the work completed by our contractors meets our requirements and the appropriate codes.

We will cooperate with all involved parties to provide any needed documentation regarding sites where inspections by the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) may not have been properly completed.

PWSA was made aware of the charges brought against ACHD inspectors on the evening of September 10th and immediately began reviewing construction records where plumbing inspections were completed by the individuals who were charged or by the plumbing company that was implicated. PWSA’s lead service line replacement contractors use plumbing companies to complete private plumbing work when a lead line is replaced on private property. Per the plumbing code, this work is inspected by ACHD.

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