Crime & Safety

UPDATED: DA's Office Charges Former ALS Association Director With Theft

Hazelwood man is accused of stealing more than $35,000 from payroll account of Western Pennsylvania chapter of the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association.

Investigators with the Allegheny County District Attorney's office today arrested the former executive director of the Western Pennsylvania chapter of the ALS Association on charges that he stole more than $35,000 from the nonprofit organization.

Michael D. Bernarding, 33, of Hazelwood, is charged with eight counts each of theft and misapplication of entrusted property, according to an affidavit filed by the District Attorney's office.  He was to be arraigned today before Magisterial District Judge Robert Dzvonick of Shaler.

The Western Pennsylvania chapter of the ALS Association helps people and families who are living with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, a neurodegenerative ailment. Also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, ALS attacks the brain and spinal cord and has no known cure.  

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Bernarding worked for the Millvale-based Western Pennsylvania chapter for seven years before the discovery of payroll discrepancies prompted its board to fire him April 6, board President Eric Zydel said today.  Organization officials are in the process of hiring a replacement, he said.

"This is a tragedy," Zydel said of Bernarding's firing and arrest. "The patients we serve are already victimized, never mind being victimized by a person who's supposed to be taking care of them.

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"The consolation . . . is that we are having a strong year, offering more services than we ever have. We have five paid staff members, a dedicated board and hundreds of volunteers," Zydel said. "Everyone here understands how devastating an ALS diagnosis is and how important it is to help these people live with the best quality of life available."

According to the affidavit filed by Detective Kevin P. Flanigan, chapter officials contacted police in June to report that Bernarding had made unauthorized withdrawals from the chapter's payroll account and had been fired.

Chapter officials told investigators that Bernarding earlier this year had taken extra paychecks and payments he categorized as "bonuses" that had not been authorized by the chapter's board of directors, the affidavit states. When asked about the payments, Bernarding told chapter officials that "I ran low on cash, so I took $2,500 to cover outstanding checks," according to the affidavit.

When chapter officials reviewed their bank records, they found unauthorized payments dating back to 2007 from the association's general and payroll account, according to the affidavit. The payments totaled $38,477, investigators said.

Other allegations detailed in the affidavit include:

  • Bernarding boosted his salary to $70,000 by giving himself an unauthorized raise or raises. Chapter officials told investigators his salary had been $56,000 before the organization froze salaries in 2009, the affidavit states.
  • Bernarding used chapter credit cards to purchase $2,030 worth of gift cards from Staples and $2,875 in gift cards from Office Depot that he spent for personal trips and use.
  • Bernarding had access to use a membership to the Rivers Club that had been donated to the chapter to hold events and entertain clients at the private club Downtown. Investigators determined that charges had been assigned to the chapter's account at the club on dates when the chapter did not hold events or entertain there. One of those charges, for $1,690, paid for an event for another organization in which Bernarding was a member.
  • Bernarding for a time used $7,050 in chapter funds without authorization to pay for a personal insurance policy through Northwest Mutual.
  • Bernarding in 2006 opened a line of credit in the chapter's name at PNC Bank without authorization, using the chapter's money market fund as collateral. The bank closed the account in 2007 due to over-the-limit fees.  Chapter officials told investigators that funds from the account had been used to buy clothing and other unauthorized items.


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