Ex-detective pleads guilty to $1M theft

Joseph Osinski admitted taking the money from the police union in McKeesport.

By PAULA REED WARD
TribLive

A former McKeesport detective and police union finance officer pleaded guilty Tuesday to stealing more than $1 million from his fellow officers.

Joseph Osinski, 56, will be sentenced Sept. 18 on four felony counts — including theft by deception and receiving stolen property — by Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Jill E. Rangos.

The standard guideline range for each count is nine to 16 months incarceration.

At the hearing’s conclusion, defense attorney Lee Rothman asked that his client be permitted to remain free on bond pending sentencing, telling the court that Osinski has consistently followed his bond conditions, is not a flight risk and that going to jail could be a potential threat because he was a longtime police officer.

Those comments sparked Rangos’ ire.

“He really should have thought of that when he was thinking of this grand scheme to steal $1 million from his fellow officers,” she said.

Still, Rangos allowed the defendant to remain free.

Osinski, who used a cane and had to lean on counsel table as he answered the court’s questions, was arrested in September following an investigation by the state Attorney General’s office.

Incoming members of the union’s board received an anonymous letter about the alleged theft, and they then made a complaint to the AG’s office.

The investigation showed that Osinski maxed out the union’s credit card and took checks from union members to be deposited in the lodge’s accounts and cashed them to pay for expenses at his business, Puzzler’s Restaurant & Lounge in McKeesport, which closed last year. The funds also were used to pay for personal expenses, including utility bills and to Harley-Davidson financing.

“The FOP lodge was not aware of any of those transactions,” said Deputy Attorney General Alex Cashman.

Osinski also set up a memorial fund for McKeesport Officer Sean Sluganski, who was killed in February 2023, and then took $890 that was donated to it by FOP Butler Lodge 32.

When interviewed by investigators, Osinski admitted to his crimes.

Osinski, who took over as financial secretary for the 1,260-member union in 2020, was charged with seven counts. The total amount of missing money is $1,067,160.

Osinski retired from the McKeesport police department the day before his arrest.

FOP President Michael Slawianowski, who attended Tuesday’s hearing, said Osinski’s theft hurt the union, causing them to lose members.

“On a better note, we are back on our feet,” he said. “We’re running well. We’re hopefully getting our reputation back.”

Slawianowski said Osinski increased dues fees multiple times during his tenure, saying the union was broke.

“He would tell us, ‘We have more retired members than active members,’” Slawianowski said. “There was always an excuse why we didn’t have the money.”

Stealing from fellow officers, he said, is inexcusable.

“He needs to atone for what he did, and being a police officer, he should know better,” Slawianowski said. “We are held to a higher standard in our positions.”