Sentence for ex-McKeesport officer who stole $1M leaves police union fuming

Joseph Osinski was ordered to serve nine to 18 months in alternative housing, which the union calls a “travesty of justice.”

By PAULA REED WARD
TribLive

A former McKeesport detective and union financial officer will serve at least nine months in alternative housing after admitting to stealing more than $1 million from his police lodge.

Joseph Osinski, 56, was given 30 days to self-report after he was sentenced Monday by Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Jill E. Rangos.

Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 91 President Mike Slawianowski addresses reporters Monday after the union’s former financial secretary was sentenced for stealing more than $1 million from the lodge. Paula Reed Ward / TribLive

The sentence of nine to 18 months was met with disgust by the leadership of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 91.

Matthew Feldmeier, lodge recording secretary, called it a “travesty of justice.”

Over the five years the crimes were committed, Feldmeier said, Osinski made more than 1,100 trips to the bank.

“He had 1,100 times that he could have stopped, and he didn’t,” Feldmeier said. “He was purely, purely doing this for his own benefit. He recommended raising our dues every year, just so it would put more money in his pocket.

“And I think nine to 18, months is despicable.”

Rangos said she considered each type of sentence available — probation, house arrest, alternative housing with work release, the county jail and state prison.

State prison terms, she said, are typically reserved for violent offenders, while probation would seem like a slap in the face to the colleagues from whom Osinski stole.

Rangos settled on alternative housing with work release to allow Osinski to continue working — Rothman said he now delivers newspapers — to pay toward restitution.

That sentence will be followed by three years probation.

Osinski was charged by the state Attorney General’s Office in September after incoming members of the union’s board received an anonymous letter about the alleged theft.

He pleaded guilty in June to four felony counts including theft by deception and receiving stolen property.

According to the investigation, Osinski took over as financial secretary for the 1,260-member union in 2020.

Over five years, investigators said, he stole $1,067,160. Osinski maxed out the union’s credit card and cashed checks from members intended for deposit in the lodge’s accounts to pay for expenses at his business, Puzzler’s Restaurant & Lounge in McKeesport.

Detectives said Osinski also used the money he stole to pay for personal expenses, including for a Harley Davidson motorcycle, hotel stays and a gun.

Deputy Attorney General Alex Cashman asked the court for a state prison sentence to serve two goals — deterrence and retribution.

He noted that it is unlikely Osinski will be able to pay the nearly $1 million in restitution remaining after a $100,000 insurance payment.

“But for Mr. Osinski winning the lottery, this restitution will never be paid,” Cashman said.

Osinski did not speak on his own behalf at the sentencing Monday, nor did he call any witnesses.

Defense attorney Lee Rothman told the court his client has been ostracized in law enforcement circles.

His client, Rothman said, has a son with autism, and the money Osinski stole was to help care for him. Osinski opened the restaurant, Rothman continued, to provide a place for his son and others with disabilities to have a place to work and learn job skills.

“That was his motivation,” Rothman said. “He couldn’t let that fail.”

The restaurant closed last year.

The defense asked for a sentence of probation to allow Osinski to continue to work to pay off restitution. He said he could pay about $200 per month.

Osinski was notified recently that he would lose his pension, though Rothman said he has 60 days to appeal.

Although Rothman acknowledged Osinski breached the public trust, the defense attorney noted his client worked as a police officer for 30 years.

“You can’t ignore his public service,” Rothman said.

But two officers from the police union who spoke on behalf of the prosecution said that breach of public trust is what makes Osinski’s conduct even worse.

The lodge’s president, Mike Slawianowski, told Rangos a lot of his members believed Osinski should go to jail — especially since there’s no real chance for repayment.

“Being a law enforcement officer, he should have known better,” Slawianowski said. “We’re supposed to be held to a higher standard.”

Anthony Diulus, the new treasurer for the lodge, spent 30 years in law enforcement and talked about the oath officers take.

“Never during my entire career did I consider, much less commit, a criminal act,” Diulus said. “I believe the defendant took that same oath.”