Former Ligonier Valley police Chief John Berger is accused of using his position to acquire prescription pills from an alleged dealer and pocket narcotics from the department’s drug take-back box while on duty.
Berger, 53, of Ligonier Borough, and a second defendant, Michael D. Hootman, 42, of Ligonier Township, turned themselves in to authorities Friday and were processed at the state police station in Greensburg. Both were taken to Westmoreland County jail Friday afternoon. Attorneys for the men were not listed in court papers.
Berger and Hootman were charged as a result of an ongoing drug investigation and a presentment before a Westmoreland County grand jury that convened in 2024 to investigate several unsolved murders and serious crimes.
Investigation links Hootman, Berger
According to Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli, evidence and testimony presented before the grand jury detailed a mutual relationship between Hootman and Berger, who was the Ligonier Valley chief from 2019 until May 2023.
Several witnesses testified Hootman was their source for narcotics, including the alleged trafficking of marijuana, cocaine and various pharmaceuticals.
Text messages revealed Berger was receiving prescription pills from Hootman for back pain as early as January 2021 and picked up pills while he was on duty as police chief from Hootman, Ziccarelli said.
A witness testified that on two separate occasions they saw Berger snorting cocaine at a bar in Ligonier Borough, according to court documents. The witness also saw a video in October 2020 of Berger using drugs, court documents say.
‘A sad day for law enforcement’
State police began conducting surveillance of Hootman’s Ligonier Township residence in April 2023, according to court documents. Police observed Berger in his unmarked police cruiser making an exchange with Hootman.
Investigators executing a search warrant on Hootman’s residence and Berger’s police vehicle seized cocaine, marijuana, testosterone and prescription pills from Hootman’s residence.
Inside Berger’s police vehicle, they discovered discarded prescriptions, not belonging to Berger, that are believed to have been taken from the police station’s drug take-back box. The boxes — usually installed at a police station or hospital — are promoted as a location where individuals can safely dispose of unused or expired prescription medications.
State police Trooper Steve Limani said it appears Berger took narcotics from the box and kept them for himself.
“It’s a shame that that happened,” Limani said. “We’re a trusted source to drop those things off.”
Berger was the only person who had a key for the box at the time, according to court documents.
Dan Resenic, a Ligonier Township supervisor and member of the Ligonier Valley Police Commission, said the drug take-back box was positioned just inside the main entrance of the township office building, which also houses the police station.
He said officials removed the box from the building in May 2023, a day after federal and state officials conducted a raid at the police station.
Resenic said a consultant for the commission recommended eliminating the box.
“It was a bad idea to have it,” he said. “It was not in a secure location.”
Hootman, former commander of the Ligonier VFW, nominated Berger for the organization’s “John Radko Award for an Outstanding Police Officer,” according to court documents. Berger was honored with the award in February 2021.
The letter Hootman wrote recommending Berger for the award highlighted the then-police chief’s work with the local drug task force and “credited him with teaching children about the ‘dangers of drugs,’” according to court documents.
Ziccarelli said Berger, in his capacity as police chief, never conducted an investigation into drug trafficking by Hootman or arrested Hootman for the delivery of narcotics.
Limani called Friday a “sad day for law enforcement.”
“There’s no person that’s more disgusted than a good police officer when a bad police officer does something (like this),” he said.
“I’m really saddened and disappointed,” Resenic said of the charges against Berger. “It does not present the Ligonier Valley in a positive light. That’s very concerning to me.”
Resenic, said, however, he was not surprised by the charges.
“Rumors have been around for two and a half years,” he said. “I’m glad that we’re finally starting to see the results of the grand jury investigation.”
Several other people encountered in the Ligonier community Friday declined to comment on the case.
Fairfield resident Terry Henderson, who is a member of the Ligonier VFW, was processing the allegations on Friday.
“I don’t know John very well, but I knew he was a basketball coach for the school, and I knew he came from a good family,” Henderson said. “I just couldn’t believe that happened to him.”
Berger coached the Ligonier Valley High School boys basketball team for two seasons in 2011-13 and returned to lead the team in 2018. He resigned a second time in 2020, citing work demands.
Preliminary hearings set
Berger has been charged with bribery, theft, obstruction of administration of law, criminal use of a communication facility, delivery of a controlled substance, acquisition of a controlled substance by misrepresentation and receipt of a controlled substance.
Hootman is charged with bribery and drug-related offenses related to the trafficking of narcotics.
Berger and Hootman were arraigned Friday before Ligonier Borough District Judge Allison Thiel and were placed in the Westmoreland County Prison after failing to post bail. Bail was set at $100,000 for Berger and at $75,000 for Hootman.
Preliminary hearings for Berger and Hootman are scheduled for Dec. 19 before Thiel.
Berger was fired as chief by the Ligonier Valley Police Commission on May 9, 2023, five days after the raid at the police station.
Commission solicitor Mark Sorice has said the raid focused solely on Berger — including seizure of Berger’s personal phone and police vehicle. Sorice said at the time of Berger’s dismissal as chief that he was “not able to continue in that particular capacity with this cloud hanging over him.”
Sexual assault charges
Berger is awaiting trial on separate charges he sexually assaulted a patient in April 2024 while working at an addiction treatment facility in Donegal Township.
Berger was charged with seven counts including involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, aggravated indecent assault and two charges of institutional sexual assault.
Attorney Dan Joseph, representing Berger in the assault case, said his client maintains his innocence. Joseph contends Berger’s relationship with the patient was consensual.
At a 2024 court proceeding, Common Pleas Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio rejected a defense motion to dismiss two sexual assault counts based on an argument the facility where the alleged assault took place was not a licensed mental health treatment center.
Consent is not a defense for institutional sexual assault counts, prosecutors claim.
