Former business manager at Upper St. Clair church pleads to federal tax charges

A man already convicted in state court of stealing more than $1 million from the Upper St. Clair church where he previously worked pleaded guilty in federal court on Wednesday to tax charges.

David Reiter, 51, will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Donetta Ambrose on April 12.

He pleaded guilty on Wednesday to all 16 counts against him, including willful failure to collect or pay over tax and filing false income tax returns.

Reiter, formerly of South Park, admitted he failed to pay more than $800,000 in employee payroll taxes between 2016 and 2018. In addition, he failed to properly report his own personal income.

Reiter was the business administrator for Westminster Presbyterian Church. His responsibilities included payroll, bookkeeping and record-keeping.

However, in 2018, when the church’s board of directors checked on an audit, they discovered that Reiter was pretending to be the auditor, prosecutors said.

The board’s investigation revealed that money was missing from the church’s bank account and their early childhood education programs. They also found charges had been made on the church credit card.

The federal indictment alleged that the thefts began in 2011.

Reiter previously pleaded guilty in October 2019 in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court to receiving stolen property, theft, forgery, access device fraud, tampering with records and unlawful use of a computer.

Judge Jeffrey A. Manning initially sentenced Reiter to 10 to 20 years in prison but reduced the sentence later to five to 10 years. Reiter must also pay more than $1.2 million in restitution.

Investigators said that Reiter spent the money he stole on personal expenses, like trips to Disney World and Cedar Point.

Reiter’s wife, Connie Jo Reiter, pleaded no contest to state charges of conspiracy and receiving stolen property. She was ordered to serve three years probation, including one year on house arrest.