Ex-Greensburg officer still getting $5K pension payment a month after pleading guilty to drug distribution

Retired Greensburg police Officer Regina McAtee collected another $5,160 pension payment June 1, one month after pleading guilty in federal court to engaging in a methamphetamine distribution operation with the former city police chief.

McAtee, 51, of New Kensington has received about $56,500 in pension payments from the city since Aug. 1, according to information obtained by TribLive under a Right-to-Know request.

McAtee served with the Greensburg police force for more than 19 years. She retired in July 2023 after a five-month, unpaid suspension and was charged in March.

McAtee’s lawyer, Chuck Porter, could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Former police Chief Shawn Denning — who pleaded guilty in federal court April 16 to conspiracy to distribute drugs — is not receiving a pension from the city, according to Right-to-Know information obtained by TribLive.

Denning — who admitted to conspiring with McAtee — could face at least 5 years in prison when he is sentenced Aug. 13, prosecutors said.

The city is determining whether McAtee is still eligible to receive her pension, according to city Solicitor Zachary Kansler.

The Public Employee Pension Forfeiture Act, or Act 140, states that any state employee who commits certain crimes related to their employment is required to forfeit their pension and retirement benefits, according to the State Employees Retirement System.

For the city to revoke McAtee’s pension, it would have to prove that the crimes she pleaded guilty to occurred during or because of her public employment, Kansler said.

Kansler has requested evidence from McAtee’s case from the office of the U.S. attorney to facilitate the investigation.

“They’ve indicated they’re not able to provide anything until at least after sentencing,” Kansler said. “So currently, we don’t have anything that shows that what she did was at work or through her employment.”

McAtee’s sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 22.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Vasquez Schmitt laid out evidence May 1 — the day McAtee pleaded guilty — showing that McAtee conspired with Denning between November 2020 and January 2023 to order and pay for drugs from suppliers online.

McAtee volunteered to have the pills shipped to her home — at first 10 to 20 an order, which progressed to 100 at a time, Vasquez Schmitt said.

Investigators said McAtee made Cash App payments to the online suppliers. Text messages between McAtee and Denning showed they were working together, Vasquez Schmitt said.