Pittsburgh police sergeant resigns amid charges of phantom work while moonlighting at Target

A Pittsburgh police sergeant facing criminal charges related to his moonlighting resigned this week, a day before his first scheduled appearance in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court.

Brian M. Marckisotto, 36, of Peters, is facing trial on charges that he misused a city computer program that schedules police officers for side jobs and was paid for hours he didn’t work.

Pittsburgh police alleged that Marckisotto charged the Target store in East Liberty, where he held a secondary security job, for nearly 70 hours of work when he was actually absent and took in more than $5,700 he didn’t earn.

Marckisotto’s 2022 base salary with the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police was $89,139, according to city records.

Marckisotto resigned Wednesday, police Chief Larry Scirotto said.

Police charged Marckisotto in June with theft by deception and unlawful use of computers. He will be formally arraigned Friday.

Attorney Phil DiLucente, who represents Marckisotto, said he’s hopeful his client can pursue Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition, a pre-trial program that offer alternatives to a trial, conviction and possible incarceration for first-time, non-violent offenders.

DiLucente declined further comment.

A city police officer who handles off-duty scheduling for Target uncovered problems with Marckisotto’s time cards, finding that he charged Target for 65 hours and 29 minutes of work when he was not in the store, according to a criminal complaint. That amounted to $5,715.79 in pay, the complaint said.

The city and its police union set the hourly rates for what they call “secondary employers.”

Pittsburgh billed Target $86.51 per hour in 2023 for Marckisotto’s work, and $89.15 per hour this year, the complaint said.

Investigators gave several examples of how they said Marckisotto cheated the system.

On Nov. 29, for instance, Marckisotto was paid to work from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., an officer told investigators, according to the complaint. Marckisotto left the store at 6:30 p.m., but allowed RollKall to clock him out at 10 p.m. so he was paid for the full shift, the complaint said.

On Dec. 8, Marckisotto was paid to work from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. but a security system captured him leaving Target at 6:45 p.m., the complaint said. Target paid him for seven hours of security.

Marckisotto joined the police bureau on March 17, 2014, police records show.

He worked full-time this year in Zone 6, which covers the West End and some South Hills neighborhoods, including Elliot, Sheraden, Beechview and Banksville.