Greensburg pension commission returns $62K to ex-chief, hears appeal on benefits suspension

Greensburg will return nearly $62,000 in pension contributions made by its former police chief while the city’s police pension commission weighs an appeal by a retired officer whose benefits have been suspended.

Both former cops — Regina McAtee, 52, of New Kensington and Shawn Denning, 44, of Delmont — are serving federal sentences in connection with a drug distribution conspiracy case that shocked the Greensburg community and upended their law enforcement careers.

Members of the commission voted Tuesday to return the contributions Shawn Denning made to his pension. City solicitor Zachary Kansler said the amount does not include interest.

The commission in September suspended benefits paid to Denning, the former chief, and McAtee, who worked as an officer. Both were sentenced separately this year.

Denning did not appeal the suspension. McAtee did.

On Tuesday, the commission, comprising 14 members, heard legal arguments from her attorney and a list of stipulations made between the city and McAtee. Hearing officer attorney Lee Demosky gave lawyers representing Greensburg and McAtee 30 days to submit legal briefs.

He will make a recommendation to the commission and the matter will be voted on at a public meeting.

Federal prosecutors said Denning and Mc­Atee ordered and paid for pills that contained methamphetamine from suppliers online between November 2020 and January 2023. Investigators said text messages showed the pair were working together.

Denning, a military veteran, is serving a 15-month sentence in federal prison followed by two years of supervised release after pleading guilty in April 2024 to conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine. He joined the department in 2008.

After being with the city force for more than 19 years, McAtee was suspended without pay for five months following Denning’s 2023 arrest and retired later that year. She was charged in March 2024 and pleaded guilty two months later to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

She was sentenced to 36 months of probation.

Since her retirement, McAtee has received more than $110,000 in pension payments. The last payment she received was $5,161 on Aug. 25, according to documents obtained by TribLive under a request through the Right-to-Know Law.

She did not testify during Tuesday’s hearing.

Attorney Lawrence Kerr called into question the state statute that governs pensions and requires automatic forfeitures. He argued that a police officer collecting a pension would be covered by contract law, which he said does not carry the same automatic penalties upon being convicted of wrongdoing.

“A contract is not supposed to penalize somebody. It’s supposed to be compensation, and losing your entire pension isn’t compensation to anybody,” Kerr said. “As a result of my client’s actions, nobody lost any money. I’m not defending what she pled guilty to. … I’m just saying the way (the pension statute) works, it doesn’t matter, everything’s automatic.”

Greensburg officials had to wait until the criminal cases against Denning and McAtee were finished to be able to address their pensions. Denning was not eligible to receive his pension.

In addition to the federal case, he was sentenced this year to three concurrent one-year probation terms in Westmoreland County court in connection with a backpack containing suspected steroids and psilocybin mushrooms that was missing from the city police evidence room. An audit of evidence was conducted after his arrest.