Convicted Greensburg cop is still collecting a pension, raising questions

More than two months after a former Greensburg police officer was sentenced in a federal drug case, she is still collecting a pension, and city officials continue to wait on documents from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Attorney Lee Demosky, solicitor for Greensburg’s police pension committee, said Tuesday he’s requested documents in the case against Regina McAtee, 52, of New Kensington.

Nothing has been received. McAtee did not file an appeal of her probation sentence, which means officials can now get a certified copy of her conviction, he said.

She was sentenced in late May to 36 months of probation on a charge of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

Prosecutors said she conspired with former Greensburg police Chief Shawn Denning, 44, of Delmont between November 2020 and January 2023 to order and pay for pills that contained methamphetamine from suppliers online.

McAtee has received more than $110,000 in monthly pension payments since her mid-2023 retirement.

She was suspended without pay from the Greensburg force for five months in February 2023, the month after Denning’s arrest at City Hall, and retired later that year. She was charged in March 2024.

Since her May sentencing, McAtee received pension payments of $5,161 in June, July and August, according to records obtained by the Trib.

The situation was brought up by Greensburg police Officer William Newmyer during Monday’s police pension committee meeting. Greensburg Solicitor Zachary Kansler said he planned to check in with Demosky and, if he’s ready to proceed with the case, a special committee meeting can be scheduled. The committee meets quarterly.

“I don’t want to wait three more months here to move forward,” Newmyer said.

Denning is serving a 15-month sentence in federal prison followed by two years of supervised release. He pleaded guilty in April 2024 to conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine.

On Monday, he was sentenced in Westmoreland County Court to serve three concurrent one-year probation terms on three misdemeanor counts of tampering with evidence.

An audit of the Greensburg police evidence station after Denning’s arrest on the federal charges showed a backpack containing suspected steroids and psilocybin mushrooms was missing.