Attorney General Michelle Henry announced the arrest of Joseph Osinski, a former financial officer for the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) in McKeesport. According to the Office of the Attorney General, He is charged with stealing over $1 million from his union lodge. Osinski is accused of misusing funds from FOP Lodge 91 between March 2019 and April 2024. His actions raise both legal and ethical concerns about handling member dues.
According to the Attorney General's announcement, an anonymous letter received in January 2024 led to scrutiny of the lodge's financial status. Subsequently, an investigation by the Office of the Attorney General implicated Osinski in transferring checks payable to the lodge into separate accounts over which he solely had control. The lodge's credit card also had expenses for hotel purchases, alcohol, and other items that seemed unrelated to the lodge's needs.
Oskinis's bail has been set at $50,000 unsecured, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for October 9. The former detective's actions have left his colleagues struggling to sustain their lodge and compromised the trust placed in law enforcement officers. "This defendant was not only a trusted member of law enforcement in his community, he was trusted by his peers and colleagues to handle their dues money in support of the FOP mission," Attorney General Michelle Henry stated, according to the press release. "His abuse of that trust left his fellow officers struggling to keep their lodge afloat and damaged the public’s trust in those working to protect them."
Some of the embezzled funds were intended for a memorial for a fallen officer but were instead redirected to accounts controlled by Osinski. The total loss to FOP Lodge 91 is over $1 million, including more than $24,000 charged to the lodge's credit card for personal use. Special Agent Jessica Von Voight is leading the case, which Senior Deputy Attorney General Alex Cashman will prosecute. Osinski denies the charges.
