DA: Ex-court records clerk took 18K in illegal ‘gratuities’
A former county court records clerk in Pittsburgh has been charged with taking more than $18,000 in gratuities from attorneys since 2009 in violation of the state’s Ethics Act.
The Allegheny County district attorney Tuesday charged 55-year-old Scott Bristol with one count of violating the act.
The DA said Bristol traveled to attorney offices in the area to get estate paperwork filled out and sworn in, and received $75 to $100 for each trip.
Although the Register of Wills Office allows attorneys to pay the county a $75 fee for employees to travel and get documents signed and notarized, the court clerks are not allowed to do that on their own and accept gratuities or payments for doing so.
Bristol was awaiting arraignment and doesn’t have an attorney listed in court records.