Ex-Greensburg police chief Denning pleads guilty to drug conspiracy

Shawn Denning, the former police chief in Greensburg, pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to conspiracy to distribute drugs, marking the latest development in a public corruption scandal that shook the community and destroyed the former Marine’s law enforcement career.

Denning, 43, of Delmont waived an indictment in the case. He was arrested by federal investigators in January 2023 at Greensburg City Hall and resigned afterward.

“Instead of catching drug dealers, Shawn Denning chose to be one by participating in a cross-country methamphetamine and cocaine conspiracy,” U.S. Attorney Eric Olshan said in a statement.

Appearing in a courtroom in the federal courthouse in Downtown Pittsburgh, Denning pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine.

Authorities charged him in March with six counts, five of which related to aiding and abetting drug distribution. The government dropped those counts as part of the plea deal.

Wearing a blue suit and striped tie, Denning listened to a federal prosecutor detail the case against him, which involved the former chief connecting a confidential government informant with out-of-state drug suppliers and discussing transactions through social media apps.

Denning then answered U.S. District Judge Cathy Bissoon’s questions about his plea before she set a sentencing date of Aug. 13.

Until then, Denning is out on bond. Prosecutors did not object.

Denning could face at least 5 years in prison and up to 40 years behind bars along with a $5 million fine, prosecutors said.

Speaking with reporters in the hallway outside the courtroom after the plea, Steven Townsend, Denning’s attorney, said it was “glaring” that prosecutors made no mention of his client profiting off any drug transaction.

Denning is accused of communicating with a government informant starting in July 2021 and connecting that person with drug dealers in California to buy cocaine and methamphetamine, according to the original complaint filed in January 2023 in federal court in Pittsburgh by the Drug Enforcement Administration. That would continue for 15 months, according to court papers.

The complaint included conversations between Denning and the informant on smartphone apps where Denning is accused of providing contact information for the out-of-state suppliers and a “menu” of their available drugs, as well as how to transmit money to them electronically.

Denning vouched for the suppliers, and the DEA provided the informant with money to place orders, according to the complaint. The mailed packages that were confiscated contained drugs, authorities said.

“Denning boasted to a DEA confidential source that he could connect the source with ‘heavy hitters’ across the country who would deliver drugs through the mail, later sending the source drug menus and prices, vouching for the source to the narcotics suppliers, communicating with the suppliers, and otherwise facilitating narcotics transactions,” Olshan said.

Late in the investigation, undercover agents recorded Denning talking about the drug conspiracy with the confidential source, prosecutors said.

Denning joined the Greensburg police force in 2008 after serving in the New York Police Department and in Manor. He was appointed captain in September 2020, his third promotion in four years.

While a captain, prosecutors said, Denning was conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine to people in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Oklahoma and Texas.

In January 2022, Denning took over as interim chief and officially was tapped to lead the department two months later, all the while engaging in the drug conspiracy, according to prosecutors.

Denning is awaiting court action in a case filed by Westmoreland County detectives in connection with a backpack containing suspected steroids and psilocybin mushrooms that was missing from the Greensburg police evidence room. A pretrial conference is set for June 28.

As part of his plea, Denning also admitted to conspiring with one of his former subordinates, Regina McAtee, who was a Greensburg police officer.

Denning used her to buy drugs from suppliers, prosecutors said. McAtee, who was suspended in 2022 and retired last year, was charged in March by federal prosecutors with conspiring to sell methamphetamine.

She is scheduled to plead guilty May 1, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.