A Pittsburgh man faces criminal charges in connection with the theft of a 1,000-pound church bell.
Matthew Pistelli, 54, was arrested Monday night by Pittsburgh police plainclothes detectives in connection with the Feb. 12 theft of the bell from Turner Cemetery in the Squirrel Hill/Greenfield area.
Pistelli faces charges of theft by unlawful taking, criminal mischief, unauthorized use of automobiles, and trespass by motor vehicle. He was taken Monday to Allegheny County Jail, where he posted $10,000 bail. He has a preliminary hearing scheduled for March 20.
At 9:36 p.m. on Feb. 12, Pittsburgh police were dispatched to Turner Cemetery, located in the 3400 block of Beechwood Boulevard, for a report of a church bell stolen from cemetery grounds. The bell was valued at about $2,000.
Upon arrival, police observed “heavy damage” to the cemetery grounds caused by a large vehicle and the bell ripped out of the ground and missing, according to a criminal complaint.
At 5:24 a.m. on Feb. 15, police were dispatched to the 900 block of Parkwood Road, where a man who was on his way to work observed a large bell on the side of the road. The man believed the bell was the same bell that he saw on the television news, the criminal complaint said.
Police confirmed the bell was the stolen one they were seeking.
There was a cut marked on the top of the bell, as well as a 2- to 3-inch cut in the bottom of the bell. Above the cut at the bottom of the bell, police observed what looked to be dents from a hammer. The bell was taken apart and missing the “clapper” from the inside of it, the criminal complaint said.
Pistelli’s vehicle, a Ford Explorer, was identified by using city cameras, police said in the complaint. Further investigation using a Ring doorbell camera revealed that the heavy equipment used to lift the bell was a large forklift which had been parked in the Giant Eagle parking lot on Murray Avenue in Greenfield.
The doorbell camera captured the forklift removing the church bell from the cemetery, and Pistelli returning the forklift to the Giant Eagle parking lot. The Homestead Grays Bridge camera captured Pistelli’s Ford Explorer and an accompanying trailer carrying the church bell, police said in the complaint.
Justin Vellucci is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Justin at jvellucci@triblive.com.