Feb 19, 2005 2 min read

IMPERIAL, Pa. (AP) – A former police chief convicted of stealing money seized during a raid has now been accused of illegally taking money from a tavern owner and lying under oath. Darryl Briston, the former police chief of the financially troubled Pittsburgh suburb of Rankin, turned himself in to state police Thursday.

Briston, 41, of Penn Hills, was charged with theft by deception, official oppression and perjury.

The perjury charges stem from allegations Briston lied when he testified he paid $5,787 to repair a woman’s vehicle. Testimony showed Briston spent $1,600, officials said.

The theft by deception and official oppression charges stem from accusations that Briston harassed a bar owner until the businessman paid him $1,334, police said.

The bar owner, who paid Briston to moonlight as a security guard, found the chief in his police cruiser when he should have been watching the tavern’s door, police said. When the bar owner tapped on the windshield, Briston accused the businessman of damaging his car, according to police.

The businessman wrote a check to cover the damage Briston had accused him of causing, but Briston never used the money to fix the cruiser, police said.

Briston denied all the allegations when he surrendered at the state police barracks in Findlay Township.

In November, Briston was convicted in federal court of taking about $5,800 seized by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives during a raid.

In January, he was sentenced to three years and one month in prison for his federal conviction, but he had not yet reported to prison.