In Jail? Why Not Hire a Hitman?

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A man in jail on charges of threatening to blow up the county courthouse was accused of trying to hire a hit man to kill four people and beat up his brother, authorities said.

William D. Mayercheck actually contacted an undercover police officer, not a hit man, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Mayercheck, 63, of New Stanton, was arraigned on five counts of criminal solicitation and related charges.

According to court documents, an informant in the Westmoreland County Prison told county Detective Terry Kuhns in December that Mayercheck intended to hire a hit man to kill several people who were causing him legal problems.

Kuhns provided a telephone number to the informant and, the next day, Mayercheck phoned the officer from a pay phone inside the prison, according to court documents. Authorities allege that Mayercheck, who nicknamed himself "Bloodhound," gave the purported assassin a list of five people.

Prosecutors said he wanted the man to kill his ex-wife, his brother's girlfriend, his court-appointed psychiatrist, and another man whom Mayercheck accused of stealing his car and motorcycle. Mayercheck also wanted his brother's arms broken, prosecutors said.

Mayercheck's family said he isn't a criminal.

"He was just depressed and despondent over his divorce," said Dr. Joseph Mayercheck, who was allegedly targeted by his brother. "He needed some treatment. After he got that treatment, he was fine."

Mayercheck was jailed in October on terroristic threat charges, accused of threatening to blow up the courthouse with a pipe bomb. Prosecutors said he sent another man to buy dynamite to build bombs that would be placed at the courthouse and at the Greensburg law office of his ex-wife's attorney.

A judge in December committed Mayercheck to a state hospital for mental treatment for 60 days.

A preliminary hearing on the latest charges is scheduled for April 13. Mayercheck remains in the county prison.