A Scott funeral home director is the "prominent local businessman" mentioned in a federal indictment as the beneficiary of a case-fixing scheme by top officials in the Allegheny County sheriff's office.

William Slater II, 47, owner of William Slater II Funeral Service on Greentree Road, was arrested by sheriff's deputies on drunken driving and other charges in 1999, according to sources and records at the office of District Judge Eileen Conroy on the South Side.

Court records and testimony indicate that on the days of two preliminary hearings on the charges, sheriff's deputies Ronald Stokes and B.A. Johnson were sent out of town to pick up prisoners and were not available to testify.

After the second hearing, the judge dismissed the case against Mr. Slater.

Federal prosecutors said in August that former Capt. Frank Schiralli, who had been head of the sheriff's transportation division, fixed a drunken driving case by sending deputies to Texas. But no details were revealed.

Mr. Schiralli has since been convicted of lying to a federal grand jury about whether he kept lists of deputies who contributed to fund-raisers for Sheriff Pete DeFazio. Mr. Schiralli will be sentenced today in U.S. District Court.

The drunken driving incident also was mentioned in the federal indictment of Chief Deputy Dennis Skosnik on Nov. 18. Prosecutors accused the chief of "fixing criminal cases, including a driving under the influence case of a prominent local businessman."

The name of the businessman was not made public, but sources and record checks have confirmed his identity and some of the specifics of the case.

Mr. Slater, who operates a number of funeral homes and is active in charitable and business organizations, did not return messages seeking comment. His lawyer at the time of his arrest, James Ecker, said he could not comment because the case involves a federal investigation. U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan also would not comment.

Records show that deputies Stokes and Johnson pulled Mr. Slater over on Nov. 13, 1999. Court papers don't indicate where the arrest occurred, although Judge Conroy's office covered the Oakland area at that time.

Deputy Stokes did not return a message and Deputy Johnson said he could not comment.

According to an affidavit by Deputy Stokes, Mr. Slater was speeding and changing lanes without signaling when the deputies tried to pull him over at 2:20 a.m.

Deputy Stokes said Mr. Slater initially refused orders to stop, at one point yelling an obscenity at the deputies. When Mr. Slater finally did pull over, Deputy Stokes said he was "combative and uncooperative."

The deputies reported that they smelled alcohol and saw an open container of a liquid that smelled like alcohol.

They charged Mr. Slater with drunken driving, speeding, improper signaling, fleeing and eluding, careless driving and driving without a license. They said his blood alcohol level was 0.139. The DUI threshold in Pennsylvania was 0.10 at the time and has since been reduced to 0.08.

A preliminary hearing was set for Nov. 18. A handwritten note on court records indicates the officers were not available, which is not unusual, so Ms. Conroy postponed the hearing until Dec. 16. Another handwritten note indicates the deputies didn't show up on that date, either, so she threw out the charges.

Travel vouchers kept by the county indicate that deputies Stokes and Johnson flew to Houston on the morning of Nov. 18 to pick up a prisoner and returned the next day. Records also show that the two deputies were sent to Philadelphia on Dec. 16 to pick up a prisoner and returned the next day.

Although his perjury trial revealed that Mr. Schiralli had sent the deputies out of town, only Chief Skosnik has been charged with case-fixing. Deputies have testified that Mr. Schiralli was Chief Skosnik's right-hand man, and the two are childhood friends.

It's not clear what connection, if any, Mr. Slater had with Chief Skosnik. Campaign finance records do not indicate that he donated money to Sheriff DeFazio's campaign.

Sources said Mr. Slater himself did not approach Chief Skosnik about the case. Numerous deputies have painted a picture in private and in court testimony of Chief Skosnik as the man to see in the sheriff's office for favors.

Chief Skosnik is under indictment on 12 counts related to abuse of his office, including bribery, mail and wire fraud, case-fixing and coercing sheriff's deputies into contributing to the sheriff's campaign.

Lt. Cmdr. Richard A. Stewart Jr., another high-ranking member of the staff who was indicted on perjury charges along with Mr. Schiralli, is negotiating a plea agreement with prosecutors.

Assistant District Attorney Jennifer DiGiovanni, who handled the Slater DUI case, would not comment about it yesterday and referred questions to District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. Mr. Zappala also said he couldn't comment.