A used-car dealer who recently worked for former Pittsburgh Penguins forward John Cullen at his Atlanta-area dealership was sentenced yesterday to 15 to 30 months behind bars in a fraud case connected to his former Bridgeville business, E&H Motors.

Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Jill Rangos sentenced Howard F. Sams, 49, of Atlanta but formerly of Bridgeville, for theft by deception and related charges.

He pleaded guilty in August.

State police said Mr. Sams, who was convicted in a federal money-laundering case involving E&H in the 1990s, enticed a former business partner into investing in the dealership by producing fake inventory sheets indicating he had cars on the lot when in fact he'd already sold them.

The partner, William "Mickey" McGuire, said the fraud cost him nearly all of the $600,000 he invested before realizing he was being scammed.

It's not clear where Mr. Sams is working now. He had been commuting home from Atlanta to Bridgeville on weekends after working at John Cullen Dodge during the week, but the dealership declared bankruptcy earlier this year and the phone has been disconnected.

Mr. Sams' public defender, Anthony Borrero, didn't return a call yesterday after the sentencing.

The Sams family is prominent in football circles but has also run afoul of the law over the years. Howard, a Fairmont State College standout, tried out for the Steelers and Green Bay Packers; his brother Ron played for the Packers and Minnesota Vikings; and their father, Ron Sr., played for the Buffalo Bills.

All three have been convicted in federal cases.

Ron, formerly of Sewickley, pleaded guilty in 2000 in U.S. District Court here to failure to pay child support for his four children.

In the mid-1990s, Howard and his father were convicted of money-laundering after an undercover investigation at E&H, where Ron Sr. was the general manager.

Acting on a tip, federal agents posed as drug dealers who wanted to use their illegal proceeds to buy cars from E&H.

Agents said father and son provided them with fake registration applications, false Social Security numbers and other documents for submission to state agencies. The two were also accused of structuring bank deposits to avoid IRS reporting requirements.

In addition, agents said Howard Sams directed them to a man who installed a secret compartment for drugs in a Camaro.

Howard and Ron Sr. pleaded guilty to money-laundering and agreed to help agents in a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration investigation.

They both received probation for their cooperation.

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