Dr. Cyril H. Wecht, one of the nation’s most famous forensic pathologists, is set to appear in front of a federal court on account of 41 criminal charges, including mail fraud, wire fraud and theft. If he proves to be guilty, he could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison per count. The trial is scheduled to begin its opening statements at Pennsylvania’s Western District Court on Monday.

The 76-year-old former Allegheny County medical examiner is accused of using his office for obtaining personal benefits, and most of all, for using the county morgue and personnel to practice his private forensic pathology business. Among his “private jobs” worth millions of dollars, the best known are the investigations in the case of the death of Anna Nichole Smith’s son and the Jon Benet Ramsey case.

Prosecutors alleged his private practice earned him an estimated $9 million between 1997 and 2004, which should enable him to pay the hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines he currently faces. It is for the second time in his long career that he has been accused of improper conduct and the use of public resources for his private practice and personal benefits.

Wecht’s name became known 40 years ago when he opposed the theory that President John F. Kennedy was killed by a single bullet. According to his website, he performed approximately 14,000 autopsies and acted as a consultant in 30,000 cases. The well known pathologist, who is also a Democrat, denies the allegations, while Richard Thornburgh, whose law firm represents Wecht, said this whole case is politically motivated, in an attempt of the Bush administration to prosecute one of the most accomplished and brilliant Democrats in the country.

Prosecutors however came to disagree, saying that the United States Attorney’s Office does not and did not make decisions or investigations based on political affiliations, and neither will they in the case of Dr. Wecht. Meanwhile, Wecht pleaded not guilty to all the charges and hopes his trial will have the same successful outcome as the one in the early 1980s, when he was accused of using the county resources for his private practice.