PITTSBURGH — A former federal appeals judge has been working to resolve fraud and theft charges against former Allegheny County Coroner Cyril Wecht.

Former U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Timothy Lewis approached federal prosecutors several months ago "to engage in a confidential mediation" to resolve fraud and theft charges against Wecht, U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan said Friday.

"We did not initiate the discussions, but agreed to participate in a good faith attempt to resolve this matter. If mediation is unsuccessful, we are prepared to proceed to trial," Buchanan said in a statement.

Lewis and a Wecht attorney did not immediately return messages for comment.

Wecht, 77, has earned millions investigating deaths, including those of JonBenet Ramsey, Elvis Presley and Vince Foster.

He was accused of using his former county coroner's staff to benefit his private business and of trading unclaimed county morgue cadavers for office and lab space at a university where he taught. Wecht also was charged with mail fraud for allegedly overbilling his private clients for bogus travel expenses.

His first trial lasted seven weeks and jurors had deliberated for more than 50 hours before they told U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab on April 8 that they were "essentially deadlocked." Schwab then declared a mistrial.

Last week, Schwab was removed from the case by a three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, to help ease the "rancor in the courtroom." The panel also found Schwab did not follow proper procedure in declaring a mistrial.

The panel refused to dismiss the 41 counts against Wecht. His attorneys had asked the court to dismiss the case on double jeopardy grounds.