A used-car dealer who was sentenced last Thursday to 15 to 30 months behind bars committed suicide in the Allegheny County Jail Saturday, according to the medical examiner's office.

Howard F. Sams, 49, formerly of Bridgeville, was pronounced dead at 6:20 p.m. at UPMC Mercy. He was sentenced by Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Jill Rangos after pleading guilty in August to theft by deception and other charges in a case related to his former business, E&H Motors.

State police said Mr. Sams enticed a former business partner into investing in the dealership by producing false inventory sheets indicating he had cars on the lot when he'd already sold them.

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