Pittsburgh police Chief Nate Harper last week fired the head of the bureau's chaplaincy program after several local pastors raised concerns about her religious credentials.

Lara Zinda had served in the volunteer position over the last 10 months, with help from a partner, Keith Smith. Both visited the scenes of several homicides to comfort victims' families.

"Their services are no longer required," Chief Harper said yesterday. "There were discrepancies with their documents."

The chief acknowledged that Mr. Smith has a criminal record. But he declined to discuss specifics, only saying, "[Ms. Zinda] brought him in. That's why she was released."

Both Ms. Zinda and Mr. Smith claim to be ordained ministers. They are connected to an organization called the Methodist Institute, which has a Web site listing its address at a church on the North Side. The institute is affiliated with a denomination called the Methodist Church in America and Newgate College, a religious school based in Virginia and registered with the state's corporation commission under the names of Ms. Zinda and Mr. Smith.

"We know of no such organization," said Robert Higginbotham, assistant to the bishop of the Western Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church.

He said he looked into the backgrounds of Ms. Zinda and Mr. Smith when Pittsburgh pastors began questioning the pair's religious affiliations. He said he wasn't aware of any church denomination called the Methodist Church in America.

Neither Ms. Zinda nor Mr. Smith could be reached for comment yesterday.

Newgate College cites a connection with the church on its Web site, www.newgatecollege.org. The site also says the college is scheduled to open next month, with the goal of providing "high quality, inexpensive courses to men and women throughout the United States, Canada, and around the world where the Internet can be accessed."

The Pittsburgh-based Methodist Institute describes an almost identical goal on its Web site, instituteofamerica.org, saying it will "provide high quality, inexpensive college level courses to men and women of Methodist Churches and other Christian traditions throughout the United States, Canada and around the world where the Internet can be accessed."

The institute lists its address at 616 W. North Ave., the same address as Trinity Lutheran Church.

Ms. Zinda and Mr. Smith rented office space there for about a year. Last month, their lease was terminated.

The church's pastor, the Rev. John Cochran, declined to comment about the situation.

"We're still dealing with it," he said.

The previous head of the police chaplaincy program was the Rev. Lou Vallone, pastor of St. John of God parish in McKees Rocks, who was picked by former Chief Robert W. McNeilly Jr., his brother-in-law.

About 65 percent of the city's police officers are Catholic, Father Vallone said. He focused his pastoral efforts on officers, especially those who had used their weapons against suspects or had been wounded in the line of duty.

Chief Harper, a regular church-goer who became head of the police bureau in 2006, wanted to expand the duties of the senior chaplain to include outreach for crime victims and their families, and he also sought to increase connections with the city's religious leaders. The chaplain position is unpaid.

Ms. Zinda volunteered for the position and presented credentials, he said. She helped organize a transition team that included the Rev. John C. Welch, dean of students at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and head of the Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network.

Father Vallone also advised Ms. Zinda, and he said he would continue ministering to Catholics in the police force. But he declined to move beyond that role.

"I don't object to what they're doing," he said. "But it didn't fit my model of a police chaplain."

He and Ms. Zinda also worked together on reaching out to military veterans who are now police officers.

Chief Harper said he didn't suspect Ms. Zinda or Mr. Smith of presenting fraudulent documentation, but, he said, "their credentials weren't necessarily of a high standard."

He has asked Rev. Welch of PIIN and the theological seminary to become the new head of the bureau's chaplaincy program.