PA House
In 2010, when he was still attorney general of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, now its Republican governor, launched a corruption investigation targeting politicians in Philadelphia. The operation caught at least four of them, all Democrats, allegedly accepting bribes of cash and gifts adding up to at least $18,000. But after Democrat Kathleen Kane was elected attorney general in 2012, she reportedly shut down the investigation. Via The Inquirer of Philadelphia:
In a statement to The Inquirer on Friday, Kane called the investigation poorly conceived, badly managed, and tainted by racism, saying it had targeted African Americans. Those who favored the sting believe Kane killed a solid investigation, led by experienced prosecutor Frank G. Fina, that had ensnared several public officials and had the potential to capture more. They said they were outraged at Kane's allegation that race had played a role in the case.
According to The Inquirer, prosecutors collected hundreds of hours of audio and video tape of the Democrats accepting bribes in the stings that the attorney general's office ran. Sources close to the investigation also insist that the sting targeted both Democrats and Republicans, but that only Democrats were interested in learning more about the opportunity for corruption.
The investigation relied on lobbyist Tyron Ali, who reportedly agreed to wear a wire after being arrested for fraud. When Kane nixed the investigation, the attorney general's office secretly dropped charges against Ali. The four politicians reportedly caught taking bribes were state representatives Louise Bishop (District 192), Vanessa Brown (District 190), Michelle Brownlee (District 195), and Ronald Waters (District 191). A now former traffic court judge, Thomasine Tynes, was also accused of accepting a Tiffany's bracelet and not reporting it. According to The Inquirer, Waters said he may have gotten something for his birthday (the tape reportedly shows him accepting cash from Ali on his birthday), Brown declined to talk about the allegations, Brownlee claimed she couldn't remember whether she took a bribe or not, while Bishop denied the allegation. The Inquirer has more on what the four said here.
It's not just a race card Kane played. She appears to have played the gender card too. A statement from her office claimed reporting on the kyboshed investigation amounted to "nothing more than the Good Ol' Boys club playing political games to discredit me." It sounds like Kane's fitting right into that club. Read The Inquirer's whole report here.
Comentários