Opinion ID: 2831061
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: jurisdiction

Text: 1. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has jurisdiction pursuant to the Judiciary Article ofthe Constitution ofthe Commonwealth ofPennsylvania, Article 5, Section 2(jurisdiction of the Supreme Court); Article 5, Section 10 (supervisory authority ofthe Supreme Court); and the first clause of Section 1 ofthe Schedule to the Judiciary Article (power and jurisdiction of the Supreme Court); and further Received In Supreme Court JAN 0 7 2015 Middle pursuant to the Judicial Code, 42 Pa.C.S.A. §721(3) (original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court in quo warranto); and §726 (extraordinary jurisdiction of the Supreme Court); as implemented by Pa.R.A.P. 3307 (pleadings in original actions) and 3309(King's Bench matters). APPLICANT 2. The Applicant is Supervisory Special Agent Patrick R.Reese, an employee of the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General(OAG). Special Agent Reese is a member ofthe Protection Detail for Attorney General Kathleen Kane. Among other duties, Special Agent Reese is a driver for Attorney General Kane. Special Agent Reese has an office in the OAG Scranton Regional Office,417 Lackawanna Avenue, Scranton, PA 18510, and resides at 939 Meade Street, Dunmore,PA 18512. 3. On January 7,2015 Special Agent Reese,through counsel,accepted service of a subpoena issued by Special Prosecutor Thomas E. Carluccio. The subpoena requires Special Agent Reese to appear and testify on January 12, 2015 before the Thirty-Fifth Statewide Investigating Grand Jury sitting in Montgomery County. 4. The Applicant, by virtue of having been served with a subpoena to appear and testify, has standing to challenge the legality ofthe office of Special Prosecutor appointed to the Thirty-Fifth Statewide Investigating Grand Jury. Gwinn v. Kane, 19 Pa.Cmw1th. 243, 339 A.2d 838, 840-843 (1975), disposition affirmed, 465 Pa. 269, 2 348 A.2 900(Pa. 1975). FACTUAL BACKROUND 5. On June 6, 2014 an article appeared in the Philadelphia Daily News concerning a 2009 grand jury investigation of.T. Whyatt Mondesire,a former head of the NAACP in Philadelphia, and Harriet Garrett, one ofMr.Mondesire's employees. Exhibit A. 6. The 2009 statewide investigating grand jury had been convened and impaneled in Montgomery County. 7. The Philadelphia Daily News article cited two documentary sources: First, a 2009 memo written by then-Deputy Attorney General William Davis,Jr., addressed to then-ChiefDeputy Attorney General Frank Fina and then-Senior Deputy Attorney General E. Marc Costanzo; and Second, a 2014 transcript of a taped interview by David Peifer, Director of the OAG Bureau of Special Investigations, of Michael Miletto, the OAG special agent who had earlier investigated Mr. Mondesire and Ms. Garrett. Exhibit A. 8. Following publication ofthe June 6,2014 Philadelphia Daily News article, a Special Prosecutor(Thomas E. Carluccio,Esq., an attorney in private practice) was appointed and authorized to utilize the Thirty-Fifth Statewide Investigating Grand Jury to investigate the alleged leak of alleged grand jury material by employees 3 of the OAG,or other persons, to the Philadelphia Daily News. 9. The written communications, applications, petitions, orders, notice of submission, and all other documents underlying the appointment of the Special Prosecutor and submission of this investigation to the grand jury are under seal. It has been publicly reported that the appointment of the Special Prosecutor in this matter was authorized by the Supreme Court and by Order of Supervising Judge of the Grand Jury William R. Carpenter. Exhibits B, C, and D. BASIS FOR EXTRAORDINARY RELIEF 10. The Investigating Grand Jury Act, 42 Pa.C.S.A. §§4541 et seq., does not provide for appointment of any special prosecutor. 11. The Commonwealth Attorneys Act, 71 P.S. §§732-101 et seq., does not provide for the appointment of any special prosecutor. 12. The sole provisions in Pennsylvania law for appointment of a special prosecutor apply only in the event that an elected county District Attorney has been charged with crime or wilful and gross negligence in office. County Code, 16 P.S. §§1405-1406. See similar provisions at 16 P.S. §7710 concerning counties of the first class; and 16 P.S. §§4405-4406 concerning counties of the second class. 13. Pa.R.A.P. 3331 provides for review by the Supreme Court ofAn order relating to the supersession ofa district attorney by an Attorney General or by a court, 4 or to the appointment, supervision, administration or operation of a special prosecutor. This rule does not create any independent substantive authority for the appointment of any special prosecutor, and must therefore be construed to apply solely to cases arising under the above-cited provisions of the County Code. 14. The consideration of a special prosecutor in Dauphin County Grand Jury Investigation Proceedings(No. 3), 322 Pa. 358,2 A.2d 809(1938), was held to have been authorized by a 1929 Legislative enactment which was repealed upon passage of the Commonwealth Attorneys Act, supra, in 1980. Former section 907 of the Administrative Code of1929,71 P.S. §297,authorized President Judges ofthe Courts ofCommon Pleas to request in writing that the Attorney General intervene in criminal matters and supersede the local District Attorney. See statutory history: Commonwealth v. Harris, 501 Pa. 178, 460 A.2d 747, 751, fn. 1 (1983). Thus, reliance upon the 1938 case by the Lackawanna County Court in In re: County Investigating Grand Jury VIII, 2003, 2005 WL 3985351 (Pa.Com.P1. 2005)for the general proposition that Pennsylvania courts have traditional or inherent authority to appoint special prosecutors, was misplaced. See section II(C)ofthat Opinion,p.9-10, titled Appointment of Special Prosecutor. 15. Another Lackawanna County grand jury later gave rise to a proceeding on the issue of whether the Pennsylvania Shield Law, 42 Pa.C.S.A. §5942, protects a 5 newspaper reporter from compelled disclosure ofthe source of a grand jury leak. In Castellani v. The Scranton Times, 956 A.2d 937 (Pa. 2008), the Supreme Court, while addressing the Shield Law,mentioned in passing that the Supervising Judge of the Grand Jury had appointed a Special Prosecutor to investigate a leak, but as the validity of the appointment was not at issue, no authority for the appointment was cited. 16. In In Re Dauphin County Fourth Investigating Grand Jury, 947 A.2d 712 (Pa. 2008), grand jury leaks had been complained of by individuals subject to investigation. The Supreme Court issued aper curiam Order under the King's Bench authority of42 Pa.C.S.A. §726,directing the Supervising Judge ofthe Grand Jury to consider whether a special prosecutor should be appointed to pursue the allegations... No authority in support ofthe contemplated appointment ofa special prosecutor was cited. Id., 712. Subsequently, a special prosecutor was appointed, although, again, the later full Opinion by the Supreme Court does not cite any authority relied upon for the appointment. In Re Dauphin County Fourth Investigating Grand Jury, 19 A.3d 491 (Pa. 2011). 17 In disapproving the appointment of a special prosecutor by the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas,to supersede the local District Attorney in the conduct ofa grand jury investigation, outside the terms of71 P.S. §297,the Supreme 6 Court of Pennsylvania expressly held that Pennsylvania courts had no such extastatutory authority, and there is no public office in Pennsylvania known as Special Prosecutor. Smith v. Gallagher, et al, 408 Pa. 551, 185 A.2d 135,149(1962). The Supreme Court in Smith pointedly disapproved the proposition that Pennsylvania courts have inherent independent power to appoint special prosecutors, as follows: [T]he intervening appellants say that Judge Alessandroni did have the jurisdiction and the authority to order a special grand jury and appoint a special prosecutor. The oral and written arguments submitted in behalf of this thesis, however, lack conviction or even persuasion. They speak vaguely ofinherent authority, common law jurisdiction and traditional powers. Id., 146; and at length further at 151-154. 18. Although Smith v. Gallagher was decided by the Supreme Court in 1962, nothing in either the Investigating Grand Jury Act or the Commonwealth Attorneys Act, both adopted in 1980, has corrected the lack of authority to appoint special prosecutors vigorously pointed out by Justice Musmanno in 1962. Mere lapse oftime has not provided new constitutional or statutory authority. Indeed,since repeal of71 P.S. §297 by the Commonwealth Attorneys Act in 1980, 71 P.S. §732-502, no case has been found at any level of the Pennsylvania judiciary which has cited any constitutional or statutory authority for the appointment of a special prosecutor. 19. There was no necessity for the appointment of a special prosecutor in this 7 matter, since, according to publicly known facts, several county District Attorneys had jurisdiction to both investigate any leak by the OAG and prosecute any crime found to have been committed. Such county District Attorneys appear to include, at a minimum,those serving Montgomery County(site ofthe 2009 grandjury),Dauphin County (site of the principal office of Attorney General Kane and numerous other OAG officers and employees), and Philadelphia County (site of the Philadelphia Daily News). Reinforcing the availability of at least those three counties, the Investigating Grand Jury Act by its own terms expresses a preference for county grand juries over multi-county grand juries, unless the investigation cannot be adequately performed by an investigating grand jury under section 4543 (relating to convening county investigating grand jury). 42 Pa.C.S.A. §4544. 20. The argument that the appointment of a special prosecutor was necessary since the Office of Attorney General would have had a conflict of interest in investigating itself does not answer either: (1) the complete absence of statutory authority for such an appointment; or(2)the availability ofseveral alternative county District Attorneys to whom the investigation could have been referred. 21. The appointment of Special Prosecutor Thomas E. Carluccio, and the proceedings of the Thirty-Fifth Statewide Investigating Grand Jury related to any matter submitted or actions taken by the Special Prosecutor, were and continue to be 8 without legal authority, and null and void ab initio. WHEREFORE,it is requested that the Supreme Court vacate the original Order appointing a Special Prosecutor in this matter under the applicable Notice of Submission or otherwise. It is further requested that the Supreme Court prohibit enforcement of all subpoenas issued by the Special Prosecutor under the authority of the Supervising Judge ofthe Grand Jury; and further prohibit issuance of any report or presentment by the Thirty-Fifth Statewide Investigating Grand Jury based on any matter submitted to the grand jury by the Special Prosecutor. Respectfully submitted, William A. Fetterhoff, s Fetterhoff and Zilli 218 Pine Street Harrisburg,PA 17101 Telephone: 717 232-7722 FAX: 717 233-4965 E-mail: wfetterhoff@live.com PA Supreme Court ID 23148 Attorneyfor Patrick R. Reese 9 State A.G. probed Philly NAACP leader Mondesire's finances 5 year... http://articles.philly.com/2014-06-06/news/50390468_1_memo-whya... phillyocom Subscriber Services Zheilnquirrr ayes Home I News I Sports I Entertainment I Business I Food I Lifestyle I Health I Marketplace Collections State A.G. probed Philly NAACP leader Mondesire's finances 5 years ago Shocking. BY CHRIS BRENNAN, Daily News Staff Writer brennacaphillynews.com, 215-854-5973 French 4 Heart Attack Signs POSTED: June 06, 2014 Video ownahealthyheart.com STATE ATTORNEY General Kathleen Kane is reviewing a 2009 If you do not know These 4 Things grand-jury investigation of J. Whyatt Mondesire, former head of the French, you've got Happen Right Before a NAACP in Philadelphia, and one of his employees, according to ' to see'this brilliant Heart Attack. documents obtained by the Daily News. video before it's gonE What's My Mondesire's employee, Harriet Garrett, and her daughter pleaded You'll be absolutely House Worth? guilty in 2010 to stealing nearly $220,000 in state grant money for a blown away from itl trulia.com job-training program. Garrett was sentenced to a minimum of six See your Home's months in jail and ordered to pay restitution. Her daughter got 18 Play Video 4)0 Market Value Free & It months probation Just Takes Seconds A 2009 memo written by then-Deputy Attorney General William Davis SHOCKING DISCOVER r Arrest Warrant Jr. says investigators uncovered what appeared to be questionable Records spending of state money by Mondesire. persopo.com 1) Type Name - Searcl Kane, a Democrat, is now trying to determine what happened with the Free! 2) See Anyone's Mondesire investigation. Gov. Corbett, a Republican, was the attorney Warrant Records general at the time. Instantly Mondesire, 64, says he was never questioned and denies any financial 2016 wrongdoing. Presidential Poll townhall.com/StrawPoll The 2009 Davis memo detailed for his bosses what had been Which GOP presidentia uncovered about Mondesire and Garrett, who worked at the You'll Never Believe What They , hopeful would be the Philadelphia Sunday Sun, a weekly newspaper Mondesire publishes. best candidate? Vote! Found Hiding in Your Stomach IVidtuj A nonprofit called Next Generation Community Development Corp., 3 Credit Scores which is operated by Mondesire, held a state-government grant for a jobs-training program in 2004 and 2005, but handed it off to Garrett, We Recommend (Free) who ran another nonprofit called Creative Urban Education Systems, freescore360.com View your latest Credit or CUES, according to the Davis memo. The Rev. Carl Fitchett to lead Philly Scores from All 3 NAACP Mondesire was listed as chairman of the CUES board, the memo bureaus in 60 seconds April 18, 2014 fnr noted, while Garrett served as the treasurer for Next Generation's board. Questions over Philly NAACP finances Davis wrote his memo to then-Chief Deputy Attorney General Frank January 24, 2014 Fina and then-Senior Deputy Attorney General E. Marc Costanzo. Board members from NAACP leader's Corbett, as attorney general, named Fina in 2006 to head a new nonprofit sue to see the books public-corruption unit and Costanzo to work on cases for the unit in the June 6, 2014 Philadelphia region. Fina and Costanzo now work in a similar unit for District Attorney Seth Mondesire's friends-turned-foes get \Ari!hams. access to his books June 12, 2014 In the memo, Davis wrote: Next Generation's bank-account records, obtained with a grand-jury subpoena, showed deposits of $1.3 million in government grants in a one-year period. Another $521,000 in the account came from political campaigns, rent payments and the intermingling of money from the Sunday Sun, which is owned and operated by Mondesire, the memo said. Next Generation paid $2,273 to the Philadelphia Club, a private and exclusive club in Center City. Next Generation spent tens of thousands, writing checks to pay Mondesire's American Express bill for clothes, food, lodging gas and entertainment and a loan from Mellon Bank. There were also checks written to Mondesire and to cash. FREE Pocket Knife Annual. Membership for only S25  Next Generation wrote checks for $169,960 to Charles and Claudia Tasco and their company, C&C Construction.(Charles Tasco is the son 1 of4 .._.411;1z.‘i- 1/3/2015 9:13 AM State A.G. probed Philly NAACP leader Mondesire's finances 5 year... http://articles.philly.com/2014-06-06/news/50390468_1_memo-whya... of City Councilwoman Marian Tasco, a friend and political ally of Mondesires for more than three decades.)  $6,431 in CUES money was given to Mondesire for what Garrett called consulting. That type of expense was not allowed, according to the rules of the grant. In various correspondence between Garrett and Mondesire discovered by investigators, she questioned payments of more than $70,000 he made to Claudia Tasco. CUES paid $1,099 for health insurance for Mondesire. Davis wanted to question Mondesire - and possibly subpoena him for sworn grand-jury testimony - about Garrett, CUES and Next Generation. Never questioned Mondesire, a former Inquirer reporter who served as the top aide to the late U.S. Rep. Bill Gray, said no one from the A.G.'s Office ever questioned him. We didn't use any money for personal gain, Mondesire said. He said that he has not seen the A.G. Offices documents and twice declined an offer from the Daily News to review them. Mondesire said C&C Construction worked on four properties, including the NAACP headquarters and his newspaper office, where the Next Generation non-profit is also located. We bought supplies with my American Express card for construction, he said. They never asked me a single question back in 2009. We rehabbed the buildings. We spent money buying stuff for the buildings, construction and paying off developers. Garrett declined to comment about the investigations. Her daughter did not respond to requests for comment. The May 2010 news release about Garrett's arrest featured Corbett laying out the charges. Corbett did not respond this week to two questions: Was he briefed on the Mondesire investigation and did he play a role in deciding what happened with that probe? Mondesire was suspended by the NAACP's national headquarters in April after he feuded publicly with board members about the finances of the local chapter and Next Generation. Those board members - Sid Booker, Donald Ducky Birts and the Rev. Elisha Morris - also were suspended. Booker and Morris, who say they are still Next Generation board members, are now asking a Common Pleas judge to force Mondesire to show them the nonprofit's financial records. As a judge considers that request, Kanes staff is reviewing what became of the 2009 Mondesire probe. David Peifer, who heads the A.G.'s Bureau of Special Investigations, on March 21 interviewed Michael Miletto, the special agent who investigated Garrett and Mondesire. The Daily News obtained a transcript of that taped interview. Miletto told Peifer that he subpoenaed Next Generation's bank account, the transcript shows. When I did that, I found that there was a whole bunch of money that appeared to me to be donations to the NAACP, not [Mondesire], and they were going into Next Generation's account and they were being used for [Mondesires] lifestyle - much of it, Miletto told Peifer. Miletto said he was taken off the case after Fina and Costanzo were told about the probe, according to the transcript. Miletto said criminal activity was just ignored after that. He added that two accountants who had worked for Mondesire had provided taped statements, with one asking for immunity and the other asking for protection. Fina and Costanzo declined to comment about the Mondesire investigation, citing the secrecy of grand-jury proceedings. Davis, now in private practice, also declined to comment, citing the same restriction. Miletto, who still works for the A.G.'s office, also declined to comment. Peifer referred questions to Kane's communications staff. J.J. Abbott, a spokesman for Kane, declined to comment. The Kane-Fina feud Fina and Costanzo have a complicated and controversial relationship with Kane. Kane criticized Corbett's tenure as attorney general when she ran for office in 2012, specifically targeting the Penn State child-abuse scandal that sent former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky to prison. Kanes staff is now conducting an extensive review of that investigation. Fina led the Sandusky probe. Kane, on Feb. 5, issued a statement noting that her offices Sandusky review had been underway for one year, adding that delays in the undertaking will be described in more detail when the report is made public. A month later, the Inquirer reported that Kane declined to pursue an investigation previously led by Fina and Costanzo, starting in 2010, that used Philadelphia lobbyist Tyron Ali as a confidential informant to tape conversations with four PhiIly state representatives and a former Traffic Court judge, On the tapes, the representatives and judge accept cash or gifts from Ali. Kane has said Fina dropped 2,033 criminal counts against Ali, who had been charged with stealing $430,000 from a state program, 24 days before she was sworn into office. She said that extraordinarily lenienr deal crippled the chance of this case succeeding in prosecution. Fina, in a letter published by the Inquirer a week after the first story ran, called on Kane to explain her decision. 2 of 4 1/3/2015 9:13 AM State A.G. probed Philly NAACP leader Mondesire's finances 5 year... http://articles.philly.com/2014-06-06/news/50390468_1_memo-whya... The Inquirer also published a letter that day from Fina's boss, Williams, critical of Kane. Kane eventually turned over the Ali case file to Williams, who is now examining whether charges can be brought against the four representatives and the Traffic Court judge, who is currently on trial in an unrelated federal corruption case. On Twitter: TgChrisBrennanDN Blog: ph.lyiPhillyClout.com You May Like Sponsored Links by Taboola Social Security: How To Get $1,000 More a Month Newsmax Powerful Plastic: The 7 Best Credit Cards for People With Excellent Credit Next Advisor Daily Kate Middleton's Bizarre Behavior at Event Gets Everyone Talking Stirring Daily An Extremely Brilliant Way To Pay Off Mortgage Bills.com Guess Who's About To Go Bankrupt in America [Shocking] Stansberry Research CNN Money: How Young Millionaires invest CNN Money ( Wealthfront More From The Web More From Philly.com • Social Security: How To Get $1,000 More a Month • Sheinelle Jones has good news 'Today' (Newsmax) • Phila. police: Man beaten, kidnapped, tattooed • Powerful Plastic: The 7 Best Credit Cards for • Philadelphia entrepreneur finds an opportunity in People With Excellent Credit (Next Advisor Daily) home care for elderly Asians • Kate Middleton's Bizarre Behavior at Event Gets • Challenge to Phila. civil forfeiture law continues Everyone Talking (Stirnng Daily) • Phila.'s new gem: A stroll on the Schuylkill • An Extremely Brilliant Way To Pay Off Mortgage (Bills com) • Guess Who's About To Go Bankrupt in America [Shocking](Stansberry Research) Promoted Links by Taboola comments powered by Disqus Commenting policy l Comments FAQ Aviation Maintenance fixjets.com Acquire Proper Knowledge & Skill Levels To Get An A&P Mechanic Job! FEATURED ARTICLES Nancy Schultz reflects on her A historic collection found in John duPont dies in prison: 3 of 4 1/3/2015 9:13 AM Montco lawyer leading inquiry into whether Kane's office leaked grand jury information -... Page 1 of 3 phillyecom Subscriber Services l Cfic.ilayttirrr Home 1 News Sports l Entertainment l Business l Food Lifestyle l Health l Marketplace Collections • Special Prosecutor Montco lawyer leading inquiry into whether Kane's office leaked grand jury information Shocking-m, -French Video yob Son't knibw F tenctl, yeti-re Witt 10 y see this brilliant vow before ils genet Yet:1 be absolutely blown away after, ìee SHOCKING DISCOVER'i' You'll Never Believe What They Thomas E. Cartuccio is a defense lawyer and Republican. Found hlidina in Your Stomach [Video} By Angela Couloumbis and Craig R. McCoy,inquirer Staff We Recommend Writers POSTED: September 04, 2014 Kane denies bid to release controversial e-mails A veteran lawyer from Montgomery County is the special prosecutor September 25, 2014 heading the inquiry into whether state Attomey General Kathleen G. Kane's office leaked grand jury information in an effort to discredit her Kane to decide whether to release state critics, The Inquirer has leamed. workers racy e-mails September 21, 2014 Thomas E. Carluccio, a criminal defense lawyer in Plymouth Meeting GALLERY: and former prosecutor in Delaware, was appointed over the summer by Thomas E. Castille jabs Kane on gravity of inquiry Carluccio is a a Montgomery County judge to explore how secret records became December 15, 2014 defense public this year about a 2009 investigation by the Attorney General's lawyer... Office involving Philadelphia political activist J. Whyatt Mondesire, Special prosecutor probes Pa. Attorney according to several people familiar with the matter. General's Office September 1, 2014 No charges were brought against Mondesire in the case. The investigation, details of which appeared in a June story in the Philadelphia Daily News, took place before Kane became attorney general. Find More Stories About Carluccio did not respond to messages left by phone and e-mail Special Prosecutor Tuesday. Renee Martin, Kane's acting director of communications, said the office would have no comment. Kane The Inquirer first reported news of the special prosecutor's appointment on Sunday. Sources said investigators in the inquiry have issued subpoenas to Kane's office and others. Carluccio was appointed by Judge William Carpenter, the supervising grand jury judge in the eastern part of the state, the sources said. Both men are Republicans. Kane is a Democrat. Though there have been past leak inquiries, this appears to be first time the state attorney general or top staffers in the office have come under scrutiny. Such an inquiry typically requires the approval of the 6C6e file:///ClUsers/FETTER-1/AppData/Local/Temp/RNEMUH95.htm 1/3/2015 Montco lawyer leading inquiry into whether Kane's office leaked grand jury information -... Page 2 of 3 chief justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, according to a 4 Hei spokesman for the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts. Is Ken Fisher nutS? Attac A person who violates grand jury secrecy rules may be found guilty of ,S.ome Wall Streeters might think he is, SignE contempt of court and sentenced to up to six months in prison. Carluccio, 57, worked as a state deputy attorney general in Delaware 'because Ken,. famous Forbes columnist and head of Fisher investments. is giving eway ownahe... his new Report to investors with $500,000 before switching sides to work as a defense attorney in Pennsylvania. I or rnore portfolios. Is that you? You should I hese 4 His wife, Carolyn Tornetta Carluccio, is a judge. A Republican, she I have this.timely Report, with a stock Things joined Carpenter on the Montgomery County Common Pleas bench in fOrecast you won't find anywhere else. You'll 2010. Happen ,1 .;Aee quickly: Ken FiSher not only.in't nuts. Betore a The leak to the Daily News involved a 2009 investigation by former I He's the ene with the brains. Heart At Chief Deputy Attorney General Frank G. Fina and onetime Senior GQT.THAT? GET THIS: CLICK HERE, Deputy Attorney General E. Marc Costanzo. Fina, who handled the offices highest-profile criminal cases, left his position shortly after Kane took office. Heated battle Fina and Kane have been locked in a heated battle over the last two years on how certain cases were handled. Kane, for instance, brought in a former federal prosecutor after she was elected to review Fines prosecution of former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky on child sex-abuse charges. During her campaign for office, Kane said the Sandusky probe might have been delayed for political reasons. The independent review found no evidence of that. And for the last six months, Kane has faced criticism for shutting down a sting operation launched by Fina that sources and investigative documents say captured five Philadelphia Democrats, including four state legislators, on tape accepting money or gifts. As criticism over the sting case mounted, the Philadelphia Daily News reported in early June that Kane was conducting a review of Fina's handling of a 2009 investigation into Mondesires finances. The newspapers story discussed, among other things, a secret investigative memo summarizing the status of the Mondesire probe. Mondesire, the former president of the Philadelphia NAACP, has denied any wrongdoing. Explicit e-mails The leak investigation has been complicated by a separate but intense legal fight over the exchange of sexually explicit e-mails among former and current state officials. The e-mails have become an issue because some Kane critics argue that Kanes office is using the threat of their release as a way to silence criticism of her, sources have told The Inquirer. The messages were discovered during Kane's review of the Sandusky investigation, which involved going through thousands of documents. The Inquirer has reported that the e-mails were shared on state computers and sometimes through government e-mail accounts. They are said to have contained pornographic images, jokes, cartoons, and other private messages. Though not all of the recipients are known, some of the material circulated among scores of officials, from homicide investigators in the Attorney General's Office to state prosecutors and other state officials, including top Pennsylvania jurists, The Inquirer has reported. While Judge Carpenter in Montgomery County is overseeing the leak probe, a different judge, Norman A. Krumenacher 3d, of Cambria County, has jurisdiction over the e-mail issue. Several news organizations, including The Inquirer, have put in right-to-know requests for the e-mails. But Krumenacher has ordered a stay on the release of the e-mails. He oversees the grand jury in Western Pennsylvania as well as the legal issues involving Kanes review of the Sandusky prosecution. The e-mails in questions were unearthed by computer experts as part of that review. acouloumbis@phillynews.com 717-787-5934 ©AngelasInk You May Like Sponsored Links by Taboola Social Security: How To Get $1,000 More a Month Newsmax Do You Need a Logo for Your Business? Fiverr.com Please Don't Retire At 62. Here's Why. The Motley Fool Guess Who's About To Go Bankrupt in America [Shocking] Stansberry Research file:///ClUsers/FETTER--1/AppData/Local/Temp/RNEMUH95.htm 1/3/2015 Montco lawyer leading inquiry into whether Kane's office leaked grand jury information -... Page 3 of 3 Powerful Plastic: The 7 Best Credit Cards for People With Excellent Credit Next Advisor Daily CNN Money: How Young Millionaires Invest CNN Money Wealthfront More From The Web More From PhIlly.com • Social Security: How To Get $1,000 More a Month • Kane won't defend controversial gun law (Newsmax) • Kane's account of sting draws increasing fire • Please Don't Retire At 62. Here's Why. (The Motley Fool) • Kane shut down sting that snared Phila. officials • Guess Who's About To Go Bankrupt in America • D.A. to charge 2 more Phila. Democrats in sting [Shocking](Stansberry Research) • 'Months, not years:' Williams reopens sting probe • Powerful Plastic: The 7 Best Credit Cards for People With Excellent Credit (Next Advisor Daily) • CNN Money: How Young Millionaires Invest (CNN Money Wealthfront) Promoted Links by Taboola comments powered by pisqus Commenting policy l Comments FAQ What's My House Worth? trulia.com See your Home's Market Value Free & It Just Takes Seconds FEATURED ARTICLES Nancy Schultz reflects on her A historic collection found in John duPont dies in prison: husband's murder and S. Phila. home Addled heir killed Olympic forthcoming films athlete in '96 More: In Bulk Trucking, Chemical Leaman Is Rolling De Mazia Art Brings $2.38 Million Toward The Top Leader Of Jbm Sentenced To Life Aaron Jones Frank Nofer, 71,famed graphic artist Was Convicted Of Conspiring To Distribute $too Million In Cocaine. He Plans To Appeal. George Mattson,88, Olympian, Crew Coach I Jbm 8 Believed Founders Index by Keyword l Index by Date l About Philly.com I Contact Us l Terms of Use & Privacy Statement l Copyright 2015 file:///C JUsers/FETTER-1/AppData/Local/Temp/RNEMUH95.htm 1/3/2015 Pennsylvania AG Kane grand jury may miss New Year's Eve deadline l TribLIVE Pìge 1 of 2 Return to Sto Print This PagA'118 Larger text Smaller text Pennsylvania AG Kane grand jury may miss New Year's Eve deadline AP Attorney General Kathleen Kane speaks during a news conference Friday, June 27, 2014, at the Capitol in Harrisburg, Pa. 1By Brad Bumsted Monday, Dec. 29, 2014, 11:21 p.m. HARRISBURG — There's nothing magical about the New Years Eve deadline for a grand jury to finish its LIVE work examining whether Attorney General Kathleen Kane violated grand jury secrecy by leaking documents to a Philadelphia newspaper, and the outcome could take weeks or months to be revealed, legal experts said. Several people close to parties involved in the investigation suggest the grand jury could continue to meet through mid-January. We don't discuss the grand jury activities. It is not public, Kane's spokeswoman, Renee Martin, said. Kane's lawyers have said she did nothing wrong and committed no crime. Even if resolution of the matter is imminent, experts said, the result may not be. There's no way to anticipate the timeline, said longtime criminal defense attorney William C. Costopoulous of Lemoyne in Cumberland County. 11:6 c file:///C/Users/FETTER-1/AppData/Localifemp/3GZ4UM3Z.htm 1/6/2015 Pennsylvania AG Kane grand jury may miss New Year's Eve deadline TribLIVE Page 2 of 2 Judges sometimes seal grand jury presentments. And the grand jury's recommendations could be referred to a district attorney, who may decide that further investigation is necessary. The results could range from clearing Kane, or making no report; directing Kane to explain at a hearing why she should not be held in contempt of court; or recommending criminal charges such as perjury or