2nd lawmaker declares bid for top Pennsylvania prosecutor

Wilkes-Barre-based attorney David E. Schwager is among those board members Stilp says may be connected with Kane, as he practices law in several counties in the region.

Stephens, a former Montgomery County Prosecutor, has called on State Attorney General Kathleen Kane to resign due charges that have been filed against her in connection with being accused of leaking grand jury information from a 2009 Philadelphia case.

As for the little-publicized Haiti trip in April of previous year, Mr. Ardo described it as a week devoted to charity.

“I’m not running for attorney general because I’ve always wanted to be a prosecutor”, he said.

In charging Kane earlier this month, prosecutors said she had conspired with Peifer and Patrick Reese, the head of her security detail, to spy illegally on her employees.

“While the court has weighed in and the judge has weighed in on specific emails, there are issues attendant to the emails that may pose a problem”, he said. Two Supreme Court orders issued in December, which were unsealed by the court Tuesday, seem to contradict her statement. A hearing on that matter is set for September 16 before the state Commonwealth Court.

Stilp, a non-practicing lawyer, said he does not question the integrity of the attorneys he named, but simply wants to prevent undue influence in any potential disciplinary action directed toward the attorney general. “We don’t know who appeared in front of the grand jury and that makes it problematic”, he said.

Kane said she was unable to release the emails and the names of those involved because of a court order barring her from doing so.

“If she were to release some of the emails, it may be perceived as retribution or seeking to embarrass somebody”.

“Some of the folks who may have sent or received emails are protected by union contracts”. Stephens also held supervisory positions in the major crimes, sex crimes and firearms units and worked on a special team with police and sheriff’s deputies and other prosecutors focused on crime and quality of life issues in Norristown. The privacy issues could be third parties from the outside who sent or forwarded emails, he said.

The FOP contract expired June 30 and its members have been working under the terms of their previous labor pact.