Jane Orie
Jane Clare Orie | |
---|---|
Elaine Farmer | |
Succeeded by | Mike Turzai |
Personal details | |
Born | Attorney | September 18, 1961
Jane Clare Orie (born September 18, 1961) is an American politician, attorney, and convicted felon who served in both Houses of the
Early life and education
Orie was born in
Career
In 1996, Orie ran for the
In 2000, State Senator
In May 2006,
Allegations of impropriety
Authorities seized thousands of computer records from one of Orie's district offices in mid-December 2009, as part of an investigation conducted by Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala. Zappala would not disclose to the public a reason for investigating Orie.
A story in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette alleged that the core of the investigation involves the employment of one of her district offices for campaign purposes.[10]
The Post-Gazette subsequently reported that a University of Pittsburgh student intern had told prosecutors of widespread political campaigning inside the office on behalf of Orie's sister,
Criminal prosecution and conviction
In April 2010, an Allegheny County grand jury indicted Jane Orie and her sister Janine Orie on multiple charges of corruption. Pending a preliminary hearing scheduled for May 19, both defendants were released on their own recognizance, but they were prohibited from having non-business contacts with any of the witnesses in the case.[1][permanent dead link] Under Senate rules, a member who is charged with an offense related to his or her official duties must vacate any leadership position. Accordingly, following her indictment, Orie resigned as majority whip.[13]
A trial date of February 7, 2011 was set for the criminal trial of Orie and her sister Janine. [2] However, while jury deliberations were underway, Judge Jeffrey Manning declared a mistrial for both the Senator and her sister upon learning that evidence submitted by the defense had been doctored. The signature of former Orie aide Jamie Pavlot, a key prosecution witness, appeared to have been cut-and-pasted from one document to another. Manning suspended the jury deliberations, declaring that the copying was so blatant that "Ray Charles could see that signature was doctored." Hours later, he declared a mistrial and dismissed the jury, saying that "a fraud had been perpetrated" on the court.[14] A new trial date was set for April 11, although Orie's lawyer announced his intent to appeal the decision on the grounds that a new trial would constitute a violation of Orie's right to avoid double jeopardy.[15]
In March 2012, Orie was convicted of 14 counts of forgery, conflict of interest and theft of services, which included five felonies.[16] Like most states, Pennsylvania has a provision in its constitution barring convicted felons from holding office. Accordingly, Orie resigned from the State Senate on May 21, 2012.[17]
A
On June 5, 2012, Orie was sentenced to two-and-a-half to ten years in prison. In sentencing her, Manning said that Orie had engaged in crimes that "demean the sanctity of all we do as lawyers." He was particularly angered by Orie's submission of fraudulent documents, calling it a "flagrant and disgraceful violation" of her oath as an attorney. Manning was so disgusted with Orie's behavior that he revoked her bail and remanded her to custody immediately rather than allow her to self-report.[21] She was incarcerated at the Cambridge Springs State Correctional Institution in Crawford County, where she was Inmate Number OS9360.[22]
On February 9, 2014, Orie was released from prison, after serving the minimum sentence of two-and-a-half years.[2]
References
- ^ Cox, Harold (November 3, 2004). "Pennsylvania House of Representatives - 2001-2002" (PDF). Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.
- ^ a b "Former state Sen. Jane Orie released from prison". The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. February 9, 2014. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
- ^ Former state Sen. Jane Orie disbarred Jason Cato; The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review December 10, 2014
- ^ Mackenzie Carpenter (August 17, 2003). "The Orie sisters steal the show". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- ^ "Jane C. Orie (Republican)". Official Pennsylvania House of Representatives Profile. Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Archived from the original on January 25, 2000.
- ^ Brian O'Neill (April 1, 2001). "Don't fault Tom Murphy for stadium deals". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- ^ 2002 General Election Results, Pennsylvania Department of State, 11/5/02 Archived 2008-05-15 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ 2006 General Election Results, Pennsylvania Department of State, 11/8/06 Archived 2008-05-29 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Tom Barnes (November 21, 2006). "Sen. Orie wins leadership post". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- ^ "Orie's staff to be summoned before grand jury". old.post-gazette.com. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
- ^ "Ex-Orie intern: 'I knew I had to do something'". old.post-gazette.com. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
- ^ Mandak, Joe (June 28, 2012). "Judge nixes Melvin motion to recuse county bench". The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
- ^ "Pennsylvania Senator Jane Orie charged with theft of service, resigns from leadership post". PennLive.com. The Harrisburg Patriot-News. Retrieved April 7, 2010.
- ^ O'Toole, James; Barcousky, Len (March 3, 2011). "Mistrial declared in Orie case". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- ^ O'Toole, James (March 4, 2011). "New trial date set for Orie". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- ^ http://www.suntimes.com, March 26, 2012, "Pa. GOP Senator Jane orie convicted of theft of services" by the AP
- ^ May 22, 2012, "Convicted Pa. Senator Orie Sumits Resignation"
- ^ "Cawley sets Aug. 7 date for special election for Orie's seat". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
- ^ "Vulakovich picked for state Senate run". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
- ^ McNulty, Timothy (August 7, 2012). "Vulakovich defeats Brown for Orie's seat". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
- ^ June 5th 2012, "Orie sent to prison"
- ^ "Inmate Locator". Inmate Database. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Archived from the original on September 11, 2012. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
External links
- Profile at Vote Smart
- Appearances on C-SPAN