Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane had resigned a day after perjury conviction in grand jury leak case.
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The Governor announced Thursday he wants Bruce Beemer, a Clark Summit native and University of Scranton graduate, to fill out the term of Kane who stepped down from office on Wednesday.
Castor, 54, is a former Republican district attorney from Montgomery County.
Kane had portrayed the charges as politically motivated, after she revealed lewd emails exchanged among judges, state officials and prosecutors that she discovered while re-examining the Jerry Sandusky molestation investigation.
Beemer began his career in the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office and served in private practice before joining the Attorney General’s Office under Linda Kelly in 2011.
Bruce Beemer has served as state Inspector General for a little over a month, and he’s no stranger to the AG’s office.
After hearing days of testimony about petty feuds, political intrigue and “cloak-and-dagger” machinations, Judge Wendy Demchick-Alloy called Kane a flight risk and ordered her to surrender her passport.
Wolf gave no details about any plan to appoint a replacement for the remainder of Kane’s term, which was to end January 17.
“Kathleen and I came up with a story, about what I was going to testify to and what she was going to testify to”, Morrow said last week.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Castor said Kane barred him from following her trial to avoid any perception that he may be retaliating against staff cooperating with prosecutors. In November Josh Shapiro faces John Rafferty for the Attorney General position.
Even a former Kane supporter, Northumberland County Democratic Chairman Rodger Babnew, said last week’s four-day trial surfaced disappointing details about Kane’s conduct.
The sentence for the perjury charge – the most serious offense – carries a maximum penalty of seven years in prison.
Kane steamrolled into the AG’s office in 2012, winning by almost 15 points on the promise of a thorough review of the commonwealth’s handling of the child sex abuse case involving former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky under the previous attorney general, former Gov. Tom Corbett.
But defense lawyer Gerald L. Shargel hinted at an appeal, saying Kane’s defense team would “fight to the end”.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – The man who will take over the duties of Pennsylvania’s convicted attorney general on Wednesday is a veteran prosecutor who has handled high-profile cases in suburban Philadelphia, pursued political ambitions and emerged as a central figure in the sexual assault case against Bill Cosby. The court found that two years ago she leaked secret grand jury information to embarrass a rival prosecutor.
The pair’s relationship grew increasingly strained as Beemer cooperated with prosecutors in the case against Kane.
The “Porngate” scandal resulted in the early retirements of former Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justices Seamus McCaffery and Michael Eakin, as well as reprimands for dozens of state employees.
He also told jurors he feared Kane was responsible for the leak.
Beemer’s nomination needs to be confirmed by a two-thirds vote of the state Senate.
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Kathleen Kane’s resignation as state attorney general should not be the last act in the drama that has so roiled the state government and court system.
