She is scheduled to be sentenced October 24.
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Kane, 50, of Waverly Township, was convicted Monday in Montgomery County Court of two counts each of perjury, false swearing, obstructing the administration of law and conspiracy and one count of official oppression for leaking grand jury documents and lying to another grand jury that investigated the leak.
The sentence for the perjury charge – the most serious offense – carries a maximum penalty of seven years in prison.
With Kathleen Kane’s stepping down as Pennsylvania’s attorney general after her felony conviction, the focus is now on how to restore public confidence in the scandal-ridden office.
Wednesday was Kane’s last day in office, leaving it to be run by recent Kane hire Bruce L. Castor Jr., who had emerged as a central figure in the Bill Cosby sex assault case.
“I have been honored to serve the people of Pennsylvania and I wish them health and safety all their days”, Kane said in a short press release Tuesday afternoon. Kane’s ultimate successor will be chosen in November’s election between state Sen. John Rafferty, R-Montgomery, and Montgomery County Commissioner Josh Shapiro.
“I will do all within my power to see that the Office of Attorney General is in the best possible shape for whenever the next attorney general arrives”, said Castor.
She talked with members of the media before heading inside to her office on Wednesday.
“It was surrendered to this office at 10:24 a.m. on August 16 as directed by the order of Judge Demchick-Alloy”, a clerk in the office confirmed.
But he also should attend to an important piece of business that was left hanging with Kane’s departure. While Beemer was promoted into the top lieutenant’s job under Kane, he later clashed publicly with her and provided testimony that helped prosecutors convict her.
A Scranton native, Kane is the first female and first Democrat elected attorney general.
Kane did not testify at trial.
“What she did while she was the attorney general, the fact she would commit criminal acts while the top prosecutor, is a disgrace”, assistant district attorney Michelle Henry said after the verdict.
Bruce Beemer now serves as Pennsylvania’s Inspector General, and prior to that he served as first deputy in the Office of the Attorney General of Pennsylvania where he oversaw the day to day operations of the Criminal, Civil, and Public Protection Divisions, as well as being responsible for the management of nearly 800 employees.
At trial, Steele and co-prosecutor Michelle Henry alleged Kane orchestrated the illegal release of secret materials pertaining to the 2009 statewide grand jury No. 29 to a reporter in order to exact “revenge” on a former state prosecutor with whom she was feuding.
The two years of turmoil in her office left Kane isolated in Pennsylvania’s political, legal and law enforcement community. The oath compelled Kane to maintain the secrecy of all matters occurring before past and present statewide grand juries, prosecutors alleged.
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Kane claimed she did nothing wrong and has implied the charges were part of an effort to force her out of office because she discovered pornographic emails being exchanged between state employees on state email addresses. Defense lawyers hinted that might be the basis for an eventual appeal.
