Public Servants

Former House Speaker John Perzel gave us some fresh public corruption news this morning, but while the day is still young here's a review on our other stories:

While Jane Orie was hit with forgery and perjury charges, the most important part of the case is not that she allegedly introduced forged documents into her last trial (which the DA tracked via the state Senate's computer system). It's that during the trial she denied having a fake campaign office near her legislative one:

Staff members of Ms. Orie's testified during the trial that she opened a "subterfuge campaign office" across the street from her legislative offices on McKnight Road.

While there was a phone line, computers and fax machine in the office at Suite 303B in the Arcadia Center building, the office was really to "have the appearance of having a real campaign office," Ms. Pavlot testified.

But during the trial, Ms. Orie insisted that she did not have a separate campaign office across the street. Instead, she claimed that the office was behind her building and in the same complex as her legislative offices.

The affidavit (read pdfs here and here) also claims that after the initial corruption charges were filed she hired staffers -- on taxpayer time -- to upload thousands of state documents that were used by her defense team.

Then there's the Pittsburgh Police officer, 16-year vet Michael Johns, who was charged with running a prostitution ring and helping the prostitutes score heroin. Oddly, a man working as a driver for Johns "was found to be carrying a key ring with a small piece of paper on it bearing the name of Alivia Kail, a 19-year-old Mount Washington woman who has been missing since March," Sadie Gurman writes."We don't have anything to connect [Officer Johns] to Kail," said county police Superintendent Charles Moffatt, whose detectives are investigating Ms. Kail's disappearance."

And as usual, things are wild in Dormont -- the latest is residents trying to impeach their longtime mayor.