MARK D. SCHWARTZ

Attorney at Law
Post Office Box 330
Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania 19010-0330
www.markschwartzesq.com
610-525-5534 

October 8, 2016

The Honorable Wendy Demchick-Alloy, Judge
Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas
Montgomery County Courthouse
2 East Airy Street
P.O. Box 311
Norristown, PA 19404-0311

Re: An Open Victim Impact Statement on the Sentencing of Kathleen Kane

Dear Judge Demchick-Alloy:

As is the case with all Pennsylvanians, I have been victimized by the crimes of Kathleen Kane and her violation of an oath of office for public benefit.  Accordingly, please consider this letter to be a victim impact statement for your consideration.

I am also bothered by the argument that there were no victims to these crimes. Former Philadelphia NAACP head Jerry Mondesire was very much a victim. Moreover, those working in the Attorney General’s Office fired and otherwise abused by her have been specific victims. In innumerable ways the public has been victimized when it came to how Ms. Kane exercised or refrained from exercising her considerable powers when it came to enforcing our laws. Finally let’s not forget about another victim: “Lady Justice” who was repeatedly violated.

I sat through some of the Kane trial. What struck me most was the fact that her own prior statements are what convicted her, not the testimony of others. She said that she was selectively prosecuted because she was not “one of the boys”.  In my opinion she ran circles around the boys.

Let’s be clear about the fact that the jury quickly found her guilty of all of the charges and that the convictions were for:

  • 2 counts of perjury
  • 2 counts of false swearing
  • 3 counts of obstruction
  • 2 counts of conspiracy to obstruct justice
  • 2 counts of official oppression
  • 2 counts of conspiracy to commit official oppression

These were hardly make-weight charges.

Let’s also be clear about who this defendant was. She was not an ordinary layman or a simple single mother with kids. She was a member of the Bar who was entrusted with chief law enforcement responsibilities for Pennsylvania.  Throughout this Commonwealth, ordinary laymen and single mothers go to jail when convicted of crimes. You know this from your personal and professional experience when it comes to crimes perpetrated in your jurisdiction. Our jails are bursting at the seams with these kinds of people.

I am shocked to hear some who claim that Ms. Kane should not go to jail. Yes, she is a single mother. However, given my understanding that she receives $40,000 per month in child support and lives in a residence worth well in excess of $1 million, she is able to afford the best care for her children during her incarceration. This is hardly the case for the great majority of incarcerated single parents whom you and your judicial colleagues have routinely sentenced.

As an exhibit to this “Victim Impact Statement”, I am enclosing Pennsylvania journalist Brad Bumsted’s two books on “Keystone Corruption”. What they clearly depict are the two standards of justice in Pennsylvania: “leniency” for politicians and “tough on crime” for the rest of us. I find it amazing that many public official felons are able to then return to feed at the public trough as lobbyists welcomed back by their colleagues. In effect they get a pay raise for their crimes. Contrast that with the ordinary criminal.

You have the opportunity to correct the imbalance and begin to restore people’s trust in the criminal justice system. Without that trust, our institutions are worth nothing.  Justice for elected officials who have violated the public trust demands no less than a stiff sentence. In Ms. Kane’s case the sentence should be in excess of those eight years.

 

Very truly yours,

Mark D. Schwartz