[NOTE:
Former Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Margaret Kane faces sentencing
Monday, Oct. 24 for perjury and abuse of power convictions. She faces a
possible maximum sentence of 12 to 24 years in prison. Prosecutors are seeking
jail time; defense is seeking probation or house arrest.]
Defense lawyer Marc R. Steinberg filed papers in Montgomery
County Court this week, providing Judge Wendy Demchick-Alloy with “a complete
picture” of Kathleen Kane’s life. The following are excerpts taken directly from
court documents:
Kane was born June 14, 1966, in Scranton, Pa., to Joseph and
Ellen Granahan and along with her twin sister, Ellen, older brother, Joseph, and
younger brother, Mark, lived in different rented properties in Scranton. Her
father was a janitor who picked up additional odd jobs to supplement his income
and her mother worked at a convenience store and tended bar.
Kathleen Kane/ File Photo from Video by Carl Hessler Jr. |
Kane’s parents divorced when she was in seventh grade and
Steinberg said during this difficult time for her family Kane focused on work
and on school. As a student in Scranton public schools Kane was a cheerleader
and a member of the National Honor Society, and from the age of 13, held
various after-school jobs.
Kane put herself through college, earning a Bachelor’s
Degree in International Studies from the University of Scranton in 1988. For
the next two years, she worked to save money for law school, and ultimately
graduated from Temple Law School in 1993, passing the bar exam the same year.
Between entering the workforce at age 13 and passing the bar
exam, Kane held many jobs. She worked at the Lackawanna County Court House
transferring files to microfilm and at Burger King, Steinberg said. Kane worked
as a school bus aide with children with disabilities and as a cleaning lady.
She was a waitress and a district sales manager for the Scranton Times. She was
a candy striper and an employee of Hess’s Department Store. In short, Steinberg
said, Kane never shied away from hard work and worked hard to make something of
herself, "considering her humble origins."
After passing the bar exam, Kane began her legal career as
an associate with Post & Schell, P.C. Interested in public service, Kane
left corporate law in 1995 and joined the Lackawanna County District Attorney’s
Office as an assistant prosecutor where she primarily prosecuted sex offenders,
handling thousands of cases. During her 12 years as a prosecutor, Kane also led
the district attorney’s Insurance Fraud Unit and served as the first liaison to
the office’s Mental Health Unit.
Kane left the DA’s office in 2007 to focus on raising her
two sons. She also volunteered for Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign
and volunteered with the Lackawanna County non-profit Hands on Hope, a charity
that assisted struggling families to remain in their homes, Steinberg said. She
served as the nonprofit’s president between 2009 and 2010.
In November 2012, Kane was the first woman and the first Democrat elected to hold the office
of state attorney general.
In 2014, Kane made a service trip to Haiti, paid all of her
personal expenses associated with the visit and went on her vacation time,
Steinberg said. While in Haiti, she travelled to a remote village to provide
food and met with enslaved children, bringing with her shoes and hygiene
products.
In October 2014, Kane was involved in a car accident in
which she suffered a concussion and a back injury. She still experiences pain
from the crash, Steinberg said.
While attorney general, Kane’s commitment to her children
never faltered, Steinberg said, and she routinely commuted between her home in
Scranton and her office in Harrisburg in order to meet her professional
obligations without sacrificing time with her children. When possible, she
worked out of an office in Scranton so that she could devote additional time to
her sons, Steinberg said.
Kathleen Kane/File Photo from Mercury Video by Carl Hessler Jr. |
In August 2015, Kane was charged with perjury, false
swearing, obstructing administration of law, conspiracy and official
oppression. In October 2015, Kane was charged with additional counts of
perjury, false swearing and obstructing administration of law.
In August 2016, Kane opted for a jury of her peers and was
convicted of the charges on Aug. 15. Kane resigned from her post as attorney
general two days later, on Aug. 17.
[NOTE: Steinberg’s court filing does not address
details concerning Kane’s pending divorce, begun in December 2014, from her
husband, Christopher, whose family owns a trucking firm.]
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