Phila. NOW chapter slams prosecutors linked to porn emails

A women's advocacy group on Monday condemned two city prosecutors linked to pornographic and racially charged emails revealed in court documents unsealed last week.

The Philadelphia chapter of the National Organization for Women said it "strongly denounces the demeaning, misogynistic, and racist emails sent by Frank Fina and E. Marc Costanzo on state-owned computers while they worked for the Attorney General's Office."

Fina and Costanzo now work for District Attorney Seth Williams.

"This gross misconduct points to the culture of misogyny and racism that permeates the highest levels of government," the NOW chapter said.

The chapter called on Williams "to respond to this matter with the utmost urgency."

After the emails were released, Williams said he would review them to determine whether to take any action against the two. A spokesman for Williams said Monday that the review was continuing.

The state Supreme Court unsealed hundreds of pages of court documents Wednesday in which Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane argued that Fina and Costanzo "corruptly manufactured" a criminal investigation against her to hide the fact that they viewed pornography on state computers.

The emails were discovered when Kane looked into whether there was political interference in the investigation of Jerry Sandusky, the former Pennsylvania State University assistant football coach convicted of molesting 10 boys.

She has said the emails included nude photographs purporting to be of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin; photos of women's genitalia; a photo of an African American baby holding a rifle; and photographs purporting to be of President Obama sitting next to a partially nude Hillary Rodham Clinton. In many instances, Fina and Costanzo were recipients rather than senders of the emails.

Kane was charged last month with perjury, conspiracy, obstruction, and related offenses in connection with the leak of grand jury material from an old case Fina and Costanzo handled.