Charged with spying on emails, Kane staffer could face suspension

A member of Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane's security detail, charged with illegally spying on others' email, remains on the job despite a policy requiring any staffer charged with a work-related crime to be suspended without pay.

Patrick Reese, 48, a Kane confidant and her sometime driver, has pleaded not guilty to a contempt-of-court charge. Prosecutors say that at Kane's behest, he spied on the electronic communications of colleagues and others involved in a grand jury investigation of his boss.

In accessing the emails, they say, Reese violated a judge's order barring Kane's office from retaliating against witnesses in an investigation of whether she illegally leaked confidential information in an effort to damage a political foe.

Reese's continued employment seems to violate a policy of the Attorney General's Office that calls for the suspension of any staffer "formally charged with criminal conduct related to employment with the Commonwealth."

According to the policy, a copy of which was obtained by The Inquirer, such a suspension should happen "as soon as practical." Reese, a former police chief of Dunmore, a tiny borough outside Scranton, was charged Aug. 6.

Reese's lawyer, William Fetterhoff, said Friday he was unaware of any challenge to Reese's job status.

Kane's spokesman, Chuck Ardo, said Reese's employment was "under review." He said he expects a determination soon.

The policy that threatens Reese's $99,658-a-year job does not apply to Kane because she is an elected official.

Kane, the state's highest-ranking law enforcement official, was charged with conspiracy, perjury, obstruction, and other crimes, in part for ordering Reese to spy. She has pleaded not guilty and vowed to remain in office.

Reese faces a Sept. 9 trial before Judge William R. Carpenter, the Montgomery County judge whose protective order he is accused of violating by illegally accessing office emails. Prosecutors say he did so in an effort to learn about the investigation of Kane by accessing documents that revealed the names of witnesses and even one of the grand jurors. The misdemeanor charge carries a maximum penalty of six months in prison.

Ardo said Kane has assigned Jonathan Duecker, her chief of staff, to review Reese's possible suspension. Asked why such a review was necessary since Reese has been charged with a crime related to his employment - in contravention of the office policy - Ardo said: "I can't answer. I'm not sure what they're looking at."

The language of the internal office policy mirrors a state ethics law enacted in 1984.

Fetterhoff, Reese's lawyer, said he did not believe the state law applied to Reese because the Attorney General's Office is not an agency under the governor's jurisdiction.

215-854-2928 @MattGelb