May 23, 2012 3 min read

A professor of law at the University of Pittsburgh characterizes it as “piling on,” but prosecutors’ attempt to force convicted state Sen. Jane Orie to repay more than $1.5 million in legal fees paid by state taxpayers is the correct post-conviction action.

Orie was found guilty of violating the public trust and she deserves having to pay the consequences — in this instance, the big-time consequences.

Still, there undoubtedly are some constituents who share the view of the Pitt professor, John Burkoff, who told a Pittsburgh newspaper, “The government already has her down and out; do they really need to kick her too?”

Having been convicted on 14 of 24 corruption counts, Orie doesn’t deserve compassion via the taxpayers’ money.

Still, Orie’s predicament has become a sad conclusion to a political career that probably would have achieved many more accomplishments, if she hadn’t fallen victim to the belief that she was above the law.

She had been a rising star on the state government scene until an investigation determined that she had misused her publicly funded staff for campaign purposes. She was charged in April 2010.

Under Senate rules, the caucus is responsible for paying for a sitting member’s legal defense during the course of an investigation. But all payments must stop once charges are filed.

A motion filed Wednesday by Allegheny County prosecutors indicates that the Senate spent $1.3 million during the Orie investigation. Another $74,000 was paid to a former state judge who served as an expert witness at Orie’s pretrial hearing.

Eric Epstein, co-founder of the political reform group Rock the Capital, said it’s common for politicians to use taxpayers’ money to fund their legal defense. However, he said, it’s rare for a district attorney’s office to seek reimbursement for those costs’ — but it should not be.

That Allegheny County prosecutors have chosen to do so is commendable.

“It’s progressive,” Epstein told the Pittsburgh newspaper. “It’s an important and necessary step.”

The motion filed by the Allegheny DA’s office says the law requires Orie to repay the money in question. The DA’s office has asked Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey A. Manning for a hearing on the issue, separate from Orie’s sentencing.

Requiring Orie to repay the money would be another positive result geared toward cleaning up the illegal activities that have undermined Pennsylvania state government for years — and resulted in the premature end to a number of powerful political careers.

“Piling on” against Orie is the right move. The taxpayers deserve it.

Butler Eagle