That Little Stink: Ernie Preate and the Pennsylvania Crime Commission

• In Event: Poster Session 2

Abstract

As District Attorney of Lackawanna County in Pennsylvania, Ernie Preate solicited and accepted donations from illegal operators of video poker. When he became Attorney General of the state, he inherited a statewide grand jury investigation of the same gamblers who had contributed to his campaigns. Recommended felony racketeering charges were dismissed and exceptionally lenient plea deals were arranged. Investigations by the Pennsylvania Crime Commission and a federal grand jury uncovered illegal cash contributions and campaign finance violations perpetrated in an effort to conceal the illegal donations from organized criminals. Preate used the power of his Office to influence the Pennsylvania General Assembly to axe the Crime Commission largely because of its investigation of the Attorney General.

Author

• Don Liddick, Pennsylvania State University