Deputy Defends Promotion of Kathleen Kane's Sister

State Attorney General Kathleen Kane's top deputy said Tuesday he's confident the promotion of Kane's twin sister can withstand scrutiny by the Pennsylvania Ethics Commission.

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The promotion of Ellen Granahan as chief of the newly elevated child predator unit in Kane's office "was done the right way and it was done for the right reasons,'' First Deputy Attorney General Adrian King said.

Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-Butler, called on the ethics panel to investigate at a recent hearing before the House State Government Committee, which he chairs, asserting that Kane, a Democrat, had not done enough to prevent ethical conflicts.

The ethics panel doesn't confirm or deny the existence of investigations, executive director Robert Caruso said Tuesday.

The state ethics law bars public officials from using their offices for personal financial gain that exceeds their regular compensation.

King said that he, not Kane, promoted Granahan in April and that she reports to him under guidelines the office's senior staff developed to insulate Kane from potential conflicts.

Granahan has worked as a state prosecutor since 2008, when Republican Gov. Tom Corbett was attorney general and five years before Kane took office in January. Previously, she spent 10 years prosecuting child predators in the Lackawanna County district attorney's office, King said.

While Granahan's promotion included a nearly 20 percent pay raise to more than $83,000 a year, it is the lowest salary among the 21 chief deputy attorneys general, King said.
 

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