Orie sentenced to up to 10 years in prison

An Allegheny County judge on Monday sentenced former state Sen. Jane Orie to 2 ¹⁄₂ to 10 years in prison because she tried to cover up her scheme to use state staffers to churn out political campaign victories.

Her family, including sister Janine Orie, who awaits trial on similar charges, wept as two sheriff's deputies escorted the McCandless Republican from the Downtown courtroom to begin serving her sentence.

Orie, who once worked as a prosecutor in the courthouse, remained stoic and silent as she joined five former Pennsylvania lawmakers — from both parties and both chambers — serving prison time for corruption.

"You stand convicted of crimes that demean the sanctity of all we do as lawyers," said Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey A. Manning. "The sin is overborne by the deflection; the crime overshadowed by the cover up."

He allowed her to leave without handcuffs, a departure from standard procedure.

"She'll walk with you. No need to restrain her," Manning told the deputies.

Manning said Orie might have received a shorter sentence if it weren't for fraudulent documents introduced as evidence at her first trial in March 2011, which caused a mistrial. An Allegheny County jury in March convicted Orie of 14 crimes.

Orie, 50, said nothing during the sentencing hearing except, "No, your honor," to acknowledge her decision not to speak.

Her attorney, William Costopoulos, said Orie began paying for her crimes well before sentencing.

"Politics have been her entire life," he said. "She's been disbarred. She automatically lost her pension, and her reputation was damaged pretty much the day she was indicted. There were a lot of losses before she walked into the courtroom ... and in many, many ways they're more painful to her than what Judge Manning did."

Costopoulos said he plans to appeal and will challenge District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr.'s authority to prosecute the case instead of an independent prosecutor. He said the prosecution was overly aggressive and "mean spirited."

He said Orie decided not to speak because she didn't think it would make a difference in the sentencing.

Zappala's office declined to comment. During the hearing, Assistant District Attorney Lawrence Claus, a former colleague of Orie's when the two worked for the state Attorney General, said she showed "a total lack of remorse."

Her convictions included five felony counts of using taxpayer-funded staff to perform political work.

The investigation and prosecution of Orie and her sisters, Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin and ex-Melvin aide Janine Orie, 57, began 2 ¹⁄₂ years ago, when an intern working for Jane Orie complained to Zappala of politicking in Orie's office during Orie Melvin's 2009 Supreme Court campaign.

Zappala last month charged Melvin, 56, of Marshall with similar crimes. She faces a hearing on Friday.

Manning said he received and read more than 100 letters in support of Jane Orie. Many came from former constituents who praised her support of veterans, senior citizens and police and the $1.1 million she raised to help build the Flight 93 National Memorial through her "Hearts of Steel" bracelet campaign.

A few notables, including Allegheny County GOP Chairman Jim Roddey and Pittsburgh Fraternal Order of Police Fort Pitt Lodge No. 1 past union presidents Jim Malloy and Dan O'Hara, asked Manning to take her good deeds into consideration.

"I know of no other individual that has dedicated their life, as has Jane Orie, to the cause of helping others in such an unselfish manner," Roddey wrote.

Reactions to the sentencing were mixed.

"I was stunned by the severity of the sentencing," said Bill Kirk, 56, chairman of the McCandless Republican Committee. "It just seems like there's been this piling on since the trial started."

Kirk said Orie, who represented the 40th Senate District for nearly 11 years, worked hard and helped many people during her tenure. She resigned May 21, her original sentencing date.

Ross Commissioner Dan DeMarco, who lost to Orie by an 11-point margin in the 2010 general election, said he thought the sentence was too lenient. He's considering running in a special election set for Aug. 7 to fill the remainder of her term.

"Maybe she should have gotten a couple more years on the minimum side," DeMarco said. "I think the forgery should have warranted a little more time than that."

Orie is eligible to have her minimum sentence reduced to 22.5 months because she was not convicted of a violent crime. Manning is considering how much Orie will have to pay in restitution, including public costs connected to her case.

Prosecutors have sought about $2 million in restitution. Manning has 30 days to consider arguments that most of the taxpayer money went to Philadelphia law firm Conrad O'Brien to represent the Republican Caucus' belief that some documents prosecutors sought were protected by legislative privilege.

A rundown

Jane Orie:

• Was a member of the state Senate for 11 years.

• Served in the state House from 1996 to 2000.

• Won re-election in 2010 while under indictment.

• Resigned her $82,026-a-year state Senate job on May 21.

• Convicted on 14 of 24 charges

• May have her former legislative district eliminated in 2014.

• A special election to fill the remainder of her term is scheduled for Aug. 7.

Other family members:

• Sister Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin was charged with nine criminal corruption charges on May 18.

• The trial for another sister, Janine Orie, is set to begin on Aug. 13.

• The Ories hired an "angel lady," or psychic, to foretell the results of a meeting with the district attorney in 2009.