HARRISBURG
Attorney General Kathleen Kane's escapades as Pennsylvania's chief law enforcement officer broke new ground when her twin sister, in effect, sued her for wage and gender discrimination.
Chief Deputy Attorney General Ellen Granahan, who heads the child predator unit, filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against the office, The Morning Call of Allentown reported. Granahan joined the office about five years before Kane was elected in 2012. But Kane, four months after taking office, promoted Granahan to head the predator unit with a 20 percent pay increase.
Kane, of course, claimed that decision was handled by her then-chief of staff Adrian King.
Right. We all know how those types of promotions work.
The Ethics Commission found the hiring broke no rules. But John Bolger, the former chairman, wrote that the lack of documentation on criteria to fill the vacancy created a perception that the hiring was not free of influence.
Granahan's pay increased to $83,423 in 2013. Most recently, it was $88,509, when she filed her complaint.
What's really going on? Who knows. But try this: Kane, facing a criminal trial in August, isn't seeking re-election. Granahan's job could be in jeopardy when the next attorney general is sworn in. The EEOC complaint muddies the waters about any potential removal of Granahan in 2017. She's an EEOC complainant and with that might come some job protection.
Speaking of escapades, Kane isn't an active lawyer now. Her license was suspended indefinitely by the Supreme Court. She can get it back if she's acquitted on charges of staging a cover-up and lying to a grand jury about a leak of secret documents.
You can bet Granahan's complaint is not a result of any animosity. She is, after all, Kane's identical twin.
Granahan has been in the news a few other times since Kane became attorney general.
Kane has been on a crusade to reveal offensive emails that passed through the AG's computer system. It fits with her criminal defense of being victimized by an “old boys network” that's trying to protect their emails.
It long was rumored that Granahan received some of the emails, but they were held back by Kane.
Kane released them only after being publicly baited by a Philly prosecutor in December.
Granahan received emails mocking Asians and blacks, joking about domestic violence and a small child in a cage. She forwarded with comment one email with a photo of a naked man in a sink.
Kane's former spokesman Chuck Ardo said Granahan's emails were not offensive, and Granahan was not disciplined,
Granahan made headlines in other stories, one of which involved an FBI agent she was living with, according to a lawsuit filed by the agent.
Federal court documents filed by Jacob J. Wentland III claim Granahan borrowed more than $200,000 — his life savings — toward a home purchase. They moved into the new house but she never signed a loan agreement that he'd sought.
When the relationship soured, she sold the home and never paid Wentland, the suit claims.
Brad Bumsted is Trib Total Media's state Capitol reporter (717-787-1405 or bbumsted@tribweb.com).
