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AG-Elect Kane Assembles Top Staff

Kathleen Kane portrait
Kathleen Kane

Kathleen Kane today named the top staffers who will help her manage the office of Attorney General. Several familiar names dot the list.

The first Democrat ever elected to the post, Kane’s first term will bring as much change to the office as it has likely ever seen.

Her first deputy will be Adrian King, an alum of the Rendell administration.

“I handpicked a team that brings a wealth of experiences, expertise, talent and knowledge that will be instrumental in fighting for justice for every Pennsylvanian,” Kane said.

Here is the list, from her press release:

First Deputy Attorney General

Adrian R. King, Jr. will serve as First Deputy Attorney General.  Most recently, Mr. King was a partner at Ballard Spahr, LLP where he was a member of the Business and Finance Department and Co-Chair of both the Government and Regulatory Affairs and P3/Infrastructure Practice Groups.

Mr. King has previously held significant positions in Pennsylvania state government. In February 2005, he was appointed to Governor Edward G. Rendell’s Cabinet, serving as Director of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency.

During the years 2003 and 2004, Mr. King served as Deputy Chief of Staff to Governor Rendell. In this position, he oversaw the Commonwealth’s public safety and homeland security functions with respect to both operations and policy, and served as the Governor’s day-to-day and emergency point of contact for the Pennsylvania State Police, Office of Homeland Security, State Fire Commissioner, Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (including the Pennsylvania National Guard), Department of Corrections, Emergency Management Agency and Board of Probation and Parole.

Mr. King was also the chairman of the Pennsylvania Justice Network (JNET), an integrated criminal justice information network that enables 39 state departments and agencies, 266 county government and municipal police department users, and 17 federal agencies to share and access instantaneously key criminal justice data, including fingerprints, mug shots, driver’s license photos and arrest warrant information.

Mr. King has served on a variety of public safety related committees, including Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter’s Emergency Services Transition Committee (Co-Chairman, 2007), the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education Security Committee (formed in 2007 following the Virginia Tech mass shooting), New Jersey Governor John Corzine’s Homeland Security and Public Safety Transition Policy Group (2006) and Philadelphia Mayor John F. Street’s Task Force on Police Discipline (Counsel, 2001).

Mr. King earned a B.A. from Columbia University and J.D., cum laude, from the Temple University School of Law.  He also holds a Certificate in Crisis Management from Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Senior Executive Deputy Attorney General

Linda Dale Hoffa will serve as Senior Executive Deputy Attorney General. Ms. Hoffa most recently served as Executive Deputy General Counsel in the Pennsylvania Governor’s Office of General Counsel where she was responsible for supervising criminal legal issues for all Commonwealth agencies and their counsel.  She also served as the Office of General Counsel’s principal contact with law enforcement agencies and as counsel to the Board of Pardons.

From 2009 to 2011, Ms. Hoffa served Chairman Arlen Specter (D-PA) as Counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Crime & Drugs where she was responsible for preparing Senate hearings, briefing on criminal issues and drafting criminal legislation.

For 25 years (1984-2009), Ms. Hoffa enjoyed a distinguished career in the United States Attorney’s Office, United States Department of Justice (Philadelphia) where she tried numerous cases, both violent crime and complex white collar offenses.  Among other assignments, she served as Chief of the Criminal Division where she oversaw the work of 100 federal prosecutors and supervised all criminal investigations, trials, forfeiture proceedings and appeals.  She developed strategies to combat crime trends and enhance law enforcement cooperation, and implemented one of the first federal court re-entry programs that successfully reduced the recidivism rate for high risk offenders.

Ms. Hoffa also served as a Member and Chair of the Department of Justice Criminal Chiefs Working Group, which develops and implements national policies and programs on a wide-range of issues, including discovery practices, legislation, enforcement initiatives and crime prevention.

Ms. Hoffa served as Law Clerk to the Honorable Dickinson R. Debevoise, United State District Court for the District of New Jersey.  She earned a B.A., magna cum laude, from Rutgers College and a J.D. from the Rutgers University School of Law.

Senior Counsel to the Attorney General

Bruce R. Beemer will serve as Senior Counsel to the Attorney General. Mr. Beemer most recently served as Chief of Staff to Attorney General Linda L. Kelly and has also led the prosecution of certain significant criminal matters.

For 14 years Mr. Beemer served in the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office where he distinguished himself as one of the top trial lawyers in the office.  He held a variety of positions in specialized trial units for narcotics, crimes against persons and homicide.  He has personally tried over 100 cases to jury verdict, including high profile homicides and serious felony cases.

Mr. Beemer has served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Pittsburgh, where he taught trial advocacy for the criminal lawyer.  He earned a B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Scranton and a J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.

Executive Deputy Attorney General for Public Protection (Acting)

James A. Donahue, III will serve as Executive Deputy Attorney General for Public Protection (Acting).  Mr. Donahue joined the Attorney General’s office in 1985 and was promoted to his most recent position as Chief of the Antitrust Section in 1997 where he was responsible for all aspects of antitrust case development and prosecution.

Mr. Donahue has testified in front of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on antitrust, business rights and competition issues, and he has appeared in front of several state legislatures on antitrust issues.  He worked as the lead attorney during a 14-month multistate investigation of the United Airlines/US Airways merger, which resulted in the termination of the merger.  He also coordinated the prosecution and settlement of competition claims involving the merger of the two largest local telephone companies in the Commonwealth.

In 2009, Mr. Donahue was named Chairman of the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) Multistate Antitrust Task Force, which coordinates multistate antitrust cases and advocates competition before federal and state courts and administrative agencies. The Task Force is comprised of the antitrust sections from each state’s Attorney General’s office and works in coordination with the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission.

Mr. Donahue earned a B.A in journalism and government from Lehigh University. After working as a newspaper reporter for a year, he earned a J.D. from Duquesne University School of Law.

Executive Deputy Attorney General for Criminal Law

Lawrence M. Cherba will serve as Executive Deputy Attorney General for Criminal Law. Most recently Mr. Cherba served as Senior Deputy Attorney General, Drug Strike Force Section, Drug Diversion Unit, where he prosecuted violations of the Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act and Corrupt Organizations Act through the use of the Statewide Investigating Grand Jury and the Pennsylvania Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Control Act.

Mr. Cherba serves as Legal Advisor to the Pennsylvania Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PENNscript).  He has also served as an instructor to law enforcement agencies on a variety of topics, including search and seizure, use of force, electronic surveillance and dealing with mentally ill persons.

Mr. Cherba received his B.S., magna cum laude, from Wilmington University of Delaware and his J.D. from the Temple University School of Law

Executive Deputy Attorney General for Civil Law

Susan J. Forney will continue to serve as Executive Deputy Attorney General for the Civil Law Division.  Ms. Forney joined the Attorney General’s office in 1978 as a staff attorney in the Litigation Section where she handled numerous cases involving constitutional challenges to state statutes, programs and enforcement actions, in both state and federal courts.  She served as Chief of the Litigation Section from 1998 to 2010, after which she was promoted to her current position.

Ms. Forney has served on several committees for the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, including the Civil Justice Reform Act Advisory Committee, the Lawyers Advisory Committee and the Task Force to Study the Civil Jury Trial. Ms. Forney earned a B.A. in history from the Pennsylvania State University and her J.D. from the Cornell Law School.

Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Criminal Investigations

Kevin L. Wevodau will serve as Special Agent in Charge the Bureau of Criminal Investigations.  Mr. Wevodau most recently served as Senior Supervisory Resident Agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Scranton Resident Agency, Philadelphia Division.

Mr. Wevodau’s law enforcement career began 34 years ago when he was hired as a Patrolman for the Susquehanna Township Police Department.  He has also served as an Investigator for the Office of Attorney General, Bureau of  Narcotics Investigation.  He commenced his service with the FBI in 1984 as a Special Agent and has held several additional positions with the FBI, including case agent in the Louisville Division for a RICO prosecution and conviction of 20 members of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club and service in the Special Operations Branch in the New York Division.

Mr. Wevodau has been recognized by both the Monroe County Drug Task Force and the ATF for successful multiagency drug and gang investigations.   He supervised the investigations and prosecutions of several high profile public corruption cases, including the Luzerne County “Kids-for-Cash” scandal and certain matters involving former State Senator Robert Mellow.

Mr. Wevodau received his B.S. from Pennsylvania State University (Harrisburg) and an associate’s degree in Police Administration from Harrisburg Area Community College.

Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Narcotics Investigation & Drug Control

Jonathan A. Duecker will serve as Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Narcotics Investigation & Drug Control.  Mr. Duecker most recently served as Senior Counterterrorism Advisor to the Committee on Homeland Security, 112th Congress, United States House of Representatives, where he was responsible for providing advice and counsel to the Committee and its Chairman (The Honorable Peter T. King (R-NY)), on a broad range of domestic homeland security, counterterrorism, intelligence, military affairs, civilian law enforcement (including narcotics and counterdrug matters), crisis response, and emergency management issues.

Prior to his Congressional Appointment, Mr. Duecker served in a variety of law enforcement and national security positions including: (i) Assistant Commissioner for Counterterrorism, New York City Police Department, (ii) Director, Office of Homeland Security, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, (iii) Counterterrorism Intelligence Analyst, United States Navy / Defense Intelligence Agency, and (iv) Special Agent, United States Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Agency, where he was assigned to the Philadelphia Field Division.  Mr. Duecker is a former Naval Aviator, having served as an Electronic Warfare Officer on carrier-based EA-6B Prowler aircraft.  He earned his B.S. from the United States Naval Academy and his J.D. from the University of Wisconsin.

Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Investigative Services

Lieutenant David C. Peifer will serve as Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Investigative Services.  Lieutenant Peifer is the Pennsylvania Internet Crimes Against Children (“ICAC”) Task Force Commander and is responsible for conducting undercover online investigations, responding to complaints regarding children sexually exploited via the Internet, conducting community education programs and monitoring of the Internet for bartering in child pornography. He has been a law enforcement officer for 34 years and the supervisor of the Delaware County District Attorney’s Criminal Investigation Division’s Child Abuse Unit for 13 years. During this time he has investigated hundreds of incidents of child abuse, including child sexual abuse, and child pornography. Lieutenant Peifer attended West Chester University and is a graduate of the 174th session of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia.

Director of Legislative Affairs

David D. Tyler will serve as Director of Legislative Affairs.  Mr. Tyler most recently served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives as Executive Director of the Judiciary Committee, which maintains oversight of all aspects of the criminal and civil justice system and related Commonwealth agencies and organizations.  Mr. Tyler has extensive experience in drafting legislation and working in a bipartisan and bicameral manner to achieve important public safety objectives. A former United States Marine, Mr. Tyler earned his B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Central Florida.

4 Responses

  1. Can an attorney general investigate corruption in Philadelphia?. It won’t make her any friends but it would be a great public service.

    I am hearing that Inspector General Kanya Mann Faulkner is preparing for an indictment of Rep. Dwight Evans which may unravel a lot of what’s wrong with Philadelphia and to whom money is really redistributed. Not poor people.

  2. As Attorney General, Tom Corbett received over $647,000 in campaign contributions from members of the Second Mile Foundation, while only assigning one investigator to the case.

    Meanwhile, at the same time, he assigned 14 investigators to Bill Deweese and spent more than 5 years trying to get him.

    It is difficult to believe these campaign contributions did not improperly influence his decision to not file charges against Jerry Sandusky.

    The state police trooper who initially handled the Clinton County case against Jerry Sandusky believed there was enough evidence from a teenage boy — known as Victim One– to charge Sandusky with indecent assault.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji7UQhr3z3M

  3. I think she’s going to need more staff to keep up with investigating Corbett:

    1) Corbett’s lack of effort on Sandusky (or as some people view it: cover-up and aiding/abetting

    2) Looking into Corbett’s NCAA suit and if it’s being done to funnel taxpayer dollars to his political contributors

    3) Looking into recent prison deal (probably soon to be scandal). I suggest getting court order for the phone records.

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