Robert Graci, Counsel to the Judicial Conduct Board, is recusing himself.
Yesterday, William Bender of the Daily News reported that Graci and State Supreme Court Justice Michael Eakin are friends.
Actually, their connection went deeper than that. Graci worked on Eakin’s 2011 re-election campaign. Yet he made no mention of this when advising the Board to dismiss allegations about the Justice’s emails.
In the wake of the revelation, Graci decided to step down. His action seems to have also been precipitated by Justices Correale Stevens and Debra Todd, who didn’t know about his relationship to their colleague.
“What disturbs me is he did not disclose that relationship to me,” Justice Stevens stated. “I think that’s something I should have been told.”
“I was glad to see that, and I hope the JCB will take this opportunity to appoint an independent counsel, not simply Mr. Graci’s deputies who have been working under Mr. Graci’s direction,” Justice Todd added.
“She says it’s too bad it took exposure of his obvious conflict of interest to make Mr. Graci do the right thing,” Kane spokesman Chuck Ardo responded. “He should have done it last year.”
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23 Responses
gulag – referral to the DB would be meaningless. The “fix” is in there too. They are Repervlican-led. They are in on the end-around the Clown Car is trying to run … where they “get rid” of Kane without her having a chance to defend herself. It’s not working …
Graci should be fired for unethical conduct and referred to the PA Disciplinary Board with the PA Supreme Ct immediately suspending his law license.
wonder why the Supremes have not suspended Eakin when they were adamant and quick about suspending Mc Caffery? they refer McCafery to JIRB, JIRB ‘investigates’ then covers up and lets mc Caffery resign. But t hey don’t suspend Eakin for porn 100x worse? (sent to many, sent using fake gmail a account…)
i am disgusted and disappointed by the Supremes, by JIRB, and by Graci who is in ethical and moral disgrace.
The FBI does need to get involved, Williams has his hands full if he does not realize it. Eakins, time to go on his own. Plain and simple
This whole mess, under a Federal review, will revel the true politics of the Kane prosecution and the attempts of the Boys to revenge the prosecution of KERN’S with a dab of Penn State scandal to boot.
Sorry but the politics of this mess need an outside look!,
To Pat Unger:
I think we are in agreement. Personally, if I were in Williams’s predicament, I’d disassociate myself with Fina and Costanza——– by firing them.
Obs #2 – I’m no big fan of hoping that “perception becomes reality” on things that are not true. Those are the tactics the smear troops tried to use against Kane. It’s wrong.
I doubt Williams had anything to do with “Porngate” – despite his former 1st assistant being close with Fina. But Williams has gotten himself into a mess. If he knew about Fina’s “issues” and hired him anyway, he was just being ambitious. If he didn’t know, then Fina didn’t tell him – which would be a bigger problem for me if I was Williams.
All the nonsense about “I can’t fire him because he wasn’t a racist here at the D.A.’s Office” is just that – nonsense. If Williams found out that one of his employees was in the KKK before he joined the D.A.’s Office – he’d have every right to fire him.
What Fina and Costanzo did was worse. It was illegal. Not the porn itself. But the use of State computers and State time (the taxpayers’ $$$) on porn, racist material, misonynist material … IT IS CRIMINAL.
Fina and Costanzo shouldn’t get the benefit of switching jobs, hiding it from their new employer and saying “Oh – that’s old news.” Because it isn’t. Prosecutors and Judges need to be people who are not criminals. Who are not racists. Who are not woman-haters. People who do not laugh at female victims of domestic violence and at rape victims.
Williams needs to put his beef with Kane aside and look at the people collecting salaries from Philadelphians – who’s city is half Black and half female.
To Pat Unger:
Collateral damage is still damage and perception can become reality. Maybe Williams can avoid such pitfalls. As it is, his image with the public is likely becoming tarnished as time goes on and that could be politically damaging to him. If I were in his position, I’d make some major changes, the quicker the better.
Now that the curtain is being pealed back it reveals the insiders only clubhouse atmosphere of good old white boy privilege, racism and elitism. Prosecutors, defense attorneys and judges sending out emails full of racist comments, pornographic images, content that is misogynistic and demeaning to a wide range of groups. Had any of us in any of our occupations done something like this, we would have been immediately terminated for cause. So should they.
Obs #2 – what fo you mean “involved”?? You are not implying that Eilliams was involved in “Porngate”????
Hmmmm … That would explain his quote about being a “recovering sexist.”
Later? When later?
spell check Williams’s office
Who runs William’s office, Williams or Fina? Williams is looking really weak and———– really involved. He better do something definitive about Fina…….more later.
The FBI needs to get this under control. Harrisburg is a cesspool.
Kane’s one alleged leak is a drop of water next to the ocean of corruption now being uncovered.
Can’t believe Fina has not resigned. He obviously cares little about Seth Williams. A decent, honorable man resigns to save his boss the embarrassment.
When do disciplinary charges get filed against Robert Graci? What he did is a disgrace. And this is not the first time he protected a dirty judge.
Verde: You are absolutely right.
But when you think about it, this is the PA judiciary that is the joke. That is seriously not funny for the people who have been abused by them.
When does Eakin resign?
I don’t find it funny AT ALL.
But it will all help Kane in the long run. The DA in Montgomery County must be getting really nervous. He may actually have to try that joke of a case against Kane. They probably thought it would go away in some sort of deal. But Kane doesn’t look like she is taking any deals. She is sticking to her guns – and exposing a lot of corruption in the process.
In the end – we will have Kane to thank for exposing the Judicial Review Board’s corruption. That’s a big deal. She has basically ended Fina’s career (whether Seth Williams keeps paying him or not). That’s a good thing.
Hold on here. He is keeping his job and simply recusing himself? I thought judges are required to divulge conflicts and to recuse themselves or be subject to sanction and dismissal. So the guy who investigates judges fails to identify his own conflict and recuse himself, gets caught and now simply steps aside without consequence? This is getting funnier by the day.
He isn’t resigning. He is just recusing from this case. Why can’t we get simple stuff like this right?
This report is wrong. Graci had not resigned.
Though he absolutely should.
Who thinks it strange that there are only 3 comments on this site and 4 comments on Fina’s site? If it were the Attorney General she would have at least 20 comments by now. It all stems from the Corbett Administration and their mishandling of the Sandusky case, along with bonusgate. So many leaks, it was like a sieve.
Notice that Saylor isn’t saying anything? He knew about the connection, and kept quiet. Ethics, anyone?
Now it’s time for Eakin to go! Resign now!!
why hasn’t Eakin resigned yet?