3 computers seized in Jane Orie case

An ongoing investigation of alleged document-tampering within the ethics case against state Sen. Jane Orie advanced Friday, when state police seized 3 Senate pc laborious drives in Harrisburg that had been assigned to the politician.

Investigators believe the pcs might contain proof of tampering and data concerning whose computer ID was used to "facilitate the scanning and insertion of signatures, and/or the deletion of pc files," in step with a hunt warrant affidavit.

State police executed the search warrant on the Senate pc Services workplace at 8:45 a.m.

Confiscated were the laborious drives from a desktop pc that had been at the Republican lawmaker's district workplace in McCandless, a desktop pc from her Harrisburg workplace and a Senate-issued laptop.

The seizure wasn't surprising.

"As a part of a prearranged and cooperative effort, this morning the Senate Republican Caucus provided the Allegheny County district attorney's workplace sure requested pc knowledge," Matthew H. Haverstick, an attorney with Philadelphia law firm Conrad O'Brien, said in an exceedingly statement.

"The caucus has been, and can still be, absolutely cooperative with the district attorney's workplace, however won't more discuss the character of the knowledge provided as a result of the investigation is ongoing."

Charges that Ms. Orie used her legislative employees and resources to try to to campaign work on state time led to a mistrial in March when the defense introduced documents with questionable signatures.

That development led Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. to file further criminal charges, as well as perjury, tampering with proof, forgery and obstruction.

Last month, attorneys from the Senate Republican Caucus told Mr. Zappala's workplace that a half-dozen documents used as defense exhibits had gone missing from the Senate pc system.

On Sept. 26, the affidavit said, the caucus "discovered further proof of file modifications among the Orie defense documents previously scanned into the Senate pc network by Orie staffers."

Key files disappeared from one pc backup to ensuing, the affidavit said. The caucus notified investigators Oct. six of further file modifications it had discovered, as well as one created by somebody using Ms. Orie's Senate login name.

On Oct. fourteen Senate pc Services collected the 3 computers that were the topic of Friday's search warrant.

Ms. Orie's personal attorney, William Costopoulos, failed to come requests for comment.