Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

HARRISBURG — Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane today announced multistate settlements with two deceptive cancer charities and three executives. The defendants are accused of accepting millions of dollars in donations earmarked for cancer victims and using much of that money for their personal gain. The multistate group of regulators also sued three non-settling defendants. The settlements with the Children’s Cancer Fund of America, the Breast Cancer Society and the three executives will result in combined payments of approximately $914,000. It also permanently prevents the executives — Rose Perkins, Kyle Effler and Jim Reynolds II — from managing charitable assets in the future. “Everyone has been affected by cancer in one way or another,” Attorney General Kane said. “That is what makes this so unfathomable. To take not only from hard-working Americans but sick women and children as well, that is something I will not stand for.” Perkins was executive director of the Children’s Cance...

Four people, including an Olean man, have been arrested by the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office for trafficking a quarter of a million dollars’ worth of marijuana. The AG’s office says 33-year-old Andrew Kubiak of Olean, 31-year-old John Nelson and Meadville, 39-year-old Jessica Clark of Erie and 29-year-old Nicole Nelson of Santa Rosa California, conspired to buy bulk quantities of marijuana and take it to Meadville. According to the grand jury’s presentment, Nicole Nelson bought a car in Erie that she and Clark drove to Santa Rosa, where it was packed with 85 pounds of marijuana. Kubiak met the women in Sacramento. He and Clark were going to deliver the marijuana to Nelson’s brother, John, but they were picked up by police in Kansas. John Nelson is in Crawford County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail. Kubiak and Clark were released on $25,000 unsecured bond. A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Nicole Nelson. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

HARRISBURG - Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane, Acting State Police Commissioner Marcus Brown and Federal Bureau of Investigation representatives today announced that murder charges have been filed against a Beaver County man accused of killing Katherine “Kathy” Dolan Heckel of Lock Haven, Clinton County, in 1991. Loyd Groves Loyd Groves, 65, 239 Fourth St., Beaver, Beaver County, has been arrested and charged with one count of murder in the first degree and one count of murder in the third degree related to Heckel’s disappearance 24 years ago. “For more than two decades, investigators have worked to bring to justice the man responsible for Kathy Heckel’s disappearance,” Attorney General Kane said. “This is a testament to the commitment and collaborative efforts of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies. We hope that the arrest of Loyd Groves brings some relief to her family, friends and colleagues. We will fiercely pursue these charges.” The Office of Attorne...

Charges against the Bradford man accused by the state attorney general’s office of having dozens of images of child pornography have been bound to McKean County Court. 36-year-old Steven Hurd appeared before District Judge Dominic Cercone this morning on charges of child pornography, disseminating photographs or film of child sex acts and criminal use of a communication facility. When Hurd’s Mechanic Street home was searched a month ago agents with the attorney general’s office found sexually graphic images of children on his computer, some of pre-pubescent girls with their genitals explosed, according to court papers. Special Agent Matthew Zahm of the Computer Forensics Unit removed 42 images from Hurd’s computer but noted, that was just a sampling of what was there. Hurd remains in McKean County Jail. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

A member of the state Supreme Court is caught up in the email pornography scandal in the attorney general’s office. Pennsylvania chief justice Ronald Castille issued a news release today saying Justice Seamus McCaffrey was the sender or recipient of 234 emails with sexually explicit material or pornography in them. Castille says McCaffrey sent most of the emails to a now-retired agent with the AG’s office, who then forwarded them to other. The circulation of porn in the attorney general’s office happened from late 2008 until early 2012, and has led to the resignation of several people, including now-former DEP Secretary Chris Abruzzo. The emails surfaced during a review of how the Jerry Sandusky case at Penn State was handled by the attorney general's office. Castille says the attorney general’s office told him the 234 emails involving McCaffrey contained 1,502 sexually explicit images and 60 sexually explicit video files, some of which were duplicates. He estimated the number...

HARRISBURG - Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane and New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced the creation of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Heroin Task Force (NEMA-HTF), a multi-state heroin task force that will marshal the resources of top law enforcement officers across Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states. In addition to New York and Pennsylvania, which will co-chair the effort, New Jersey and Massachusetts have also joined the coalition; additional states are expected to be announced in the coming weeks. NEMA HTF will bring together state attorneys general in an unprecedented law-enforcement collaboration to combat the growing problem of heroin distribution and abuse in communities throughout the region. In the last two years, over 98% of the large-scale heroin trafficking cases prosecuted by the New York Attorney General’s Office have involved heroin flowing between New York and either Pennsylvania, New Jersey or Massachusetts. “For too long, drug organizat...

A St. Marys man has pleaded guilty to viewing pornography with children as young as 3 years old engaging in sexual acts. The state attorney general’s office filed charges against 58-year-old Ronald Dill in March after learning a computer at his home was on a peer-to-peer network, sharing child pornography. A laptop computer and external hard drive had more than 30 video files with child pornography on them. Dill remains in jail and will be sentenced following a court-ordered sexual offender evaluation. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

A hearing for the accused child pornographer who was picked up in Bradford by the state attorney general’s office last week has been moved to later this month. 36-year-old Steven Hurd was scheduled to be in McKean County Central Court this morning, but his hearing date has been moved to October 22. Court papers say Hurd had dozens of sexually graphic images of children on his computer, some of pre-pubescent girls with their genitals exposed. Special Agent Matthew Zahm of the Computer Forensics Unit removed 42 images from Hurd’s computer but noted that was just a sampling of what was there. Hurd remains in McKean County Jail. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

27 people across Pennsylvania have been arrested for a variety of insurance fraud offenses, and one of them is from Brookville. 42-year-old Theresa Clark is accused of lying to her insurance company about the time of a car crash on Interstate 80 after realizing her coverage had lapsed, according to the state attorney general's office. She tried to get the insurance company to pay for more than $8,000 in estimated repairs. A man from Jersey Shore in Lycoming County is charged with 823 counts of workers’ compensation fraud. 35-year-old Adam Worden allegedly operated his business – American Nature care Tree Service – without having workers’ comp insurance as required by law. Read more here . The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

State Attorney General Kathleen Kane is warning Pennsylvanians about another phone scam that’s sweeping the state. In this scam, the automated call from a toll-free number tells the person that a hold has been placed on his or her credit or debit card, and then tells the person to press “1” and entered the credit card number to continue, and take care of the problem. Kane says credit card companies will not ask people to give their information this way. She also reminds people to not give out personal information over the phone. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

The president of the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford and the state attorney general are among the people who will be participating in the fourth and final public hearing concerning increased heroin use in Pennsylvania. Dr. Livingston Alexander and Kathleen Kane, as well as Clarion University President Dr. Karen Whitney are just three of the people who will be testifying at the hearing Tuesday morning at Clarion. The Center for Rural Pennsylvania says information from this hearing and the three previous hearing can be used to develop legislative policies that may help curb the use of heroin and other opioids that are having an effect on rural Pennsylvania. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

The state attorney general’s office has filed charges against a man for have more than 100 images of child pornography on his computer. 32-year-old Michael Geer had images of children as young as 6 years old engaged in graphic sexual poses, according to the AG’s office. He was charged with eight counts each of distribution of and possession of child pornography and sent to Warren County Jail on $50,000 cash bail. He’s scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Wednesday. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

A federal judge declared Pennsylvania's ban on gay marriage unconstitutional today, making Pennsylvania the last Northeast state to allow same-sex marriage. In his 39-page written opinion Judge John E. Jones III said, "We are a better people than what these laws (banning same-sex marriage) represent. It is time to discard them into the ash heap of history." State Attorney General Kathleen had had declined to defend the ban in court, but the Corbett administration went ahead, arguing that states have the right to determine the definition of marriage. The state could still challenge the decision before the 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

The state attorney general’s office has taken over the case of the Warren County probation officer accused of making sexual advances toward at least three women he was supervising. 37-year-old Jeffrey Collins of Sheffield is accused of exposing his genitals and engaging in sexual activity in front of one of the women while she was in his office. He also allegedly asked them to take photos or videos of themselves having sex in exchange for favorable consideration involving their probation. Collins is charged with six counts of harassment, three counts of official oppression, two counts of indecent assault without consent, two counts of indecent assault with forcible compulsion, one count of indecent exposure and one count of open lewdness. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 30, 2014 at 1 p.m. Attorney general Kathleen Kane says, "Probation officers have a duty to protect and serve our local communities and there is no excuse for this type of conduct." Collins i...

A St. Marys man is accused of viewing pornography with children as young as 3 years old engaging in sexual acts. The state attorney general’s office has filed charges against 58-year-old Ronald Dill after learning a computer at his home was on a peer-to-peer network sharing child pornography. A laptop computer and external hard drive had more than 30 video files with child pornography on them. Dill is charged with 20 counts of possession of child pornography, seven counts of distributing child pornography and one count of criminal use of a communication facility. He was sent to jail on $50,000 bail and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on March 18. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Washington DC- As deadly heroin tainted with fentanyl has claimed the lives of 22 Pennsylvanians, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) has asked the Drug Enforcement Administration to continue and increase its aid to the state. Even though an arrest has been made, there are new fears that drug dealers in possession of the tainted heroin may rebrand it. “I’m asking the DEA to increase federal coordination on this effort in order to protect Pennsylvanian’s residents from this deadly drug,” Senator Casey said. “Rebranding this fentanyl-laced heroin could endanger more Pennsylvanians. It’s critical that residents remain vigilante and that the DEA work with state and local law enforcement to make every effort to get this drug off the street.” The full text of Senator Casey’s letter is below: Dear Administrator Leonhart: I am writing today with great concern over a recent spread of deadly contaminated heroin in western Pennsylvania. As the Drug Enforcement Administration continu...

A Potter County girl is one of 13 fifth-graders in the state whose artwork will appear in the attorney general’s 17th annual drug free calendar. A drawing by Abigail E., who attends Austin Elementary School, will be October’s featured picture. You can see all the pictures, and find more information, at AttorneyGeneral.gov . Attorney General Kathleen Kane says the reason the contest is geared toward fifth-graders is that most of them have been exposed to drugs or alcohol socially, and her office wants to engage them in positive activities before they or their friends make a bad choice. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

The state attorney general’s office says there’s no reason the state Supreme Court should consider an appeal of Jerry Sandusky’s child sex abuse convictions. Kathleen Kane’s office filed papers saying that in his request "Sandusky nowhere argues that there are special and important reasons for allowance of appeal, much less identify such reasons or explain their importance. Rather, he simply argues the merits of each of the issues that he raised before the Superior Court without explaining why this court should address those issues." Sandusky argues that his lawyers were rushed to trial, prosecutors improperly referred to his decision not to testify, and that Judge John Cleland made a mistake by telling the jury to weigh evidence of his good character against all other evidence in the case. The 69-year-old former Penn State assistant football coach is serving the second year of a 30- to 60-year state prison sentence. You can read the prosecutors' 28-page brief here . ...

HARRISBURG - Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane today announced the arrests of four Pennsylvania men on unrelated charges as part of an ongoing effort to target the online sharing, downloading and distribution of child pornography. Attorney General Kane identified the defendants as: • Lawrence Schichtel Jr., 53, 319 Fuller St., Sayre, Bradford County; • William Mattos, 45, 2076 North Williamson Road, Covington, Tioga County; • Jerry Rhinehart Jr., 29, 690 South Broad St., Apt.15, Jersey Shore, Lycoming County; and • Robert Pillot Jr., 38, 148 Mohawk Drive, Hughesville, Lycoming County. According to the criminal complaints for each of the defendants, agents conducting separate, unrelated online investigations found numerous files containing depictions of children engaged in extremely sexually graphic acts and poses, which they later determined were downloaded and shared from each of the defendant's respective computers. Schichtel Schichtel was arrested on October 16, and char...

A subsidiary of ExxonMobil is being charged for illegally discharging more than 50,000 gallons of toxic waste water from a Marcellus Shale gas well site in Lycoming County. Attorney General Kathleen Kane says XTO Energy of Indiana, PA, transported and stored gas on the site despite not having the proper equipment to safely store or process it after hiring another company to move processing equipment to another well site in West Virginia. The illegal discharge of gas well waste water was discovered on Nov. 16, 2010, when an inspector with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection made an unannounced visit, Kane said in a news release. She said the toxic waste water flowed into and polluted an unnamed tributary of Sugar Run. More than 3,000 tons of contaminated soil had to be excavated and removed from the site. Read more at AttorneyGeneral.gov . The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947