Promotion Of Attorney General Kathleen Kane's Sister Prompts Call For Ethics Probe

By Tony Romeo

HARRISBURG, Pa. (CBS) - The chairman of the House State Government Committee says he wants the state ethics commission to investigate whether a violation occurred when the attorney general's sister was promoted to a higher-paying job in the AG's office.

As representatives of the state Ethics Commission testified about bills to toughen Pennsylvania's ethics laws this week, the chairman of the House State Government Committee – Butler County Republican Daryl Metcalfe – told them he wants an investigation into the promotion of Attorney General Kathleen Kane's sister.

"I think it's very clear from the ethics act that she is not allowed to have a family member working under her that she can promote like that, to have a financial benefit," Metcalfe said. "I think the ethics act covers that."

But in a written statement, the attorney general's first deputy, Adrian King, says Kane's sister was already working in the AG's office when Kane took over and that a determination was made that King, not Kane, would make decisions about her employment. King says there is no violation of the ethics act.