Cleared in Death of Girlfriend, Phila. Attorney Irate Over DA's Probe
By Tony Hanson
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Philadelphia district attorney's office this week announced that no evidence of criminal activity has been found in the death of Julia Law, who died in the home of well-known center city attorney A. Charles Peruto Jr.
And now, a fuming Peruto claims the entire investigation was the result of poor prosecutorial judgment.
Peruto says he was never worried about the probe, "because I knew it would be impossible to lead to the indictment of anyone. This was a tragic accident of a beautiful, caring girl," he told KYW Newsradio.
Julia Law, 26, Peruto's paralegal employee and girlfriend, was found dead in the bathtub of the condominium apartment.
Investigators reported no signs of foul play at the scene, and Peruto was at the Jersey shore at the time the body was found.
Sources said Law's blood-alcohol level was at fatal levels -- over 0.4 percent.
Peruto sees ulterior motives in the investigation and the timing of the terse announcement finding no fault: Wednesday, as the biggest snowstorm of the season was moving into the Philadelphia area.
"I'm absolutely furious," he said.
A spokeswoman for the DA's office declined comment beyond the earlier announcement, except to say it was an investigation into Law's death, not an investigation of Peruto.
