HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Corbett has called on one of his appointees to the state Board of Probation and Parole to resign, the latest official in his administration to be impacted by a widening pornographic email scandal.
Mr. Corbett, through a spokesman Friday, called on board member Randy Feathers to resign. Mr. Feathers has served on the board since 2012; the position pays $115,932 annually.
In a letter to the governor, Mr. Feathers requested the opportunity to have an independent forensics expert review the information released by the state Office of Attorney General.
Mr. Feathers said he will consider resigning at the conclusion of the review if it is determined that he did not “uphold my professional responsibilities.”
A board member can be removed “for cause” by the governor and with a two-thirds majority vote of the state Senate. A spokeswoman for the Board of Probation and Parole had no comment on the matter Friday evening. Senators return to Harrisburg on Monday. A spokesman for the Republican majority caucus said he “would anticipate strong bipartisan support if a vote is needed” on the matter.
On Thursday, the governor’s office announced the resignation of Christopher Abruzzo, secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection, and Glenn Parno, DEP deputy chief counsel.
The men had all been recently named by Attorney General Kathleen Kane as having participated in an exchange of sexually explicit emails when they worked in the AG’s office under Mr. Corbett when he was attorney general. Others named as having sent or received explicit emails also included Christopher Carusone, Mr. Corbett’s former secretary of legislative affairs, and Kevin Harley, Mr. Corbett’s former spokesman. Both men now work in the private sector.
When the emails were released by Ms. Kane’s office last week, Mr. Feathers had said, “The images that were released to reporters today are not a reflection of my professional behavior and I don’t condone this activity.”
Critics have attacked Ms. Kane for not releasing the names of all the employees involved in the email exchanges, but only top officials closely linked to Mr. Corbett. Her office has said internal office human resources and union rules prevent it from releasing the names of dozens of other employees involved, some of whom still work in the attorney general’s office, though it has said some are being disciplined.
Subject lines in some of the emails released to reporters were fairly explicit. Some released Friday by Ms. Kane’s office linked to Mr. Feathers were titled “A Lap Dance Gone Awry” and “I bought you a lap dance.” Images and some names of other recipients and senders were redacted.
Mr. Corbett said in a statement Thursday there was no indication State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan — who was also named as having received 338 such messages — had composed, opened, forwarded or replied to any messages with explicit content. Mr. Corbett also noted Thursday the commissioner needed to remain focused on the ongoing manhunt for Eric Frein, who is suspected of having shot and killed a state trooper and wounded another.
First Published: October 4, 2014, 4:19 a.m.
