The resignation of Kathleen Kane on Wednesday as Pennsylvania's attorney general brought down the curtain on another sorry chapter of high-ranking state officeholders committing serious crimes. After months of fighting the inevitable, Kane turned over the keys to the office to her first deputy Attorney General Bruce Castor. This came just two days after a Montgomery County Court jury convicted her of all nine crimes with which she was charged stemming from leaking confidential grand jury proceedings to a Philadelphia newspaper, then lying about it.

Kane could have waited until after her sentencing on Oct. 24 before resigning, although the state Constitution requires that all officeholders convicted of crimes must resign. Judges have generally ruled, however, that they don't have to do this until they are sentenced, so Kane could have held out for another 67 days. Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democat as Kane is, renewed his call for her to resign after the jury decision. So did other Democrats and all of the Republican state leadership.If she decided to hang tough, there is no doubt the Republican-controlled Senate would have tried to force her to leave office early. Impeachment proceedings are still active, although now that she has resigned, these will likely be dropped.Kane, the first woman and first Democrat elected to the attorney general's office, took office in 2013, and after a strong performance in her first year in office, where she was even being mentioned as a potential gubernatorial candidate, everything went terribly wrong. Despite the many controversies in which she was involved, she originally had planned to run for re-election this year, then thought better of it. Whoever is elected in the Nov. 8 general election - either Republican John Rafferty or Democrat Josh Shapiro - will take over for Castor when the winner is sworn in on Jan. 17.Kane was embroiled in controversies and issues, and even some of her highest-level staff members turned against her. But it was the alleged leak of grand jury information, then lying about it that did her in. Through it all, she has maintained her innocence, claiming that she was a victim of a vendetta concocted by her political opponents to preserve a good old boys' network that has existed for decades in her office and in state government in general.Kane's conviction and ultimate resignation adds to the embarrassing laundry list of state public officials who have been convicted of crimes. This goes back to the case of former State Treasurer R. Budd Dwyer in 1987.Pennsylvania has been compared to some of the most corrupt states because of the number of officials - from both political parties - who have failed to uphold their oaths of office and committed criminal offenses.Consider:• Earlier this month, former state Treasurer Barbara Hafer (R) was charged with lying to federal agents who were questioning her in connection with a pay-to-play scheme in the awarding to government contracts.• Former state Treasurer Rob McCord (D) pleaded guilty to two counts of extortion in 2015. He is awaiting sentencing, but he resigned from office last year.• Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin (R) was convicted in February 2013, on six of seven corruption charges including theft of services, criminal conspiracy and misappropriation of state property.• Melvin's sister, state Sen. and Republican Majority Whip of the Pennsylvania Senate Jane Orie was convicted in March 2012 of 14 counts of forgery, conflict of interest and theft of services, which included five felonies.• State Sen. and Democratic Minority Floor Leader Robert Mellow of Lackawanna County, whose district included part of Monroe County, pleaded guilty to using Senate staffers for campaign work in 2012.• State Rep. John M. Perzel (R), pleaded guilty to eight criminal charges, including two counts of conflict of interest, two counts of theft, and four counts of conspiracy concerning a scheme to spend millions of taxpayer dollars on computer technology from Aristotle Inc. for the benefit of Republican political campaigns in 2011.• Former AG Ernie Preate (R) resigned in 1995 during his second four-year term after being charged with federal racketeering and corruption. He pleaded guilty to mail fraud involving a $20,000 campaign contribution and served a year in federal prison. He was succeeded as Attorney General by Tom Corbett, who became a one-term governor. Kane succeeded Corbett in the AG's office.Going back to 1987, there are scores of other elected and appointed state officials, including state representatives and senators, who resigned after being convicted of crimes involving their official duties.This brings us to the dramatic case of R. Budd Dwyer (R), former state treasurer. In 1987, a day before he was to be sentenced after he was convicted on bribery charges in connection with the awarding of contracts to a California company, Dwyer called a news conference. Before scores of journalists, photographers and videographers, Dwyer pulled out a .357 Magnum revolverand committed suicide before the stunned group.As for Kane, she lost all credibility as the state's top prosecutor through more than a dozen controversies. How bizarre is it for someone in this position not to have an active license to practice law? In an unprecedented decision, the state Supreme Court last September, with three Republicans and two Democrats ruling, suspended her license after lawyers for the state disciplinary board, which oversees attorneys' conduct and behavior, asked for the suspension. They cited allegations against her of perjury, obstruction of justice and other charges stemming from the leaks to the grand jury, the crimes for which she was convicted.In the famous opera "Pagliacci," the central character faces the audience in the final scene after committing a heinous crime and shouts "the comedy is finished." Yes, this surreal "comedy" that has played out for more than two years in the attorney general's office is finally over, and although the rest of the country is laughing hysterically, I assure you that we Pennsylvania taxpayers are not.By Bruce Frassinelli |

tneditor@tnonline.com