January 23, 2017
TO:
ATTORNEY ERIC FILLMAN
CHIEF INTEGRITY OFFICER
PENNSYLVANIA OFFICE OF ATTORNEY GENERAL
16TH FLOOR
STRAWBERRY SQUARE
HARRISBURG, PA 17120
FROM:
GENE STILP
TAXPAYERS AND RATEPAYERS UNITED
1550 FISHING CREEK VALLEY ROAD
HARRISBURG, PA 17112
RE:
PRESERVATION OF THE INTEGRITY OF THE OFFICE OF ATTORNEY GENERAL THORUGH THE OFFICIAL RECUSAL OF ATTORNEY GENERAL SHAPIRO IN THE INVESTIGATION OF THE ACTIONS OF CENTRE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY STACY PARKS MILLER, FORMER ATTORNEY GENERAL AND NOW CONVICTED FELON KATHLEEN KANE AND FORMER ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL, FORMER SOLICITOR GENERAL, CENTRE COUNTY ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY AND PERSONAL ATTORNEY FOR CENTRE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY MILLER, MONTGOMERY COUNTY BASED ATTORNEY BRUCE CASTOR.
Dear Chief Integrity Officer Fillman,
Congratulations on your recent appointment as Pennsylvania’s new Chief Integrity Officer in the Office of the Pennsylvania Attorney General.
You have probably already reviewed the Complaint and a Request for an Investigation that was submitted to Attorney General Josh Shapiro by Gene Stilp on behalf of Taxpayers and Ratepayers United and Eric Epstein on n behalf of Rock the on January 17, 2017.
The complaint is attached for your review in case you have not seen it.
Also attached is the formal request to the Attorney General dated January 23, 2017 for Mr. Shapiro’s immediate recusal in regard to the Complaint and the Request for an Investigation for the reasons spelled out in that letter.
The bottom line is that your new job is to protect the integrity of the Office of Attorney General (“OAG”), and advise the Attorney General on ethical matters. Conflicts of interest and the appearance of Conflicts of interest are significant matters that must be confronted prudently and expeditiously in order to restore the integrity of Pennsylvania’s Office of Attorney General. There are too many links. ties and relationships between Attorney General Shapiro, Stacy Parks Miller, and Bruce Castor that necessitate an impartial probe. Attorney General Shapiro should lead by example and recuse himself from this investigation.
Mr. Shapiro’s recusal will show the new direction of Attorney General Shapiro’s leadership at the OAG, raise the morale of the staff, and signal to Pennsylvanians that the OAG is committed to due process, justice and devoid of political machinations.
The OAG, under the misguided direction of former AG Kathleen Kane, left a lot of carnage to be resolved. The events and facts surrounding the relationship and actions of a convicted felon, and Stacy Parks Miller, the District Attorney of Centre County, have to be thoroughly investigated that leaves no factual stone unturned.
The myriad of positions held by Bruce Castor simultaneously as events unfolded in Centre County over the last few years should help to establish Conflict of Interest policies for the OAG. This probe must look at Conflict of Interests, ethical violations, and other standards for OAG employees who serve multiple roles at the state, municipal and private levels.
As you are aware, the integrity of the OAG is jeopardized by actual conflicts of interest but also by the appearance of conflicts of interest. The apparent knot of interests surrounding Stacy Parks Miller, former Attorney General and now convicted felon Kathleen Kane, and Bruce Castor have never been fully vetted, and must be explained in full chronological detail. These are fluid relationships that must be examined from day one through the present. It may take a grand jury, independent legislative investigation, but this affair requires a complete investigation by the Office of Attorney General.
Please do not let this episode become a political Bermuda triangle.
Recusal is the only option that speaks to integrity.
We are available for a meeting to present additional aspects to this case that buttress the need for an investigation and a recusal action. Please write to us and mail us electronic at the above addresses to let us know that you have received the letter and when you wish to meet.