Aide to ex-AG Kane to begin serving jail time for contempt

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A former police chief convicted of illegally accessing emails for information about a grand jury investigation of his then-boss, former state Attorney General Kathleen Kane, is on his way to jail.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to hear the appeal of Patrick "Rocco" Reese, who has been convicted of indirect criminal contempt.
Reese's lawyer, Bill Fetterhoff, said he was disappointed in the decision, arguing Reese was not properly informed of the protective order he was convicted of violating. Fetterhoff said Reese does not plan to pursue further appeals.
Reese is scheduled to report to jail Nov. 13 to start serving a three- to six-month sentence.
Kane, a Democrat, was convicted last year of leaking secret grand jury information to smear a rival and then lying about it under oath.
She remains free on bail while appealing to the state Superior Court .
Reese had spent 25 years on the police force in Dunmore, near Kane's hometown of Scranton, when he left the job of chief to become a supervisory special agent and confidant of Kane.
Reese was fired from his $100,000-year-job in September 2016, shortly after a new attorney general was named to take over after Kane quit in the wake of her own criminal conviction.