PHILADELPHIA _ The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Wednesday suspended former state prosecutor Frank Fina from practicing law for a year and a day, ruling that he violated ethical rules in his investigation of Penn State University's former president for covering up child abuse.
The suspension was a harsh blow for Fina, 54, who won a degree of fame for his aggressive and successful prosecution of a string of corrupt politicians, but who became entangled in controversy over the Penn State probe and an unrelated conflict with former state Attorney General Kathleen Kane.
By a unanimous vote, with one justice not participating, the high court found that Fina acted improperly in turning a former top lawyer for Penn State into a witness against then-Penn State President Graham B. Spanier and two senior university administrators.
The university's chief counsel, Cynthia Baldwin, had been serving as a lawyer for Penn State, Spanier and his two aides. Nonetheless, Fina called her in 2012 as a witness against the three men before an investigative grand jury.
Fina has said he carefully tailored his questioning of Baldwin to skirt violating the legal rule that a lawyer may not be compelled to testify against clients. Two Common Pleas Court judge agreed that Fina had acted properly.
In 2016, the State Superior Court disagreed. It issued an opinion chastising Fina and throwing out many of the most serious charges against Spanier and the administrators. The state's disciplinary panel for lawyer then urged the State Supreme Court to discipline Fina.
Joe McGettigan, a lawyer who also was a prosecutor during the trial of Jerry Sandusky, and who represents Fina in the disciplinary matter, told The Associated Press that he will seek review by the U.S. Supreme Court. He declined to comment further.
Sandusky, a longtime assistant coach for Penn State's football team, was convicted in 2012 of molesting 10 victims and is serving a lengthy prison term. Spanier and the two aides were charged with covering up the coach's conduct. The aides pleaded guilty to misdemeanors. Spanier was convicted, but the verdict was overturned on appeal by a federal judge.
