How this story was written

When Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane, a Democrat, took office in 2013, she shut down the sting investigation begun three years before under a Republican attorney general, Tom Corbett.

Kane said the investigation was poorly conceived, badly managed, and possibly tainted by racial targeting of African Americans. She said the case was so flawed that no one could be prosecuted.

Frank G. Fina, the former deputy attorney general who launched the sting, and other supporters of the investigation say it was a by-the-book probe that collected strong evidence against several public officials and had the potential to capture more. Fina and other leaders of the investigation say race played no role.

Last week, after The Inquirer disclosed the sting and Kane's decision, leaders of the state House announced a bipartisan plan to hold ethics hearings to look into the legislators who accepted money from the sting's undercover operative.

This narrative is drawn from interviews with people familiar with the investigation and key documents prepared in connection with the probe.

The documents include official summaries prepared by state investigators of 113 conversations covertly recorded by Tyron Ali between 2010 and 2012. The summaries contain numerous direct quotes from the tapes. In some instances, the summaries rely on Ali's descriptions to prosecutors.

All the quotes cited in this article are taken directly from the tapes.