Inquirer Editorial: Stop ignoring ethical failures

The number of Pennsylvania legislators accused of taking cash and gifts from an informant is approaching the size of a committee. Yet in the face of the alleged ethical misconduct, Harrisburg still sits on its hands.

The informant, Tyron B. Ali, has claimed that no fewer than seven state representatives accepted money and other gifts from him while he posed as a lobbyist seeking favors, according to records released last week. Ali said some of the representatives "engaged in public corruption through the sale of their votes for cash."

The investigation was dropped, however, by Attorney General Kathleen Kane, a Democrat who took office last year. Kane says the sting was mismanaged - a claim vigorously disputed by the lead prosecutor on the case, Frank Fina, and his current employer, Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams.

The aborted investigation was revealed by The Inquirer, which reported last month that at least four legislators, all Philadelphia Democrats, had been recorded taking money.

That even more lawmakers may have been receptive to the informant's dubious overtures should further motivate efforts to prohibit or strictly limit gifts to public officials, particularly from lobbyists and others with government business. So far, the legislature has only adopted a rule banning most cash gifts, while the state Senate has passed a bill to the same effect. That's a good start, but that's all it is.

More details of the sting came to light thanks to Dauphin County Court President Judge Todd A. Hoover, who unsealed case records in response to requests from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, The Inquirer, and other media organizations. Kane ultimately supported the move and deserves credit for doing so.

Her response to her critics, however, has been less praiseworthy. The attorney general has been too quick to attack them and too slow to explain herself with any consistency. Last week, she reiterated a challenge to Williams to prosecute the case himself - a disingenuous dare in light of the publicity and controversy now surrounding the probe.

Given the scant likelihood of criminal prosecution, the legislature should be considering severe ethics sanctions against all the implicated members. The scope of this scandal calls for a response of equal magnitude.