Abortion doctor’s assets frozen

Moving to preserve the ability of victims to sue, a Philadelphia judge has frozen the assets of accused abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell.

The order by Common Pleas Court Judge Paul P. Panepinto was issued Friday on a request by Center City lawyer Bernard W. Smalley. Smalley filed a lawsuit in January on behalf of Yashoda Devi Gurung, daughter and administrator of the estate of a Virginia woman, Karnamaya Mongar, 41, who died in 2009 undergoing an abortion at Gosnell's West Philadelphia clinic.

Panepinto scheduled a hearing on the order freezing Gosnell's assets for March 9 at City Hall and ordered Gosnell's representatives to file a complete list of his holdings.

Gosnell, 70, is being held in the Philadelphia prisons without bail on murder and related charges in Mongar's death and the deaths of seven newborn infants whom he allegedly killed by cutting their spinal cords with surgical scissors.

Though Gosnell and his wife, Pearl, 50, initially asked to be represented by public defenders, claiming they were destitute, city prosecutors said they had discovered more than a dozen properties, including a $900,000 Jersey shore property, in the couple's names.

Smalley was not immediately available for comment.

Defense lawyer Jack McMahon, who is representing Gosnell in criminal charges filed in connection with the operation of the Women's Medical Society clinic at 3801 Lancaster Ave., said he did not believe Panepinto's order would affect Gosnell's ability to defend himself in the criminal case.

McMahon noted that Panepinto's order exempts Gosnell's legal fees and expenses needed in his criminal defense as well as payment of state and federal taxes.

Gosnell and his wife, and eight clinic employees were criminally charged in January after the release of a 260-page report of the county grand jury, which described in gory, horrific detail how Gosnell allegedly performed illegal late-term abortions for poor women, in some cases killing infants born viable.

Wednesday, lawyers for the 10 defendants will be in court at the Criminal Justice Center for the arraignments, a largely pro forma process in which the prosecutor delivers to the defense attorney what is known as discovery: the evidence on which the criminal charges are based. Detained defendants are not usually brought in for the arraignment.

For Gosnell, however, the arraignment will likely bring more important news: whether prosecutors will seek the death penalty if he is convicted of first-degree murder.

Assistant District Attorneys Joanne Pescatore and Christine Wechsler have said they will tell McMahon their decision at the arraignment.

In addition to seven counts of first-degree murder involving the newborns, Gosnell faces third-degree-murder in the November 2009 death of Mongar, who was overdosed with anesthetics by unlicensed clinic personnel.

Four employees are charged with murder - two involving Mongar's death and two involving the newborns.

Gosnell's wife and all the employees are also charged variously with counts of conspiracy, racketeering, record-tampering, obstruction of justice, and perjury.

Only two of the defendants have been released on bail: Tina Baldwin, after posting 10 percent of $150,000, and Madeline Joe, after posting 10 percent of $250,000.