Pennsylvania Official to Plead Guilty to Fraud
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PHILADELPHIA — Pennsylvania’s top law enforcement officer will plead guilty to mail fraud and resign from office to avoid a trial, a Justice Department official said Friday.
Atty. Gen. Ernie Preate Jr. signed a plea agreement Tuesday that could send him to prison for up to five years but would spare his brothers, Carlon and Robert, from charges, said the official in Washington, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The agreement would end a five-year investigation into Preate’s involvement with video poker operators who contributed to his campaign when he ran for attorney general in 1987.
Preate will plead guilty to one count of mail fraud, a charge centering on campaign law violations for accepting and not properly reporting about $20,000 in cash contributions, the official said.
Preate, a Republican in his second term, said he would resign within 10 days after the agreement is accepted by a federal judge, the official said.
U.S. Atty. David Barasch declined comment.
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