White-Collared: Legal Blog of the Best Criminal Defense Attorneys in PA

Pennsylvania Superior Court Affirms Conviction Of Former Pennsylvania State Senator

Posted On Friday, March 7, 2014
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The Pennsylvania Superior Court ruled yesterday on the appeal of former Pennsylvania State Senator, Jane Orie, convicted in March 2012 of using state employees for political fundraising and campaigning. After two jury trials – the first ended in a mistrial – Orie was found guilty of theft by diversion of services and conflict of interest as well as tampering with physical evidence. The first trial ended in a mistrial when, during jury deliberations, prosecutors discovered that certain defense exhibits had been altered, which resulted in additional charges against Orie. The altered exhibits included a forged signature and purported to show that Orie’s chief of staff was responsible for overseeing the alleged conduct in Orie’s Senatorial office.

In a 76-page opinion, the Superior Court addressed all ten issues raised in Orie’s appeal, including claims that insufficient evidence was presented at trial to convict Orie of tampering with evidence. However, Pennsylvania’s standard of review for sufficiency of the evidence proved to be a difficult burden to overcome given that the government’s evidence was viewed in a light most favorable “to the verdict winner.” The evidence at trial showed that the documents were in Orie’s sole possession up to the time the she turned them over to her counsel. Moreover, Orie submitted the documents as evidence in her own case in chief and authenticated them. The parties also stipulated that no alterations were made by Orie’s attorney or his staff or by the prosecutor or his staff. As a result, the Court held that the evidence – albeit circumstantial – was sufficient for the jury to convict Orie. The Court found that the remaining appellate issues were also without merit and affirmed the conviction.

Joan Orie Melvin, a former Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice, and Janine Orie, her sister, were also convicted of charges related to misuse of state-paid employees. Orie Melvin’s sentence included three years of house arrest, two years probation, a $55,000 fine, and community service at a local soup kitchen. Janine Orie received a sentence of one year of house arrest and one year probation.

Jane Orie is presently serving 2½ to 10 years in prison for her conviction. The full-text of the Superior Court’s opinion can be found here.

DOJ Wins Landmark Case Involving Trade Secrets Sent To China By Former DuPont Scientist

Posted On Thursday, March 6, 2014
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Yesterday, federal jurors in San Francisco convicted Walter Liew, a former engineer for DuPont Co., of 22 counts of economic espionage, trade secret theft, witness tampering, and false statements. U.S. officials are hailing this conviction as a landmark as it is the first federal jury conviction under the Economic Espionage Act of 1996. This case is part of a larger focus by DOJ and the Obama administration to crack down on the illegal transfer of U.S. data and technology to overseas corporations. Liew’s prosecution is one of 20 brought in recent years involving U.S. technology sent to China.

In a trial with over 30 witnesses and spanning 5 weeks, federal prosecutors alleged that Liew sold trade secrets related to a whitening chemical used in paper and plastic production to a state-owned Chinese company, Pangang Group Co. In addition to Liew, his company, USA Performance Technology, Inc. (“USAPTI”), was also convicted of similar charges related to economic espionage. Evidence admitted at trial showed that, beginning in the 1990s, Liew met with representatives from the Chinese government where he learned of China’s interest in the whitening chemical. Liew was already aware of DuPont’s research and development into the chemical and assembled former DuPont scientists to replicate DuPont’s work and convey it to manufacturers in China. Liew later executed contracts to provide technology associated with the chemical to state-owned entities netting over $20 million for Liew and USAPTI.

Liew’s wife, Christina Liew, a Chinese citizen, already faces similar charges including economic espionage, conspiracy to commit theft of trade secrets, and witness tampering. However, the charges against Mrs. Liew were severed from her husband’s case and she will be tried separately. Her trial date has not been set.

On the most serious count, Liew faces a maximum of 20 years imprisonment and a $500,000 fine. USAPTI is not facing a term of imprisonment but it could be sentenced to a fine of the greater of $10 million or twice the pecuniary gain to USAPTI or lost to DuPont. The superseding indictment that charged Liew, USAPTI, and co-conspirators can be found here.