Tuesday, January 28, 2025, 9:25PM |  42°
MENU
Advertisement
Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane walks from the state Supreme Court room March 11 in Philadelphia. The court heard arguments on the legality of a special prosecutor who led a grand jury investigation. The grand jury has recommended charges against her.
1
MORE

Ex-agent sues Attorney General Kane over sting case

Matt Rourke/Associated Press

Ex-agent sues Attorney General Kane over sting case

A former Pennsylvania undercover agent has sued Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane for defamation, saying she made false statements about his role in a "sting" operation that caught Philadelphia elected officials on tape pocketing money.

Claude Thomas, who posed as the driver for the lobbyist turned operative in the sting, said Kane falsely told the public that he had said the operation had a racial agenda, targeting blacks and exempting whites.

Thomas notes in the suit that he is African American. He said Kane's suggestion that he had taken part in a plan to go after blacks had damaged his reputation by portraying him as unethical, incompetent, and a "greedy sellout."

Advertisement

He said it was part of a plot by Kane to "insidiously play the race card." Her goal, the lawsuit says, was to shift public focus from her "having killed this public corruption sting operation even though her political allies had been caught virtually red-handed by Thomas."

Carolyn Myers, spokeswoman for Attorney General Kathleen Kane, pictured, could not explain the reason for the dismissal of James Barker.
Angela Couloumbis
Pa. Attorney General Kane fires top aide who testified in leak probe

His lawsuit, filed April 16 in Common Pleas Court, sues Kane personally, not as a public official. It asks that she conduct a hearing to clear his name - and pay him damages out of her own pocket.

Kane's press staff did not respond to requests for comment Monday.

Thomas, now a detective with the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office, had been an agent with the Attorney General's Office for 20 years in 2010 when prosecutors selected him to work with undercover operative Tyron B. Ali in the sting investigation. Ali was facing unrelated fraud charges and was seeking favorable treatment.

Advertisement

For the next year and a half, Thomas worked long days with Ali, driving him about in a confiscated BMW, as the agent made 183 surreptitious tapes of political figures, sometimes filming them with special glasses.

Kane, a Democrat, inherited the case when she took office and shut it down. The investigation was later resurrected by Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams, who, as the Thomas suit notes, has brought bribery charges against five former or current state lawmakers and a former Traffic Court judge, all Democrats.

In criticizing the sting, Kane said she had a sworn statement by Kevin Wevodau, a top commander of agents in the Attorney General's Office, attesting that Thomas had told him that he had been instructed to target blacks.

In his complaint Thomas also sues Wevodau personally. Thomas denied saying the remarks that Wevodau put in his statement. And, Thomas says in the lawsuit, a polygraph test has shown he was telling the truth.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane
Craig R. McCoy and Angela Couloumbis
AG Kane quashed subpoenas in casino investigation, sources say

As part of their adoption of the sting, city prosecutors obtained case documents from Kane's office. In December, prosecutors said they had turned up a statement from Wevodau summarizing his interview with Thomas. However, they said, the statement was unsworn, and was written 15 months after Wevodau's interview with Thomas - four days after Kane said she had it in her possession.

First Published: April 21, 2015, 10:49 a.m.

RELATED
Comments Disabled For This Story
Partners
Advertisement
Pittsburgh Steelers owner Arthur J. Rooney II looks on prior to the NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in Philadelphia.
1
sports
Jason Mackey: Art Rooney II's reasoning for keeping Mike Tomlin as Steelers coach feels misguided
Kansas City Royals' Adam Frazier waits to take batting practice before a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, in Houston.
2
sports
Adam Frazier returns to Pirates on 1-year, major league deal
Access by Pennsylvania and other states to online systems that manage federal-state initiatives like Medicaid, CareerLink and Head Start was shut down on Tuesday, apparently as the result of a memo issued Monday night by the Trump administration, Gov. Josh Shapiro said Tuesday afternoon.
3
news
Shapiro says Pa. can't access Medicaid, other program portals because of federal funding freeze
Tensions in Charleroi, PA, intensified after President-elect Donald Trump and Senator JD Vance made controversial remarks about the town's Haitian community, alleging that they were financially draining local resources.
4
news
Fear and anxiety ripple through Western Pa. communities amid immigration crackdown
Van Jefferson #11 of the Pittsburgh Steelers celebrates with Calvin Austin III #19 after making a catch for a touchdown against the Baltimore Ravens during the second half of the AFC Wild Card Playoff game at M&T Bank Stadium on January 11, 2025 in Baltimore, Maryland.
5
sports
Ray Fittipaldo's Steelers chat transcript: 01.28.25
Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane walks from the state Supreme Court room March 11 in Philadelphia. The court heard arguments on the legality of a special prosecutor who led a grand jury investigation. The grand jury has recommended charges against her.  (Matt Rourke/Associated Press)
Matt Rourke/Associated Press
Advertisement
LATEST news
Advertisement
TOP
Email a Story