Raid of former Harrisburg mayor’s home: 5 things we know and 5 things we don’t

Penn Live – by Christine Vendel

HARRISBURG – The raid of former Harrisburg Mayor Steve Reed’s home on Tuesday got the city buzzing about the status of an investigation into the city’s financial dealings.

Attorney General Kathleen Kane’s office is conducting an extensive investigation into various aspects of Harrisburg’s city governance under Reed, the mayor from 1982 through 2009.  

At this point, there are things we know about the investigation and things we do not know.

Five things we know:

• Investigators are definitely in the midst of a long-running investigation. We know this because current Mayor Eric Papenfuse admitted in April of last year that he testified before a grand jury. This April, a PennLive reporter saw a parade of former city officials enter a building in Pittsburgh where the grand jury was meeting.
• The use of a “special projects fund” established by Reed is a key part of the investigation. Investigators are looking into Reed’s use and control of the special projects fund that ultimately would help support nationwide shopping sprees for artifacts that could help Harrisburg develop as a city of museums.
• Tuesday’s raid wasn’t the first time authorities have sought evidence in the case. We know Papenfuse turned over files he found in city hall from Dan Lispi, who was the director of the special projects fund. Lispi was one of the moving forces behind the incinerator retrofit. These records were not available to the law firm that conducted a forensic audit of the incinerator finances. Investigators also obtained subpoenas for financial records from the Harrisburg School District, the Harrisburg Senators baseball team and the Harrisburg Authority.
• Reed repeatedly claimed he used his own money to buy artifacts and fancied himself a collector. He was later reimbursed by the Authority for some artifacts.
• Papenfuse previously said he feels confident that the city will get accountability for the actions that landed the capital city in crushing debt. He also said the city needs such accountability to heal and move forward.

Five things we don’t know:

• The investigation seemed to be headed toward a conclusion soon, especially with Kane’s comments before a legislative committee in March. At that time, she said the investigation “could roll into summer, but we’re expecting a wrap-up hopefully by the middle of the year.” But with the countless items taken from Reed’s house Tuesday — all that must be inventoried and examined — it’s unclear if that evidence will open new avenues of investigation.
• We don’t have a formal target list so it’s unknown what charges if any will come out of the grand jury and against whom. It’s also unclear whether the statute of limitations will restrict prosecutors from pursuing some charges.
• The search warrant for Tuesday’s raid was sealed, so we don’t know for what investigators were looking. Reed’s attorney said he had not been shown an affidavit of probable cause for the search warrant, a document that would delineate for an approving judge exactly what the purpose and objective of the search is.
• One question is why artifacts were kept at Reed’s home if they were bought by the city. Or alternatively, why investigators would confiscate artifacts if they were indeed bought by Reed as a private citizen.
• Who was running the raid Tuesday? Although one agent at Reed’s house wore a T-shirt that said “Special Agent Pennsylvania Attorney General,” it was unclear if all the agents worked for the state. Were there federal agents at the scene? A former Harrisburg reporter who authored a book on the city’s financial debacle noted that a federal grand jury had convened in Williamsport, possibly to investigate Reed’s compliance with income reporting requirements. If Reed received any benefits from items purchased with public money, did he claim the items as income?

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