Relations between two of Pennsylvania’s most commanding political families reached critical mass Wednesday with a raft of criminal charges against state Sen. Jane Orie and a retort likening the family of District Attorney Stephen Zappala Jr. to the “Mafia.”
Hostilities broke out after Mr. Zappala, acting on a grand jury’s report, laid political corruption charges against Ms. Orie, as well as her sister Janine, saying the pair conspired to use state resources to help the campaign of a third Orie sister, state Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin.
In reply, a fourth Orie, brother Jack, declared that Mr. Zappala “has a lack of morals, a lack of ethics and he’s stupid.” Mr. Orie said Mr. Zappala’s father, former state Supreme Court Justice Stephen Zappala Sr., is a puppet of the casino crowd.
Reading from a statement, Jack Orie invoked the term “Mafia hit” against the unmistakably Italian Zappalas.
Full story: Ories have Zappalas in their sights – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette