Former Pa. senator released early from prison

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Former Republican state Sen. Jane Orie, who was convicted of using her state-paid legislative staff on her own political campaigns, has been released from prison after serving less than two years.

A spokeswoman for the State Correctional Institution at Cambridge Springs says the 52-year-old Orie was released early Sunday morning.

Orie was sentenced in June 2012 to 2 1/2 to 10 years in prison by an Allegheny County judge. She was released early because of credit for good behavior and a rule that let her serve 75 percent of her minimum term because she’s a nonviolent criminal.

Orie was told after a November parole board hearing she would be released after the completion of her minimum sentence. The parole board noted her “positive institutional behavior,” the “positive recommendation made by the Department of Corrections” and her “demonstrated motivation for success,” according to information provided by SCI Cambridge Springs.