AG: Pennsylvania DA obstructed law in cases involving heroin-using lover

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The attorney general says a 72-year-old Pennsylvania prosecutor obstructed justice and misused the power of his office by improperly intervening in criminal cases involving his 39-year-old heroin-using girlfriend.

The charges filed late Thursday against Mercer County District Attorney Miles Karson include nine counts of obstructing the administration of law, six of official oppression, and two related counts.

Karson’s defense attorney, Alexander Lindsay Jr., didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment today, but told WTAE-TV the investigation is “obviously politically charged, which makes us look at it, shall we say, more carefully.”

Among other things, Karson allegedly tried to get a judge to release the woman on bond instead of jailing her in criminal cases. Karson allegedly claimed to be a family friend when he was actually her lover and wrongly using his influence as district attorney.