Pat Meehan

Patrick Meehan had been Delaware County district attorney less than a month when a multimillionaire sports patron shot and killed an Olympic wrestler in Newtown Square. A few months later, a college student was abducted along the Blue Route, then killed and dumped in a lot in North Philadelphia. The high-profile cases in 1996 drew national media attention to Meehan, a former hockey referee and civil litigator who had no previous criminal-law experience. Winning convictions in those two cases bolstered Meehan's reputation as a law-and-order Republican, and led to his appointment as U.S. attorney for the eastern district of Pennsylvania in 2001.

An Upper Darby man who helped one Republican retain his U.S. Senate seat and helped another defeat an incumbent Senate Democrat is about to strike out on his own. Pat Meehan, senior counsel to U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter (R., Pa.), said in an interview yesterday that he would soon announce his candidacy to replace Delaware County District Attorney William H. Ryan Jr., who by law cannot seek a third term. Meehan, who also helped U.S. Rep. Rick Santorum defeat incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Harris Wofford, was in the Capitol with dozens of district attorneys and law-enforcement people from around the state for a ceremony at which Gov. Ridge signed a proclamation ordering a special legislative session on crime.

Most Delaware County Republicans look the same on paper, their campaign pockets lined by the familiar names of the local party faithful. Pat Meehan's lining is cut from a different swath - cloth spun in Philadelphia. The GOP candidate for Delaware County district attorney has been able to garner support - and a sizable amount of cash - from the legal elite in a city made famous by lawyers. Half of the 10 largest firms in Philadelphia, as listed in last year's Philadelphia Business Journal, contributed to Meehan's campaign.

Republican congressional candidate and former U.S. Attorney Patrick Meehan yesterday asked the Delaware County prosecutor to investigate some of his nominating petitions for possible forgeries, saying his campaign had identified at least four signatures as "questionable. " In a letter delivered to county District Attorney G. Michael Green, Meehan said a neighbor had called him to advise that his name was on a nominating petition though he had never signed it. Meehan, a candidate in the Seventh Congressional District, said his campaign identified three more signatures as potentially fraudulent.

A man who once monitored the Philadelphia School District's antiviolence efforts might make a run for the U.S. House. Former safe-schools advocate Jack Stollsteimer is considering challenging Rep. Pat Meehan, the Republican freshman in the Seventh District, and has met with top Washington Democrats about the race. "Party leaders have approached me to consider running, and I'm honored by that," Stollsteimer said in an interview. "I am thinking about it, though it's a bit early in the process.

It was a dirty election. Even by Delaware County standards. Last spring, an Upper Darby GOP operative forged signatures for Pat Meehan, the Republican candidate in the 7th Congressional District. Then, over the summer, supporters of Democrat Bryan Lentz tried to split the conservative vote by assisting right-wing cuckoo Jim Schneller, an Obama "birther" with no shot at winning. The Democrats' scheme failed. Meehan was elected easily in November. But criminal charges are still seeping out of the stinking rubble eight months later.

The Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office said yesterday that it would take over an investigation into possible forgeries on nominating petitions submitted for Republican congressional candidate Patrick Meehan. Delaware County District Attorney G. Michael Green turned the case over to the state, citing a conflict of interest, said Kevin Harley, a spokesman for Attorney General Tom Corbett. Green would not discuss the conflict specifically, said Assistant District Attorney Erica Parham.

Republican congressional candidate and former U.S. attorney Patrick Meehan asked Commonwealth Court yesterday to dismiss a challenge to his nominating petitions, saying he was never served with a copy of the complaint. The challenge, filed Tuesday by supporters of Meehan's likely Democratic opponent, State Rep. Bryan Lentz, charged that the nominating petitions were riddled with enough errors to disqualify Meehan from the ballot. The campaign for the open seat in the suburban Seventh District has swiftly descended into bitter exchanges and threats of still more legal action.

Democratic congressional candidate Bryan Lentz called on federal authorities Thursday to investigate irregularities in his opponent's nominating petitions, which he said were loaded with forgeries and tainted by patterns of fraud. In his most detailed attack, Lentz said that Republican Patrick Meehan should be held responsible for the petitions circulated by party volunteers who gathered 3,623 signatures to get Meehan's name on the Republican ballot for the May 18 primary in the Seventh District.

A dispute over Gov. Rendell's decision to seek outside counsel in lawsuits against drugmakers might be emerging as the first issue in the 2010 Republican gubernatorial campaign. Likely Republican gubernatorial candidate Pat Meehan called on state Attorney General Tom Corbett yesterday to take over state litigation against drug manufacturer Eli Lilly & Co. and to investigate why Rendell gave a no-bid contract for that litigation and others to a Houston law firm whose founder was a major contributor to Rendell's political campaigns.

It was a dirty election. Even by Delaware County standards. Last spring, an Upper Darby GOP operative forged signatures for Pat Meehan, the Republican candidate in the 7th Congressional District. Then, over the summer, supporters of Democrat Bryan Lentz tried to split the conservative vote by assisting right-wing cuckoo Jim Schneller, an Obama "birther" with no shot at winning. The Democrats' scheme failed. Meehan was elected easily in November. But criminal charges are still seeping out of the stinking rubble eight months later.

A man who once monitored the Philadelphia School District's antiviolence efforts might make a run for the U.S. House. Former safe-schools advocate Jack Stollsteimer is considering challenging Rep. Pat Meehan, the Republican freshman in the Seventh District, and has met with top Washington Democrats about the race. "Party leaders have approached me to consider running, and I'm honored by that," Stollsteimer said in an interview. "I am thinking about it, though it's a bit early in the process.

In December 2008, then-acting U.S. Attorney Laurie Magid e-mailed her support staff, requesting an "alum list" of federal prosecutors in Philadelphia. She wasn't planning to invite them to the Christmas party. The e-mails, sent from Magid's Justice Department account, were part of her on-the-job Republican fundraising efforts for now-U.S. Rep. Pat Meehan, according to the federal agency that investigates government employees who engage in prohibited political activity. The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC)

Patrick Meehan had been Delaware County district attorney less than a month when a multimillionaire sports patron shot and killed an Olympic wrestler in Newtown Square. A few months later, a college student was abducted along the Blue Route, then killed and dumped in a lot in North Philadelphia. The high-profile cases in 1996 drew national media attention to Meehan, a former hockey referee and civil litigator who had no previous criminal-law experience. Winning convictions in those two cases bolstered Meehan's reputation as a law-and-order Republican, and led to his appointment as U.S. attorney for the eastern district of Pennsylvania in 2001.

The polls show the lead contenders neck and neck, and the national parties expect to spend richly on the race. But in the fifth and final debate scheduled in Pennsylvania's Seventh Congressional District, the Republican candidate, Patrick Meehan, didn't show. That meant that Democratic candidate Bryan Lentz aimed his sharpest attacks at a phantom. And it left Lentz alone onstage with the third-party candidate his campaign helped prop up. Democrats and Lentz volunteers gathered thousands of signatures for Jim Schneller, an independent conservative Democrats hope will snag votes from Meehan on Nov. 2. Meehan pulled out of the debate last week after the host of the debate, the League of Women Voters, refused to rescind its invitation to Schneller.

Democratic congressional candidate Bryan Lentz called on federal authorities Thursday to investigate irregularities in his opponent's nominating petitions, which he said were loaded with forgeries and tainted by patterns of fraud. In his most detailed attack, Lentz said that Republican Patrick Meehan should be held responsible for the petitions circulated by party volunteers who gathered 3,623 signatures to get Meehan's name on the Republican ballot for the May 18 primary in the Seventh District.

The Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office said yesterday that it would take over an investigation into possible forgeries on nominating petitions submitted for Republican congressional candidate Patrick Meehan. Delaware County District Attorney G. Michael Green turned the case over to the state, citing a conflict of interest, said Kevin Harley, a spokesman for Attorney General Tom Corbett. Green would not discuss the conflict specifically, said Assistant District Attorney Erica Parham.

Republican congressional candidate and former U.S. attorney Patrick Meehan asked Commonwealth Court yesterday to dismiss a challenge to his nominating petitions, saying he was never served with a copy of the complaint. The challenge, filed Tuesday by supporters of Meehan's likely Democratic opponent, State Rep. Bryan Lentz, charged that the nominating petitions were riddled with enough errors to disqualify Meehan from the ballot. The campaign for the open seat in the suburban Seventh District has swiftly descended into bitter exchanges and threats of still more legal action.

Republican congressional candidate and former U.S. Attorney Patrick Meehan yesterday asked the Delaware County prosecutor to investigate some of his nominating petitions for possible forgeries, saying his campaign had identified at least four signatures as "questionable. " In a letter delivered to county District Attorney G. Michael Green, Meehan said a neighbor had called him to advise that his name was on a nominating petition though he had never signed it. Meehan, a candidate in the Seventh Congressional District, said his campaign identified three more signatures as potentially fraudulent.