Deliberations To Resume Friday In Orie Corruption Trial

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The jury began deliberations in the re-trial State Sen. Jane Orie following.

After four and a half hours, they decided to retire for the night. They will resume deliberations Friday.

The prosecution began their closing arguments around noon.

Prosecutor Lawrence Claus said: "There's the public Jane Orie who attracted those character witnesses and there's the other Jane Orie who manipulated her staff to do political work on state time."

During the defense's closing arguments earlier in the day, attorney William Costopoulos characterized the prosecution's case as weak and hiding behind volumes of documents.

He also laid blame for any political work done on state time as being done by staff members who were not following the Senator's directives.

He also blamed Orie's former chief-of-staff Jamie Pavlot.

Costopoulos said: "Jamie Pavlot knew what was going on day-to-day. But when the cat's away, the mice will play. She put it on the Senator, she got immunity and now she's out in the Cranberry office making $80,000 doing nothing."

Toward the end of the defense's closing arguments, Orie had tears in her eyes.

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