Former Harrisburg Mayor Steve Reed speaks last July after announcement of charges against him.
A judge today dismissed 305 counts against former Harrisburg Mayor Steve Reed, saying the alleged crimes occurred too long ago.
The alleged acts, pertaining to Reed’s tenure as mayor, were committed beyond the statute of limitations, according to presiding Judge Kevin A. Hess.
In his decision, Hess said that counts needed to have been brought against Reed either two or five years following the alleged offenses, depending on the allegation.
The offenses alleged by the attorney general took place between September 2003 and January 2010. Reed was charged in July 2015, about six months after the deadline for the latest-possible counts.
The dismissed counts include some of the most serious claims against the former mayor, including bribery and corruption allegations.
Hess also said that a law that extends the statute of limitations to 13 years for public officials did not apply in this case, since prosecution would have needed to start within five years of Reed leaving office. He left in January 2010 after serving as Harrisburg mayor for 28 years.
Hess let stand another 144 counts, mostly pertaining to allegations that Reed stole and kept city-bought artifacts. The state last year confiscated numerous historical artifacts found in Reed’s home and at a nearby storage site, but the former mayor has insisted that they legally belong to him.
“Whether the evidence as ultimately presented will support convictions for theft by receiving stolen property is for a jury to determine,” Hess wrote.
Reed had an ambition of building a series of museums in Harrisburg, including a “Museum of the Old West,” spending millions of dollars of public money to buy artifacts for them. Many of the artifacts taken from Reed’s home and storage facility were western in nature, including statues, clothing, saddles and Indian headdresses.
Last July, Attorney General Kathleen Kane charged Reed with 499 criminal counts covering 17 separate felony and misdemeanor charges. Several counts were later dropped or combined, so that about one-quarter now remain from the original grand jury presentment.
The attorney general’s office has the option of appealing Hess’ ruling.
