Ex-coroner on probation for password leak

Originally Published Sep 23, 2008 11:12

By JANET KELLEY and CINDY STAUFFER
Staff

A Lancaster judge scolded former County Coroner Dr. G. Gary Kirchner, this morning, placing him on one year of probation for giving newspaper reporters his password to a secured law-enforcement Web site.

"The voters in this county placed their trust in you," Judge Dennis Reinaker told Kirchner as he imposed the sentence.

"You chose to cavalierly disregard that trust. Serious investigations could well have been compromised by your actions."

Kirchner, 74, sitting in a wheelchair before the judge, pleaded no contest to two counts of obstructing the administration of law.

By pleading no contest, Kirchner is not admitting he did anything wrong, just that the prosecutors could prove the charges against him in court.

"This probably has been the worst year of my life," the retired surgeon told Reinaker, adding that he could not have survived without the support of his family and friends.

Kirchner, who has been battling a serious illness since December, said he hoped today's proceeding will bring "this nightmare" to an end.

Defense attorney Kurt B. Geishauser said Kirchner has "no recollection of giving his password" to anyone.

Reinaker told Kirchner that he has known him personally for many years and acknowledged the doctor's sense of civic duty and many gifts of time, talents and money to the community.

"I realize that there may be some who do not view your actions in this matter as overly egregious or serious," Reinaker said, "that this whole investigation was much ado about very little."

"I disagree," Reinaker said.

Senior Deputy Attorney General Jonelle Harter Eshbach told Reinaker that Kirchner had given his password to five Intelligencer Journal newspaper reporters, allowing them to access the confidential site 48 times.

In return for Kirchner's plea, Eshbach reduced the two original charges — conspiracy and unlawful use of a computer, which are both felonies — to the two misdemeanor charges and a sentence of probation.

No charges were brought against the Intelligencer Journal reporters.

Reinaker also had words for the newspaper reporters involved in the matter:

"I would be remiss if I didn't also acknowledge the wholly inappropriate role played by the various newspaper reporters in this as well," the judge said.

"Their focus on the pursuit of news, on getting the scoop if you will, resulted in a compromise of their integrity and a total breach of their ethical responsibility as well.

"While immunity from prosecution in return for their testimony in this case may well have been necessary, it in no way mitigates their complicity in this criminal behavior," Reinaker said.

Kirchner, who served as county coroner from 2004 through 2007, was charged in February 2007 by the state Attorney General's Office.

After the court proceeding, a reporter asked Kirchner if he was glad to put the matter behind him.

"Is the Pope Catholic?" retorted the former coroner, once known for his colorful daily e-mails he sent out to members of the community.

"This is the best resolution," he said. "It puts me out of a very painful loop."

Eshbach said she also was glad the case had ended. It had dragged on, she said, due to Kirchner's illness and the fact that it had not been assigned to a judge for some time.

Kirchner, who has always adamantly denied charges of any wrong-doing, declined to speculate on whether he would have fought the charges, had his health been good.

Kirchner came down with an acute blood infection in December. He has been in a hospital or nursing home since that time.

He was brought into court today by a medical transport company and was accompanied by his wife, Betsy.

Kirchner, who was dressed in a sweatshirt, pants and suede, sheepskin-lined boots, said he is legally blind and cannot stand or walk. He also said he has a colostomy and is on "a ton of medication."

His attorney also noted the former coroner is unable to sign his own name, and only could make an "X" on legal documents.

During the court proceeding, Kirchner had a hard time hearing some comments but answered questions in a clear voice.

Kirchner said he is working on learning to walk again, something he hopes to accomplish by the end of the year.

The alleged security breach was discovered in August 2005, according to prosecutors, when articles in the Intelligencer Journal included information about a suspicious death, attributing information to the county's Web site.

Local prosecutors turned the investigation over to the state Attorney General's Office because of Kirchner's position as a county official. The Attorney General's Office presented the matter to a grand jury, which recommended the charges against Kirchner.

At the time of Kirchner's arrest, Attorney General Tom Corbett said the coroner "violated the public trust in order to help a small group of reporters gain an edge over competing media outlets."

Richard Harrison, operations manager for Lancaster County-Wide Communications, testified at an earlier court hearing that Kirchner, on becoming coroner, filled out a form for access to the restricted Web area.

Harrison said the form states the restricted area is for official use only and passwords are not to be distributed outside the agency. The form said abuses of unauthorized access will result in termination of the user's account.

Todd Zimmerman, 911's information systems specialist, also testified that the Web site contained no warning against unauthorized users until March 2005.

After that date, Zimmerman explained, users encountered two levels of warnings — first, a warning that the site was for official government business by authorized users, and then second, a warning of possible prosecution for unauthorized use.


Staff writer Janet Kelley can be reached at jkelley@LNPnews.com or 481-6026.