The Defendant And The DA

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has suspended a convicted attorney.

The Meadville Tribune reported

The sentencing of Mercer County District Attorney Miles Karson Jr., convicted last week on 10 criminal charges, is scheduled for Feb. 13.

On Jan. 18, a jury found Karson, 73, of Sharon guilty of six counts of obstruction of justice and four counts of official oppression following a multi-day trial in Mercer County Court of Common Pleas. The jury also found Karson not guilty of one other count of obstruction of justice.

Each of the 10 counts is graded as a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable by up to two years in jail and a $5,000 fine.

Karson’s trial was presided over by Senior Judge H. William White of Venango County after Mercer County’s five judges recused themselves from hearing the case.

The Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General charged Karson in October 2017 following a presentment returned by a statewide investigating grand jury. Karson was charged with abusing the power of his office and interfering with several incidents involving a woman the commonwealth characterized as his love interest, Tonya Bulboff.

Karson remains free on $75,000 unsecured bond. He awaits sentencing and remains in office.

Alexander J. Lindsay, Karson’s defense attorney, said last week after the conviction that under Pennsylvania law nothing is final until sentencing.

Lindsay said an appeal of Karson’s conviction is planned, but an appeal can’t be filed until after sentencing.

From Trib Live

A jury spent about two and a half hours deliberating Friday before returning a guilty verdict in Mercer County District Attorney Miles K. Karson’s trial on charges of obstruction, official oppression and hindering prosecution of someone with whom he was romantically linked.

“District Attorney Karson used the power of his office to tip the scales of justice to favor of a romantic partner. It calls into question his ability to be fair and impartial in his decision-making as the lead prosecutor for this county,” said Attorney General Josh Shapiro in a news release.

“As Attorney General, I will not allow any person in power to abuse their public office,” Shapiro said. “I am focused on rooting out public corruption and will continue to prosecute anyone who breaks the law – without fear and without favor.”

The jury began deliberating shortly before 11 a.m. and returned with the verdict by 1:30 p.m., Mercer County Court Administrator Pete Morin said.

“We’re of course disappointed in the verdict. We thought we had a decent chance for acquittal and of course we’re disappointed because Miles Karson is a great public servant and this is very damaging to him,” Karson’s attorney, Al Lindsay of Butler, said.

Senior Judge H. William White of Venango County set sentencing for Feb. 13, Morin said.

And The Herald reported on the testimony of the alleged romantic partner

Tonya Bulboff, who was called as a witness for the prosecution, testified that her relationship with Karson was “intimate,” but not romantic or sexual.

“He’s been a great sound board for me to discuss issues as I reintegrate back into society,” Bulboff said under cross-examination by Karson’s attorney, Alexander J. Lindsay Jr. of Butler. “He’s just been a great guidance for me.”

Karson also has denied that he and Bulboff were romantically involved, but he has acknowledged that he did speak to law enforcement officials about her criminal cases.

The district attorney has been charged by the Office of the State Attorney General with 14 counts of obstruction of justice and official oppression. He is accused of asking for special treatment in criminal cases involving Bulboff.

Deputy Attorney General Evan T. Lowry questioned Bulboff for several hours Monday. He argued with Bulboff over the word “intimate,” as a description of the relationship she had with Karson.

Lowry said Bulboff is either lying now or she lied during her grand jury testimony when she never said the relationship with Karson was not sexual.

Bulboff said that she was still recovering from her heroin addiction at that time and was riding an emotional roller coaster.

At one point, Lowry tried to declare her a “hostile witness,” but Senior Judge H. William White of Venango County denied the request.

“Let’s let the jury decide,” the judge said.

Lowry asked Bulboff to discuss the personalities she calls, “bad Tonya” and “good Tonya.”

“Bad Tonya is when I’m actively using,” Bulboff testified. “I’m manipulative. I’m all about me. I’m not rational. I do things I normally wouldn’t do.”

Bulboff has been convicted of possession of drug paraphernalia, conspiracy to deliver drugs, theft and forgery.

Bulboff said she was using pills, then heroin when she and her boyfriend devised a check-cashing scheme against her employer in the summer of 2016.

She was sentenced in June 2017 to 1 to 3 years in jail followed by five years probation, and was ordered to pay $30,000 restitution and to have a drug and alcohol evaluation. Bulboff served 13 months and was released in June.

On Jan. 23, Bulboff will be clean for 20 months, she testified.

“Good Tonya” received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree with a concentration in marketing in 2014. She has worked internships where she was an events coordinator and box office supervisor for the opera, she said.

In March 2015, she reached out to Karson and started helping out with his campaign for district attorney by attending events, taking pictures and posting them on social media.

She said she struggled with addiction before college and relapsed in June 2015 when she started taking pain pills.

She said her father was suffering from COPD and other health problems, and that her mother was diagnosed with stage four cancer. When Karson found out, he would stop by the Bulboff residence to visit her mother, and have meetings with Bulboff concerning his campaign, she testified.

“I would talk to him about the struggles of taking care of my mom and dad,” Bulboff said. “I shared that with him. He struggled with cancer. He gave my mom a lot of hope at that time.”

Bulboff’s relapse was even greater when she met James Combine, who was also convicted in the check-cashing scheme. When she met him, Bulboff said she started using heroin again.

In July 2015, her addiction became more prominent and she testified that she eventually “fizzled out” when it came to Karson’s campaign. The relationship between her and Combine became physically and emotionally abusive, and she isolated herself from family and friends, she said. She said she and Combine were living in motels, trying to get money any way they could.

Near the end of the summer of 2016, Combine went to jail and Bulboff reached out to Karson after that. She started contacting him more and more through phone calls and texts, she said.

“I believe I was trying to get some positive support back in my life,” Bulboff testified.

She started staying overnight on and off in Karson’s spare room at his house on Carley Avenue in Sharon.

Then, on Oct. 16, 2016, police responded to the domestic call at the residence. On the same night, Karson secured a hotel room for her at the Holiday Inn Express in West Middlesex, she said.

“I think this was the first time that Miles saw me really at my worst,” Bulboff testified.

Bulboff said that during the incident and the exchange with Sharon police, she was fully clothed. She also said that she decided after the incident that she was out of control and decided to check into rehab.

But, that same night, Bulboff hooked up with a drug dealer, she said, and Karson caught her with him entering the Holiday Inn.

A hotel clerk testified that Karson was angry and flashed his district attorney badge at him. Bulboff also testified that he flashed his badge at her and her “drug dealer” and said he was calling the police. Bulboff testified that she and her friend left before he could.

Lowry then played phone calls from the jail between Bulboff and Karson and her and her son. Lowry asked Bulboff to explain why she told her son that she and Karson had “broken up” and asked why she told Karson that she hadn’t “cheated on him.”

“That is not a representation of the truth,” Bulboff said. “I was very emotional. There was no relationship like that. My mother was gone, my father was dying … In my mind, I was grasping for anything. (Karson) never promised me anything.”

But Lowry did not readily accept Bulboff’s explanation. He wanted to know why she lied on a jail receipt where she listed “Mark Smith” for Miles Karson’s name. He wanted to know why and how she paid $4,000 of Combine’s lawyer fees, especially when he was so abusive to her.

“Is it true that Combine was going to tell about the relationship (with Karson)?” Lowry asked.

Bulboff admitted to lying about Karson’s name. She explained that she paid Combine’s lawyer fees by selling drugs because she felt guilty.

On cross-examination, Bulboff said her drug use started at age 14 with marijuana. She started using pain pills. Then when she was 18, she graduated to heroin. She was first arrested when she was 19 for possession of marijuana. In 2005, she was sentenced on charges of possession with the intent to deliver heroin and spent two years in prison.

Bulboff stayed clean until her son’s father died of an overdose.

After that, she went back to school at the University of Pittsburgh and graduated with high honors.

“I thought I was doing everything I needed to do to be a productive member of society,” Bulboff testified. “But I wasn’t going to counseling or meetings.”

Now, she has completed outpatient counseling and attends Narcotics Anonymous meetings three to four times a week, she testified.

Bulboff now lives in Allegheny County and works for a chiropractic firm. She testified that she was very embarrassed over the entire situation with Karson.

“I’m in a really good position now spiritually and mentally,” she said.

The prosecution is expected to call more witnesses starting at 9 a.m. today. The case is expected to go through at least Wednesday.

(Mike Frisch)