Just as Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele was in the courtroom prosecuting perhaps the most high-profile case to ever step foot in a county courtroom, his office ensured that his father and largest donor – J. Rodman Steele – was kept ‘in the loop’ with constant email updates, including instances when jurors had a question.
The strange revelation surfaced when reporters from yc.news discovered the district attorney’s father was on an email chain that provided updates from the court for members of the media.
This comes just two weeks before the comic icon is scheduled to stand before Judge O’Neill for sentencing on Sept. 24 and 25.
J. Rodman Steele resides in Florida and serves as a partner at Duane Morris LLP, a sizable law firm with over 800 attorneys in offices across the United States and abroad.
The emails – generally sent to members of the media – included details such as what jurors were eating and also alerted reporters to return to the courtroom when jurors had a question in deliberations. “They ordered Chinese,” one email detailed. “We don’t know if they are breaking of working through dinner.”
Towards the end of the retrial, the courthouse converted to push notifications rather than email – officials declined to comment as to why the change was made.
According to campaign finance reports, Rodman contributed over $60,000.00 to his kid’s campaign during his successful bid to become the Montgomery County district attorney – the reports indicate that a majority of the donations poured in just when Steele promised to prosecute Cosby if elected.
The finance reports obtained by yc.news also indicated that Steele dropped close to $165,000.00 in television ads promoting that promise. Meanwhile, the senior Steele told a local news publication in Florida that Cosby’s conviction “was a great, great relief,” noting that the process “was very emotional.”
The overzealous prosecutor fought to keep the names of the jurors confidential, comparing the case to one of the most controversial trials in American history – State of Florida v. Casey Anthony.
“I’m proud to be the asshole’s father,” Steele told myPalmBeachPost during a phone call from outside Philadelphia where he was celebrating Cosby’s conviction with his son, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele.
Throughout the trial, the prosecution flew in five prior bad act witnesses – including a wanted fugitive on the run for prostitution charges.
Oddly, Kate Delano, the spokeswoman for the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office was spotted slithering around, following the Cosby camp throughout the grounds – taking notes, photos, videos and documenting their every move to report back to Kevin Steele.