Politics & Government

District Attorney Passes Macungie Mayor's Request to Attorney General

Jim Martin said it would "inappropriate" for him to rule on a case to which he had a former tie.

Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin said Friday that he would pass Macungie Mayor Rick Hoffman's request to investigate the hiring of Police Chief Edward Harry Jr. to the state Attorney General's office.

In a letter dated Oct. 11, from his position "because Hoffman alleged that Harry was holding the position in violation of the Borough Code," Martin said in a release.

Last year, Hoffman sued to gain access of Police Department schedules and other records.

Find out what's happening in Lower Macungiewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

At that time Martin joined the police department's suit because Martin said the mayor should not have daily operational control of the department nor access to records.

"Because of the fact that I intervened in the underlying lawsuit, I thought it would be inappropriate for me to rule on Mayor Hoffman's request," Martin said in the release.

Find out what's happening in Lower Macungiewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Judge Michele Varricchio that the mayor is, indeed the top law enforcement official in the borough.

Martin has filed of that ruling.

Hoffman also has because the ruling did not provide enough money to cover his court costs, he said.


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