Jun. 02, 2016
HARRISBURG—Rep. Jason Ortitay (R-Washington/Allegheny), together with Rep. Dom Costa (D-Allegheny), recently introduced legislation to prohibit Pennsylvania inmates from placing advertisements on so-called “pen pal” websites and similar venues, either directly or with the assistance of third parties.
“These sites serve little, to no, purpose other than to allow criminals behind bars to defraud unsuspecting individuals,” Ortitay said. “By putting this ban in place, we are protecting those well-meaning people from being deceived and, ultimately, losing their hard-earned money.”
The issue rose to the attention of the Legislature when an inmate, Richard Poplawski, convicted of murdering three Pittsburgh police officers, advertised on the website ConvictPenPal.com, seeking “friendship” and “legal help.” Similar bans have been upheld in Florida and Indiana.
“As a former law enforcement officer, I know these sites to be self-serving only to the convicts and used to defraud many unsuspecting and naïve people,” Costa said. “It is our duty and responsibility to do everything we can to shut these sites down so these convicts do not victimize anyone else.”
At the time of its introduction,
House Bill 2132 had 37 co-sponsors.
Representative Jason Ortitay
46th Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Morgan Wagner
717.260.6281
mwagner@pahousegop.com
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