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Lawmaker With Secret Criminal Case Pressured To Resign

PA House of Representatives

Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf says a public official shouldn't be in office if they're guilty of a crime, as questions swirl around whether a state lawmaker secretly pleaded guilty to a federal felony.

Wolf's comments Tuesday came four days after a Philadelphia Inquirer report revealed state Rep. Leslie Acosta's criminal case.

The Philadelphia Democrat is running unopposed for a second term in the November election. Her lawyer Christopher Warren says Acosta won't resign, despite Democratic Party pressure.

Court records show Acosta was secretly charged last November and accused of aiding a scheme to embezzle from a mental health clinic where she once worked.

The charging document was quietly unsealed after a still-secret plea document was filed March 4. It remains unclear whether she pleaded guilty. Warren says the judge sealed the document at his request.