LEMONT FURNACE, Pa. — Donald Liddick, professor of criminal justice at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus, has published "Organized Crime, Public Corruption: Ernie Preate and the Pennsylvania Crime Commission," through The Edwin Mellen Press.
The book examines the story and findings of the now-defunct Pennsylvania Crime Commission, focusing on its clashes with Pennsylvania Attorney General Ernie Preate in the early to mid-1990s. The commission, tasked with investigating organized crime and corruption, found itself in a battle that led to Preate serving a year in federal prison, ending his political ambitions, while the Pennsylvania Legislature defunded the commission, silencing a watchdog that had aimed too high.
Liddick earned his doctorate from Penn State in 1995. He previously taught at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg for eight years before joining Penn State Fayette in 2003.