HARRISBURG, Pa, — Former Harrisburg Mayor Stephen Reed, a possible target of a grand jury investigation concerning his financial dealings during his 28 years in office, told reporters he has prostate cancer that's spreading.
According to the Mayo Clinic, Stage 4 cancer spreads from the prostate to other organs.
"I'm dealing with a very significant health issue. Have been now for several years. Stage four," Reed, 65, told reporters on June 3, one day after agents representing Attorney General Kathleen Kane's office raided his Cumberland Street home, six blocks from the state capitol building.
The agents loaded boxes and agents carrying boxes, antiques and other items. The antiques included saddles and other western artifacts, possibly linked to Reed's failed attempt to open a Wild West museum in the state capital while he was mayor from 1982 to 2010.
Reed acknowledged that he testified in April before a Pittsburgh grand jury - "yes, yes, yes" -- that Kane convened, but was under a gag order.
"I'm usually a talker that'll go into great detail, but I'm not allowed to now of that gag order, which frankly is very frustrating," he said.
The grand jury has been probing Harrisburg's financial dealings, including bond financing related to an incinerator retrofit project that saddled 49,000-population Harrisburg with more than $600 million in debt and on the brink of bankruptcy. The city narrowly avoided a Chapter 9 bankruptcy filing by crafting a financial plan late in 2013 that included a sale of its incinerator and a long-term lease of parking assets.
"The fact of the matter is we don't know what they're after," said Reed's attorney, Allen Welch. "They've never told us. They don't have to. It's grand jury secrecy."
