"Angel Lady"(5th Ward GOP Phillie Committee member)wants to start Tea Party group

[Divernan]

Posted on Fri, Jul. 30, 2010


Clout: Orie sisters sunmmoned 'Angel lady' on court case

By Chris Brennan
Philadelphia Daily News

A REPUBLICAN City Committee member from Center City's 5th Ward has emerged in the last week in a quirky role for a politically powerful western Pennsylvania family mired in scandal. Carolann Sano, who bills herself as a "spiritual channel," served as an adviser of sorts to state Sen. Jane Clare Orie and her sister Janine Orie. The Orie sisters were charged in April with using the senator's staff and other state resources to help her and a third sister, state Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin, win elections.

Jane Clare Orie and Janine Orie called Sano "the angel lady" and consulted with her about how their case would go, before they were charged, according to an arrest affidavit unsealed last week and first reported by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Sano, who advertises her services for $85 per hour on her Web site, thewhisperingangels. com, did not respond to our requests for comment. Maybe she sensed she wouldn't like the questions.

Mike Cibik, the 5th Ward leader, said he knew Sano dabbled in the supernatural business but was surprised last week when she called to tell him about her involvement in the Orie case. Cibik said he thinks Sano met Jane Orie Melvin at a fundraiser he held for her here last fall.

Sano, who told the Philadelphia City Paper in April that she wants to start a tea-party group that reflects the diversity of Center City, asked Melvin to help her land a state job, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Perhaps the spiritual channeling business has been negatively affected by the recession?

www.phillyclout.com