Family Portrait: Mandy and Liz’s (wedding) night at the museum PAGE 29
Trans woman of color to give keynote at youth conference PAGE 2
‘LoveStory’ was music to our ears PAGE 5
Attic Youth put their hearts into drag show PAGE 2
Feb. 12-18, 2016
Since 1976
PGN Philadelphia Gay News HONESTY • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM
Vol. 40 No. 7
Kathryn Knott begins prison sentence By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com
SIPPIN’ AND SOCIALIZING: It was a packed house Feb. 6 at Sips Bistro & Bar in Phoenixville for Our Night Out: Phoenixville’s Winter Mingle. The event, hosted by the new LGBT social group, was rescheduled because of last month’s blizzard. Guests included LGBTea Dances president and founder Rachel Stevenson (from left); founding members Fay Stevenson and Briggett Hinton; Mid-Atlantic Trans*perience head Jane Reynolds; LGBT Qmunity Center of Montgomery County’s executive director Joe Cairo and staffers Michael Smith and Mimi DeSouza; Bill Davidson of Our Night Out: Phoenixville; and Kimberly Lane of the LGBT Qmunity Center. Photo: Scott A. Drake
Gay attorney sues law firm By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com Alfred W. Zaher, a longtime partner at the Blank Rome law firm, filed suit last week, alleging he was pressured to leave the firm due to its homophobic work environment. Zaher was a partner at Blank Rome between 2006-14, specializing in intellectual-property rights. The firm, which is headquartered in Center City, has about 540 attorneys serving clients throughout the world. In a 25-page complaint, Zaher claims his days at the firm became numbered after he organized an LGBT-equity event attended by 70 attorneys at the firm’s Center City office. The event allegedly wasn’t appreciated by Blank Rome chairman and managing partner Alan J. Hoffman. “[B]ased upon his apparent disdain for Zaher’s open advocacy for gay rights in the legal community, Hoffman often made unfounded and disrespectful comments in open meetings of firm attorneys, dispar-
aging Zaher’s mannerisms and dress, and Hoffman displayed strong discontent and disapproval when Zaher organized and held a meeting of approximately 70 LGBT attorneys,” the complaint alleges. After the LGBT event, things went decidedly south for Zaher, the suit states. Two Blank Rome attorneys participated in a scheme to “steal” Zaher’s clients by conveying that Zaher had “ethical issues” and intended to leave the firm, according to Zaher’s complaint. Attorneys Timothy D. Pescanye and Matthew A. Homyk are named as defendants in Zaher’s complaint, along with Hoffman. Zaher maintains he had no intention of leaving the firm when misinformation about his supposed departure was conveyed to clients. During his eight years at Blank Rome, Zaher attracted numerous clients and amassed considerable wealth for the firm, according to his complaint. Zaher voluntarily left the firm in July 2014 due to its allegedly hostile work environment and curPAGE 9
The silence was nearly deafening — punctuated by Kathryn Knott’s quiet crying into a tissue, picked up by a microphone at the defense table — as the several-dozen assembled in Courtroom 304 of the Criminal Justice Center Monday afternoon waited for Common Pleas Judge Roxanne Covington to speak. After several painstaking minutes, Covington looked up. “You can’t unring a bell that has been rung,” she said slowly, adding after another pause, “If you put a nail in a wall, there remains a hole. That’s what happened in this incident.” Covington said sentencing guidelines require her to consider the defendant’s history, character and if there is an understanding of the gravity of the crimes committed, the latter of which proved to be a sticking point for the judge. “There is a lack of appreciation for the seriousness of this crime,” she said, looking at Knott. The judge proceeded to sentence Knott to five-10 months in prison: one-two months each for simple assault and conspiracy to commit simple assault, and three-six months for reckless endangerment.
After the first sentence, Knott covered her mouth and slumped forward, visibly shaking. Her mother, Carol Knott, attempted to approach the defense table to comfort her as the judge continued reading the sentence, but was held back by sheriffs. Four sheriffs lined the wall during the proceeding, customary during a sentencing hearing that could result in an immediate prison sentence. Knott’s attorney, Louis Busico, asked the judge to allow Knott to report to prison at a later date, a request the PAGE 12
Public defenders sought in Gayborhood murder case By Paige Cooperstein paige@epgn.com The 27-year-old homeless man accused of killing a psychiatrist in a Gayborhood hotel may have two public defenders representing him at his next court appearance. Manuel Baez currently is retaining private-practice attorney Paul Michael Dimaio, according to court records. It’s not clear what motivated the
change in representation. Dimaio did not immediately return a call seeking comment. Philadelphia Municipal Judge David C. Shuter presided over a Feb. 10 preliminary hearing for Baez, which was ultimately continued. Philadelphia Assistant District Attorney Joanne Pescatore asked for a Feb. 16 status hearing to assure public defenders could be appointed. She recommended Francis Carmen and Susan Ricci because they had previously worked with Baez, whose last known address was in Bethlehem. Baez faces charges of PAGE 9