Legal experts say former Pittsburgh-area Republican state Sen. Jane Orie might wind up in prison on campaign corruption charges because she was also convicted of trying to cover up the crimes by using forged documents in what ended as a mistrial last year.
 
Law professors contacted by The Associated Press say Orie's corruption crimes are less serious than the Harrisburg scandals in which former state Reps. Bill DeWeese and John Perzel were sent to prison for 2 1/4 to 5 years each. But those cases didn't involve forgeries to cover up the crimes, which Orie - a former prosecutor - must have recognized as a fraud on the court.
 
Duquesne University professor Bruce Ledewitz says the forgeries separate Orie's case from the others, and are the reason why Pitt professor John Burkoff believes "she's facing serious time in prison" when she's sentenced today.