The former No. 2 Democrat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives was found guilty Monday night of 14 corruption-related charges following a six-week trial.
Former state Rep. Mike Veon had been facing 59 counts related to public corruption while he held the post of Democratic Whip in the state House.
Prosecutors alleged that Veon orchestrated a scheme to pay state workers for doing campaign work on taxpayer time. Democrats took back control of the state House in 2006 thanks to Veon's efforts.
Two of Veon's former aides were also found guilty. A fourth defendant was acquitted of all charges.
While not the slam dunk case Attorney General Tom Corbett, who brought the charges, had hoped for, convictions of three of the four defendants will cement Corbett's reputation as a corruption-busing crusader.
How can you not read a column that begins with this premise: "President Obama is presiding over one of the most corrupt administrations in American history."
Read Jeffrey T. Kuhner's latest at the link below:
Finding an honest Democrat in Congress is proving to be a difficult task.
Less than 24 hours after replacing crooked Democrat Charlie Rangel as chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, crooked Democrat Pete Stark was also forced to resign.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi better get busy draining that swamp she keeps talking about. The place is beginning to smell. Then again, there's only eight months until the November elections. The American public will take care of cleaning out the cesspool that is Congress on Nov. 2.
From POLITICO:
Rep. Sander Levin will take over as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee after Rep. Pete Stark, who held the gavel for a day, stepped aside.
The dominoes fell after Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) resigned the chairmanship of the powerful tax-writing panel Wednesday as Republicans and many Democrats were moving to oust him following an ethics committee ruling that found he violated House gift rules.
Levin, who had been chairman of the trade subcommittee, will helm the panel through the end of this Congress — barring the unlikely return of Rangel.
Officially, Stark stepped aside to keep the gavel of the panel's health subcommittee. But lawmakers and aides said Stark faced a rebellion within the committee and the caucus over his sometimes bizarre behavior and penchant for making offensive comments.
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen told Stark at a Ways and Means Committee meeting Wednesday that his stepping aside would be in the best interests of the party, according to a Democratic aide familiar with the meeting.
With the recent death of Rep. John Murtha, fellow Democrat Charles Rangel has a clear path to the title of the most corrupt member of Congress.
Just days after Nancy Pelosi defended Rangel despite serious ethical violations, Rangel has resigned as chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee.
It's a step in the right direction, but it also shows how corrupt Congress has become under the Pelosi regime.
From POLITICO:
Neither power nor popularity could save Charles Rangel from himself.
The affable, quotable and often jovial New York Democrat stepped down from his chairmanship of the Ways and Means Committee Wednesday because his fellow Democrats feared that ethics investigations into Rangel's personal finances, travel, living arrangements and use of his office posed a grave threat to their chances in November's elections.
Rangel says he's stepping aside only temporarily, but he officially resigned the post in a letter submitted to the House Wednesday morning. Technically, he could be restored by a future House vote, but that's a political long shot given that he was forced aside by ethics troubles.
It was not immediately clear who would take the committee's reins in Rangel's absence, with some insiders predicting it would be the next man in line, California's Pete Stark, and others predicting it would be Sander Levin of Michigan. Under House rules, Stark is chairman unless Democrats act affirmatively to put someone else in his place, according to a House GOP aide familiar with House operations.
Has anyone else noticed that Nancy Pelosi's four years as Speaker of the House coincide with the United States' rapid decline as an economic power? Record unemployment, skyrocketing energy prices, record budget deficits, massive corruption. That's Nancy Pelosi's legacy.
If you haven't been paying attention to the Bonusgate trial of former House Democratic leader Mike Veon, you should.
Columnist Brad Bumsted says the testimony about the elaborate criminal enterprise allegedly set up by Veon and others inside the Capitol is appalling.
"Every Pennsylvania taxpayer should be furious," Bumsted writes.
Bumsted has written extensively on Bonusgate and this week's column focuses on testimony by Scott Brubaker, a former state House aide.
From Bumsted's column:
The secrecy was "exactly why we did it. You could get a bonus, and you didn't have to disclose it," said Brubaker. House Rule 14 didn't require that bonuses be publicly disclosed, he said.
"We would not report something we didn't have to report," Brubaker testified.
Right. Of course, you never tell the taxpayers how their money actually is being spent.
That statement by Brubaker accurately summarizes why Pennsylvania state government is regressive, insular and, to a certain extent, corrupt.
We have a Right to Know Law that will enable people to get some records never available before -- if you ask the right questions. Outside of the basics, the Legislature isn't covered on certain documents (such as e-mails).
And here was this ex-House staffer, who might be going to prison, talking about how they conspired to keep taxpayers in the dark about spending $1.4 million.
Meanwhile, the three-year compensation total for the Brubaker household, salaries and bonuses, courtesy of taxpayers, was $692,243.
What's galling is the hubris of Scott Brubaker, Mike Manzo, the former Democratic Caucus chief of staff, and Veon's former chief of staff, Jeffrey Foreman, who told the jury about ways they tried to keep information away from the public.
When the bonuses were revealed in January 2007, the House Democrat PR machine, day after day, insisted there were no bonuses for campaign work. Yet seven former staffers, including the Brubakers, Manzo and Foreman, have now pleaded guilty to participating in that scheme.
The real crime, however, was deceiving the taxpayers.
Time magazine is focusing national attention on the ongoing political corruption scandals in Harrisburg.
From an article by Sean Scully posted at Time.com:
Pennsylvania has long been known for shady politics, but this year promises to be particularly ugly as series of corruption trials unfold, all stemming from a sweeping probe known as "Bonusgate." Prosecutors charge that leaders of both parties in the state House of Representatives flagrantly ignored the law, using taxpayer money to wage political warfare and to lavish perks on aides and party loyalists. The price tag is likely in the tens of millions, and prosecutors warn there could be more indictments, possibly targeting leaders of the State Senate. "There was an unbelievable sense of entitlement in Harrisburg that they could do this with a high degree of immunity," said Chris Borick, political science professor at Muhlenberg College.
Newspaper: Shed light on Democrats' shady backroom deal
Here's some of what Investor's Business Daily has to say about the Democrats' intention to negotiate the final version of Obamacare behind closed doors:
Bypassing a conference committee also cuts out a public that will suffer losses from whatever monstrosity is produced by the cover of darkness. Americans stand to lose their power of choice over health care decisions and be stripped of a significant portion of their earnings to pay for a plan most don't want. They deserve to see in an open forum what is being done to them. Instead, they're likely to get whatever the Democrats want to force on them.
Without sunlight to disinfect the sordid mess, the public option could be quietly slipped into the final bill. Committee members could set the taxes on high-end insurance plans at an excessively punitive rate. The mandates placed on private insurance companies could drive many out of business and make premiums unaffordable to millions.
A long list of harmful ideas exists that could be tacked onto the bill, and few of us would know about them. Without a conference committee, the rule that requires the conference report to be publicly available for at least 48 hours before a vote would not apply.
In the 2006 and 2008 elections, Democrats gave their word that under their care, government would have superior transparency. In August 2008, while campaigning for the presidency, Barack Obama made a similar pledge, saying he would hold health care legislation talks in the open "around a big table."
"We'll have the negotiations televised on C-SPAN," Obama said, as he was "going to allow people to stay involved in this process."
Earlier in the year, the president repudiated "negotiating behind closed doors" and vowed to bring "all parties together" and broadcast "those negotiations on C-SPAN so that the American people can see what the choices are, because part of what we have to do is enlist the American people in this process."
Despite those promises, C-SPAN's offer to televise the negotiations in their entirety has not been accepted.
If Democrats are doing something good for the country, why did the party bosses have to spend so much taxpayer money to bribe Democratic members of Congress into voting for the "health care reform" bill? Just wondering.
Top Democrat Bill DeWeese, Rendell official charged in corruption probe
The Associated Press is reporting that Attorney General Tom Corbett has charged state Rep. Bill DeWeese, a top-ranking Democratic leader for decades, and Gov. Ed Rendell's former Revenue Secretary, Stephen Stetler, with theft, conspiracy and conflict of interest charges.
This is the third round of charges in what has been known as "Bonusgate," a wide-ranging investigation of corruption centered in the Pennsylvania Legislature.
DeWeese, who has served in the House since 1976, including a lengthy term as Democratic floor leader and a term as Speaker of the House, has repeatedly denied any knowledge or involvement in "Bonusgate," which involved paying millions of dollars in taxpayer-funded bonus money to Democrats for political work on state time.
The charges against Stetler are related to his previous service in the state House, according to the AP. He resigned as Rendell's Revenue Secretary Tuesday morning in anticipation of the criminal charges.
Government Watchdogs call for Constitutional Convention in PA
The latest corruption scandal to hit Harrisburg has prompted calls for a Constitutional Convention to reform state government. The problem is that a convention needs approval by the Legislature. The people of Pennsylvania can clean up the mess in 2010 when all 203 members of the state House and 25 members of the state Senate are up for reelection.
Independent reviews of Obama's claims of job created by the stimulus bill show that the government is making up numbers. As Rep. Joe Wilson so aptly said it, "You lie!"
From Watchdog.org:
Just how big is the stimulus package? Well for one, it has doubled the size of the House of Representatives, according to recovery.gov, which says that funds were distributed to 440 congressional districts that do not exist.
According to data retrieved from recovery.gov, nearly $6.4 billion was used to “create or save” just under 30,000 jobs in these phantom congressional districts–almost $225,000 per job. The Web site operates on an $84 million budget and is tasked with monitoring the distribution of the $787 billion stimulus package passed by Congress–which, for the record, counts 435 members–in early 2009.
It's clear you can't trust anything coming from the Obama Ministry of Propaganda or the state-run media that should be reporting on the most corrupt and deceptive administration ever.
Ten Republicans with ties to the Pennsylvania Legislature, including former Speaker of the House John Perzel, are facing corruption charges. That's on top of 12 Democrats, including former House Democratic Whip Mike Veon, charged last year with corruption by the Pennsylvania Attorney General.
Do you sense a pattern here?
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review asks in an editorial when Pennsylvania residents will finally say they've had enough of public corruption.
From the editorial:
Tragically, these likely are not the last charges to be lodged in the investigation into a state Legislature that has been operating a continuing criminal enterprise. So, Pennsylvanians, are you now ready to demand reforms that will return your government to you?
Just posted on the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Web site:
HARRISBURG - As part of an ongoing public corruption investigation into the Pennsylvania Legislature, agents from the Attorney General's Public Corruption Unit today filed criminal charges against Representative John Perzel and former Republican Representative Brett Feese. Also charged are eight current or former aides to Perzel and Feese.
Attorney General Tom Corbett said the charges are part of an ongoing grand jury investigation into the misuse of public resources and employees for campaign purposes in the Pennsylvania Legislature.
Corbett said the grand jury issued a 188 page presentment recommending that he file criminal charges against the defendants.
Among those charged, in addition to Perzel and Feese, are Perzel's former Chief of Staff, Brian Preski; his current Chief of Staff, Paul Towhey; Perzel's brother-in-law and former House employee, Samual "Buzz" Stokes; Perzel legislative aide John Zimmerman; Perzel campaign aide Don McClintock; Feese aides Jill Seaman and Elmer Bowman; and former House Republican Information Technology Deputy Director Eric Ruth.
The defendants are each charged with numerous theft, criminal conspiracy and conflict of interest charges. Additionally, Perzel, Preski, Feese, Seaman, Towhey and Zimmerman are each charged with obstruction of justice.
Corbett said that in the first phase of the investigation his agents charged 12 defendants in July of 2008. Trials are scheduled for December and January 2010.
Chutzpa: 1. unmitigated effrontery or impudence; gall. 2. audacity; nerve.
File this under chutzpa in the dictionary.
ACORN has sued the federal government demanding that it give back taxpayer dollars to the corrupt agency that Congress voted to deny it earlier this year.
From POLITICO:
ACORN claims that the legislation was of "malicious and punitive intent." The suit also claims Congress violated the Fifth Amendment by skirting due process before doling out the punishment of the funding cut. OMB Director Peter Orszag and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner are listed as co-defendants in the suit.
This is what America has come to in the Age of Obama. Criminals are suing the government demanding that taxpayers continue to fund their corrupt ways.
10 Republicans, including John Perzel, charged in corruption probe
The other shoe has dropped.
Ten Republicans connected to the Pennsylvania Legislature, including former Speaker of the House John Perzel, have been charged in a wide-ranging corruption case, Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett announced today.
A grand jury found that Perzel was the architect of an illegal scheme in which more than $10 million in taxpayer money was spent to help win political campaigns, according to The Associated Press.
Also charged in the ongoing grand jury probe were Perzel's former chief of staff, Brian Preski, and former House GOP counsel Brett Feese, the news service reports.
The charges come 16 months after 12 Democrats were charged in what became known as the Bonusgate case.
Just four years ago, Perzel was arguably the most powerful politician in Pennsylvania, with more influence than Gov. Ed Rendell. But the pay raise fiasco of 2005 and Republican loses in the House (which Perzel had a hand in) cost Perzel his post as Speaker. Now he is facing criminal charges and a lengthy jail sentence if found guilty.
Perzel, who has represented parts of Philadelphia in Legislature since 1979, was Republican Whip in 1993-94; Majority Leader from 1995 to 2003; and Speaker from April 15, 2003, to the end of 2006, when a half-dozen Republicans joined with Democrats to deny him another term as Speaker.
PA GOP: Pennsylvania's Democrat House of Hypocrisy
Republican Party of Pennsylvania Chairman Rob Gleason released the following statement in response to a press release sent out by Democrat members of the state House of Representatives touting their letter to Pennsylvania's Congressional delegation that called for an investigation into the activities of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN:
"Democrats in the state House have taken hypocrisy to a new and dangerous level," Gleason said. "Just weeks after voting to support state funding for ACORN, Democrat state Reps. Tony DeLuca, Dom Costa and Bryan Barbin are now publicly calling on Pennsylvania's Congressional delegation to investigate this corrupt organization. This letter was no doubt a measure taken to calm down their constituents, who are upset that their elected officials voted to support a group that has clearly been misusing precious taxpayer resources.
"In these troubled economic times, when everyone is working to stretch our dollars as far as we can, the public deserves to know that the Democrat Party is willing to knowingly send our tax dollars to this corrupt organization. The recent videos depicting ACORN counseling people involved in criminal activities is deplorable. It is mind-boggling to me that, even with mounting video evidence piling up against this corrupt organization, every Democrat member of the state House still voted to send precious taxpayer dollars to fund the activities of this corrupt organization."
"ACORN has been exposed as a corrupt organization that should not be receiving federal or state funds under any circumstances."
PA GOP blasts Sen. Casey for 'blind support' of ACORN
Republican Party of Pennsylvania Chairman Rob Gleason is pleased that the U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly to deny federal housing funds to the controversial left-wing advocacy group ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now).
However, Gleason questioned U.S. Senator Bob Casey Jr.'s decision to join six of his colleagues in support of ACORN funding.
"Sen. Bob Casey's blind support of this corrupt organization is questionable at best," Gleason said. "ACORN continues to be exposed as a corrupt organization that should not be receiving federal funds under any circumstance. The recent videos depicting ACORN on a number of occasions giving out advice on how to cheat and lie on your taxes were appalling and further confirmed my suspicions about this questionable organization.
"With all things we have learned about ACORN, I cannot understand how Senator Casey could support ACORN. Sen. Casey owes it to our Commonwealth and his constituents to explain his vote."
On Monday, the U.S. Senate voted 83-7 vote in favor of an amendment that stripped out funding to ACORN in a housing and transportation bill. ("Senate Denies ACORN Funding," Politico, 9/14/09, http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0909/27153.html)
Casey, a freshman Democrat, was one of the seven votes against the amendment. ACORN is under investigation in nine states for allegations of voter registration fraud.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has released its fifth annual report on the most corrupt members of Congress.
CREW's Most Corrupt Members of Congress provides a detailed analysis of the unethical and sometimes illegal activities of 15 congressmen and women who have most egregiously betrayed the public's trust.
"With the economy in a free-fall, unemployment rates at record highs and health care solutions still nowhere in sight, members should be spending their time looking for answers to the nation's problems, not finding new ways to enrich themselves." said Melanie Sloan, executive director of CREW. "The members of Congress profiled in CREW'sMost Corrupt report have betrayed those who voted them into office. This report holds them accountable for their bad choices."
CREW also has launched the report's tandem Web site, www.CREWsMostCorrupt.org, which offers short summaries of each member's transgressions as well as the full-length profiles and all accompanying exhibits.
The 15 most corrupt members of Congress (listed alphabetically) are:
Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL) Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA) Rep. Nathan Deal (R-GA) Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-IL) Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA) Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-WV) Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) Rep. Laura Richardson (D-CA) Rep. Pete Visclosky (D-IN) Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) Rep. Don Young (R-AK)
From a CREW press release:
New to this year's list are Sens. Roland Burris and John Ensign, and Reps. Nathan Deal, Jesse Jackson Jr. and Pete Visclosky.
After a two-year absence, Rep. Maxine Waters has reappeared in the study for unethical activities unrelated to the conduct that landed her on the list in the past. A detailed list of those who have previously graced the report can be found on the Web site.
Of this year's list of 15, at least 12 are under investigation: Reps. Ken Calvert, Jerry Lewis, Alan Mollohan, John Murtha, Pete Visclosky and Don Young are under Department of Justice (DOJ) investigations, while Sens. Roland Burris and John Ensign and Reps. Charles Rangel and Laura Richardson are under congressional ethics committee investigations. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. is under investigation by both the DOJ and the Office of Congressional Ethics and Rep. Vern Buchanan is being investigated by the Federal Election Commission.
Visit CREWsMostCorrupt.org or click here to read the full report.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is a non-profit legal watchdog group dedicated to holding public officials accountable for their actions.
Former Pennsylvania House Democratic Leader Bill DeWeese engaged in the same illegal activities that led to criminal charges against 12 underlings, according to court documents filed on behalf of former state Rep. Mike Veon, who served as DeWeese's right-hand man, reports Mark Scolforo of The Associated Press.
From Scolforo's story on the ongoing Bonusgate corruption case:
In the filing, Veon said prosecutors' own investigative materials show that DeWeese and his staff did many of the same things that prompted the charges. As a result, Veon said the charges against him should be dropped.
Veon served as whip while DeWeese was Democratic floor leader for many years before Veon lost re-election in 2006. The new filing is the first public sign that the investigation has caused a rift between the two.
Veon and 11 others associated with the House Democratic caucus were charged last summer with theft, conflict of interest and conspiracy in what prosecutors say was a scheme to divert public resources and state employees for campaigning or other improper purposes.
DeWeese, who bowed to political pressure and stepped down as the House Democratic leader in January of this year, is still part of the Democratic leadership team. He has not been charged with any criminal wrongdoing but his name continues to surface in the ongoing corruption investigation.
After millions of dollars in bonus payments were allegedly made to Democratic House staffers for political work, the Democrats regained majority control of the state House in 2006 after 12 years of Republican control.
The Center for Public Integrity has posted all sorts of information on a new section of its Web site called The Climate Change Lobby, examining "the forces attempting to influence this pivotal issue."
From the Web site:
As Congress focused last week on landmark legislation to reduce global warming, the timing of this release — which includes a list of the top 10 firms representing climate change interests — couldn't have been better. It's a great reminder of how essential our in-depth investigations have become, keeping the public clued in to issues that other news organizations increasingly can't cover."
In other words, it's all about money. Lobbyists, special interest groups, corporations and politicians stand to make billions by diverting your tax dollars to solve a non-existent problem.
The Center for Public Integrity is a nonprofit organization dedicated to producing original, responsible investigative journalism on issues of public concern. The Center is non-partisan and non-advocacy, according to its Web site.
Less than a week after a district judge threw out the case citing a lack of evidence, Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett has refiled corruption charges against former state Rep. Mike Veon, the onetime No. 2 Democratic leader in the state House of Representatives.
This time, Corbett wants a real judge -- someone on the Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas -- not a district justice -- to hear the case.
That makes a big difference. District judges are elected locally and do not have to have any legal background. (In two local races for district judge in the Pottstown area, a hairdresser and a landscaper were on the ballot.)
The attorney general's office also asked for the proceedings against former Beaver County Rep. Mike Veon and his district office supervisor, Annamarie Perretta-Rosepink, to be heard by a Dauphin County Common Pleas judge.
District judges often make bad decisions and the AG obviously believes Harrisburg District Judge Joseph Solomon was over his head in one of the biggest corruption cases brought against a powerful political figure.
Mike Veon and his district office supervisor, Annamarie Perretta-Rosepink are accused of illegally diverting taxpayer dollars through the Beaver Initiative for Growth, a nonprofit agency he controlled, to hire consultants, rent office space and handle various political and legislative chores, according to The Associated Press.
They are both charged with theft, misapplication of entrusted property, conflict of interest and conspiracy, the wire service reports.
From The Associated Press:
Judge Solomon prosecutors argued, improperly let defense lawyers delve into irrelevant issues and inadmissible evidence during an eight-hour preliminary hearing last week to determine if the case should advance to county court.
"It is clear from (his) comments that he expected the commonwealth to present 'conclusive' evidence or proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt," wrote Senior Deputy Attorney General Anthony Krastek. "This is contrary to the well-established standard applied to preliminary hearings."
Newspaper calls for criminal investigation of Rendell deal
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review is calling for a criminal investigation of Gov. Ed Rendell's latest "play-to-play" scheme, this one involving the awarding of a no-bid state contract to a law firm that contributed generously to Rendell's 2006 re-election campaign.
From the editorial:
A troubling trail has been exposed that has all the appearances of a pay-to-play scheme and a quid pro quo involving Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell.
The Wall Street Journal documents campaign contributions to Mr. Rendell between February and October 2006 of more than $90,000 from attorney F. Kenneth Bailey. In August 2006, Mr. Bailey's law firm -- Bailey Perrin Bailey LLP of Houston, Texas -- was awarded a lucrative no-bid contingency fee contract to represent Pennsylvania in a lawsuit against Janssen Pharmaceuticals.
In a case that state Attorney General Tom Corbett thought lacked merit, the Rendell administration alleges Janssen improperly marketed a drug for off-label use.
Rendell has awarded more than $1 billion in no-bid contracts to politically-connected firms during his six years as governor. Too much taxpayer money is changing hands without any accountability.
From the Tribune-Review:
Gov. Ed Rendell denies any impropriety. But the smoke on this one is dense. It behooves the U.S. Department of Justice to see if there's any fire.
Newspaper: Rendell's latest hire worked for Mike Veon
Gov. Ed Rendell has made another exception to the hiring freeze he imposed last fall, offering a $102,000-a-year state job to ex-state Rep. Mike Veon's lobbying partner, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Her name is Colleen Kopp and she is Rendell's new senior deputy secretary for legislative affairs.
Veon, the former No. 2 ranking Democrat in the state House, is right smack in the middle of two of the biggest corruption scandals in Pennsylvania political history.
He is facing charges involving the Bonusgate scheme in which millions of dollars were awarded to state workers for allegedly conducting political work on taxpayers' time. Veon has also been charged in a scheme involving misuse of state money to fund a nonprofit organization that received $10 million from the state.
Kopp has not been charged with any wrongdoing. She does, however, have a long association with Veon, including stints as executive director and chief of staff of Veon's legislative staff.
Reporters Brad Bumsted and Debra Erdley said Kopp is the third prominent Democrat hired by Rendell since the hiring freeze was imposed.
From their article:
Rendell hired Colleen Kopp last week, the third high-profile exception he has made to the freeze he implemented in September. He hired defeated Democratic Rep. Dan Surra of Clearfield County for $95,000 a year to oversee a nature-tourism project, and last week agreed to pay Ken Snyder of Philadelphia $100,000 to tout the federal stimulus package. Snyder, a public relations man who consulted for Rendell in 2003, represented a nonprofit pillaged by convicted former Sen. Vincent Fumo.
WTAE-TV4 in Pittsburgh has been doing some outstanding investigative reporting on the Pennsylvania Legislature, the most expensive in the country and arguably the most inefficient and corrupt state legislature in the U.S.
The latest investigation by reporter Jim Parsons exposes cases of lawmakers who benefit financially from ties to private interests, often leading to conflicts of interest.
A common example: Lawmakers leasing office space in buildings they own or buildings owned by political allies, all paid for by taxpayers.
From the Team 4 report:
Now, a Team 4 investigation finds many of our full-time legislators in Harrisburg get outside income from private interests -- and sometimes, those interests can conflict with the public's.
Remember, we pay our state lawmakers a minimum of almost $80,000 each to represent us full-time -- but our Team 4 investigation found a majority of lawmakers report income from at least one other source.
And in reading through this annual financial interest statement for each state lawmaker, we also discovered something else: More than one-third of state senators and a quarter of House members sit on legislative committees that oversee the industries from which those same lawmakers reported receiving income, owning stock or serving on a board of directors.
Critics say that's a conflict of interest. But there's no law against it.
You can read the transcript of the report online or watch the actually report by the Team 4 investigation online at the station's Web site, www.thepittsburghchannel.com
Breaking news on the corruption front involving the Pennsylvania Legislature.
From an article by Brad Bumsted and Debra Erdley in today's edition of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:
Additional charges of theft, conspiracy and conflict of interest were filed against former House Democratic Whip Mike Veon today, accusing him of using a Beaver County nonprofit for his personal and political benefit, the state Attorney General's Office said.
Attorney General Tom Corbett is holding a news conference in Pittsburgh to announce the latest phase of his investigation of possible corruption in the Legislature.
Charges were filed against Veon, 52, formerly of Beaver Falls, and former district office staffer Annamarie Peretta-Rosepink, 46, for their use of the Beaver Initiative for Growth. Veon and former Sen. Gerald LaValle, D-Rochester, funded the nonprofit with more than $10 million in state grants over a decade.
Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission Chairman Mitchell Rubin, the target of an FBI corruption investigation, gave himself an extended leave of absence on Saturday.
Gov. Ed Rendell handed Rubin a permanent leave on Monday, removing him from the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission effective immediately.
Rubin has not been charged with any wrongdoing, but his name came up during the corruption trial of former sate Sen. Vince Fumo, who was found guilty last week of 137 charges.
Rubin, of Philadelphia, has served on the Commission since June 1998 and was elected chairman in 2003.
'Do you get the idea that our nation and state are in deep dodo?'
Camp Hill citizen-activist Bill McIntyre has been perusing the newspaper headlines lately and is having some doubts about the people running Pennsylvania and the United States, too.
Here is his latest mailing to "Friends of Responsible Government" and members of the Executive, Legislative & Judicial Branches of PA Government:
Dear Friends,
"Obama's plan: $9.3 trillion in red?" appeared as the lead headline at the top front page in today's Harrisburg Patriot-News. Another headline read "Rendell sees stimulus money as state's 'lifeline'" and appeared at the bottom of the page.
Headlines are defined as the most important items of news in a newspaper or broadcast news media. A well composed headline will draw the readers and/or listeners attention to the article that follows. Some headlines across the state that have caught my attention since my last letter were:
"Auditor General Wagner to audit liquor control board contract"
"Governor hires $100K publicist to tout stimulus money"
"GUILTY! BUT IS IT THE END OF AN ERA?"
"Fumo found guilty on all 137 counts"
"Fumo corruption case expands; others could be investigated"
"Pennsylvania lawmakers have history of criminal prosecution"
"Losses top $28 billion for 2 state pensions"
"Legislators want 'equitable' budget cuts"
"E-mail may tie DeWeese to scandal"
"DeWeese, Dems play tug-of-war with case file"
"Rendell says LCB deal should be investigated"
"President of PHEAA's fundraising arm fired"
"Former PHEAA head wants severance package"
It just goes on and on!
Do you get the idea that our nation and state are in deep dodo? We have mortgaged our future and future generations. Yet, government continues to grow and to spend beyond our means to pay for it all. One headline that caught my eye was "Speaker's pen gift adds $4,000 to Pa. red ink" by Eric Heyl of the Tribune-Review.
Eric wrote - "As is customary for new speakers, McCall rewarded all 203 well-compensated House members with a gift from their leader. He bought them each an $18.95 desktop pen set and purchased seven spare sets – spending nearly $4,000. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Tuesday."
I would have been impressed with Speaker McCall's generous gesture had he paid for the pens himself. Eric's article continues – "McCall's annual salary is $122,245, but he's having the public pick up the tab for the pens. McCall essentially is attempting to expense an outrageous and unnecessary expenditure, one that his bosses – state taxpayers – shouldn't tolerate."
With a projected $2.3 billion deficit in this year's budget, every penny counts. Speaker McCall evidently didn't listen to his grandmother who might have told him, like my grandmother told me; if you watch your pennies the dollars will take care of themselves. With our projected budget shortfall, $4,000 is pennies, precious pennies!
A very concerned, Bill McIntyre About spending ourselves into bankruptcy
That's what 137 guilty verdicts looks like. A jury has found former state Sen. Vince Fumo, a Philadelphia Democrat and longtime political ally of Gov. Ed Rendell, guilty of all 137 counts in his five-month-long corruption trial.
The verdicts may not mean much to the average Philadelphia resident, but should send shock waves down the spines of Harrisburg politicians.
Taxpayers are fed up with self-serving professional politicians. Pennsylvania residents have had it with corruption. Vince Fumo, at age 65 and with a bad heart, probably will spend the rest of his life behind bars. And he'll going to have plenty of company.
Don't be surprised if the 12 "Bonusgate" defendants start looking for a plea bargain in return for testifying against the bigger fish up the food chain.
In today's climate, you don't want to take your chances with jurors who are looking to punish the people who have lined their own pockets at taxpayers' expense.
When the state's top law enforcement officer says corruption in the Pennsylvania Legislature will "shock the conscience of people" you have to pay attention.
It appears last year's arrest of 12 people connected to the House Democratic Caucus was just the tip of the iceberg in what is shaping up to be the biggest political scandal in Pennsylvania history.
Dubbed "Bonusgate" by the media, the charges against top Democratic officials stem from the awarding of millions of tax dollars to state employees who were doing political work while they were on the clock.
The biggest fish snared so far is former state Rep. Mike Veon, the former No. 2 Democratic leader in the House.
But Attorney General Tom Corbett, in an interview with the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, says charges anticipated later this year will leave Pennsylvania residents "stunned" by the amount of money involved in the corruption probe.
Reporter Brad Bumstead also notes that the Legislature's costs for legal fees related to the investigation has reached $5.8 million so far. In other words, the political aristocracy in Harrisburg has spent nearly $6 million of your tax dollars to defend itself from charges that it illegally spent more than $4 million to hand out bonuses to political operatives.
Only in Pennsylvania.
I hear that the state is planning to build a new maximum security prison to replacing the aging Graterford Prison in Montgomery County. Perhaps it could set aside an entire wing to house current and former members of the Pennsylvania Legislature and their staffers.
Read Bumstead's full story, "Corruption total will be stunning, says Corbett," at the newspaper's Web site.
In an after-hours vote Wednesday, Democrats repealed the reform measures instituted in the state House of Representatives two years ago.
The move opens the way for more late-night votes similar to the legislation that legalized casino gambling in 2004 and the pay raise lawmakers gave themselves in 2005.
On the House floor Wednesday night, Rep. Curt Schroder (R-155th Dist.) spoke out against proposed changes to House rules that would restore "the bad old days" before the Speaker's Reform Commission put an end to late-night voting and "gut-and-run" amendments.
From a statement issued by Schroder:
"The Speaker's Reform Commission's goals were to make sure House members, the press and the public could see what legislation was being proposed and have time to study it," said Schroder. "The commission's goal was to ensure transparency. Yes, it takes more time, but it is necessary to ensure openness."
Schroder said the vote by House Democrats to restore the old policies was akin to exchanging openness for expediency.
"This action rolls back and retreats from the rules established by the bipartisan Speaker's Reform Commission a couple of years ago that required 24 hours before an amended bill could be considered on final passage," said Schroder. "We are indeed opening the door to the bad old days. Under the new House rules, legislation may be rewritten at the last minute and brought to the floor for a vote and become law without giving adequate time for legislators and the public to absorb the changes."
In addition to the 24-hour rule change, the new rules pave the way for sessions to go past the 11 p.m. deadline established by the Reform Commission. They also give the Rules Committee more power to manipulate bills.
"The House rules adopted Wednesday night dim the light that was shone on the legislative process by the work of the Speaker's Reform Commission. The rule requiring a 24-hour waiting period to vote a bill after it is amended is now rendered ineffective; gut-and-run, last-minute amendments can once again be passed by the House Rules Committee and the likelihood is now greater that bills will be passed in the middle of the night once again," Schroder said. "The Democrat members of the Reform Commission and first-term Democrats who ran on a reform agenda were party to this destruction of openness."
Also Wednesday night, Schroder voted for an amendment that would have prohibited House members from being employed by lobbying firms. House Democrats defeated it.
This is the result of voters sending a Democratic majority back to Harrisburg despite the fact that 12 people connected with the House Democratic Caucus have been indicted in the "Bonusgate" corruption probe. You wanted business as usual in Harrisburg ... and you got it.
With Obama credibility falling, Tom Daschle withdraws
What days is it?
On Monday President Barack Obama said he "absolutely" stands behind Tom Daschle, admitted tax cheat. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said the panel would have approved Daschle's nomination despite revelations that he failed to pay $128,000 in federal taxes.
On Tuesday Obama says, "Now we must move forward" after Daschle withdraws his nomination to be Obama's Health and Human Services secretary.
Another Obama nominee, Nancy Killefer, picked to be the government's first chief performance officer, also withdrew her nomination Tuesday because of revelations that she, too, did not pay taxes.
All this makes you wonder how Timothy Geithner received Senate conformation as Treasury secretary after he admitted being a tax cheat.
I guess the first one was a freebie for the new administration.
Didn't Obama run on a platform of "change" and ending the culture of corruption in Washington, D.C.?
It's kinda hard to restore ethics in government when you surround yourself with people who don't bother to pay their federal income taxes.
In announcing Daschle's withdrawal, Obama said, "I accept his decision with sadness and regret."
I think a lot of voters are feeling "sadness and regret" over their decision to pick the inexperienced candidate last November.
Tom Daschle, President Obama’s choice to lead the Health and Human Services Department, is now sorry he didn't pay more than $120,000 in back taxes.
Daschle, the former Democratic leader in the Senate, is saying he was "deeply embarrassed and disappointed" now that he's been exposed as a tax cheat.
The revelation is not expected to slow down Daschle's confirmation by the Senate under our new one-party system of government.
Being a tax cheat is now a badge of honor for the Democratic Party.
Timothy Geithner was confirmed as U.S. Treasury secretary last month despite admitting he failed to pay $34,000 in back taxes.
In the moral relativism that rules liberal Democrats, cheating on your taxes does not disqualify you from being put in charge of the Internal Revenue Service.
The tax cheats, along with Gov. Bill Richardson's withdrawal from consideration as Commerce secretary under a cloud of corruption, is mounting evidence that the ethical bar has been lowered by Obama.
This is the same man who is a product of the Chicago political machine, where corruption is part of doing business.
Daschle and Geithner will fit right in under the culture of corruption that Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid have set up in Washington, D.C., since Democrats took over Congress in 2006.
In his best-selling book, "Makers and Takers," Peter Schweitzer says liberals hold different values that most Americans. Cheating on your taxes is not considered a drawback for left-wing politicians.
Schweizer poured through tax records, scholarly research, opinion surveys and private records to develop a profile of the typical liberal
Liberals, Schweizer writes, are, in the aggregate:
… less honest. Liberals are more likely to believe that it's okay to be dishonest or deceptive, cheat on their taxes (and their spouse), keep money that doesn't belong to them, and sell a used car with a faulty transmission to a family member.
… more selfish. Liberals are much more likely to think about themselves first and less willing to make sacrifices for others. They are less interested in caring for a physically ill or elderly family member, and more concerned with ensuring that their own needs are met.
… more focused on money. Liberals are much more likely to report that money is important to them, that they don't earn enough money, and that money is what matters in a job. They are also more likely to be envious of others.
… less knowledgeable about civic affairs and economics. Despite claims that conservatives are ignorant, studies and surveys show that conservatives and Republicans tend to know more about public affairs, have a better understanding of economics, and do better on word association tests.
If that doesn't sound like the new Obama administration, I don't know what does.
Read more about Schweitzer's fascinating book in an earlier post.
I finally figured out how to spell Blagojevich without having to look it up and look what happens. Poor Ron Blagojevich gets himself impeached.
After a four-day trial, the Illinois Senate voted 59-0 to convict Blagojevich on the charge of abuse of power.
The new governor is Patrick Quinn.
The Senate also voted 59-0 to bar Blagojevich from ever holding public office in the state again. That seems pretty harsh to me.
Maybe Ron Blagojevic should move to Pennsylvania. We don't hold our politicians to such high standards here.
A little thing like an impeachment won't hurt his chance of getting elected in Pennsylvania, which in the words of one veteran political observer is "probably the most corrupt state government in America."
After all, Pennsylvania is home of Congressman John Murtha, former state Sen. Vincent Fumo and the 12 "Bonusgate" defendants.
Check out this Web site to learn how the politicians (Democrats and Republicans) and Wall Street types are screwing the American taxpayer again: http://www.breakthebailout.com/
From a statement issued by the Republican National Committee:
Harry Reid and Dick Durbin have placed Washington politics above the people of Illinois or transparency. Democrats had every opportunity to strip Governor Blagojevich of his power to appoint a U.S. Senator, but ultimately they accepted a Blagojevich appointee rather than risk losing a Senate seat in a special election.
Richard A. Viguerie, chairman of ConservativeHQ.com, predicts the arrival of the Obama Administration will usher in the most corrupt era in U.S. politics.
We've already gotten a taste of how Democrats do business with the Ron Blagojevich and Bill Richardson scandals and Obama hasn't even taken office yet.
"Already, it is hard to read or watch the news without being bombarded with stories of politicians being credibly accused of wrongdoing, being indicted, being sentenced," Viguerie says. "Throwing a trillion taxpayers' dollars into a corrupt system will only make the system more corrupt."
This explosion of corruption "is a serious threat to our democracy," Viguerie said. "It is the Chicago-ization of American politics."
On top of their very generous $76,000-a-year salary and their gold-plated benefits package, members of the Pennsylvania Legislature are entitled to $158 every time they show up for work in Harrisburg.
The $158 per-diem payment is supposed to cover food and other expenses of traveling to their jobs. You know, just like your boss treats you to lunch every day or just pays you a bonus for showing up.
Brad Bumstead examines the per-diem scam as part of the overall Bonusgate corruption investigation in his latest column for The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
From his column:
Since I've been covering the Capitol -- starting in 1983 -- lawmakers of both parties have been ripping off taxpayers by claiming the full per diem while also charging the state for pricey dinners. Sometimes, the caucus or chief clerk's office would provide dinner at the Capitol while legislators were in session.
The Maverick Steak House was the favorite watering hole for years until it burned down. Vissagio's, an Italian eatery, was also a regular spot. Tavern on the Hill has been a more recent favorite. There's no doubt whatsoever that many collected per diems while also charging the state for fancy dinners.
It's double-dipping.
Sometimes, leaders would put the arm on a lobbyist and take a half-dozen members along for a free meal, all the while collecting the full per diem.
USA Today reviewed Department of Justice statistics and came up with a ranking of the most corrupt states based on the number of public corruption convictions the federal government has won from 1998 through 2007.
Pennsylvania is among the Top 12 most corrupt states, according to the newspaper.
Check out the story and see a color-coded map of the U.S. based on the number of convicted public officials at the newspaper's Web site.
I was flipping through the news channels Tuesday night and today to get a sense of the coverage of the arrest of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
I was mildly surprised that all the networks and cable news channels devoted so much coverage of the corruption scandal. But the one thing I noticed is that almost every news outfit failed to mention that Blagojevich is a DEMOCRAT!
If he was a Republican, you better believe that his party affiliation would have been mentioned prominently. That's the way the left-wing media operates. Republicans bad. Democrats good. When Democrats go bad, ignore their political connections.
I was also disappointed (but not surprised) that the mainstream media downplayed Blagojevich's long association with President-elect Barack Obama.
Brian O'Neill, a columnist for The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, recently interviewed citizen activist Tim Potts about his ongoing effort to reform Harrisburg.
Potts, a former legislative aide who founded DemocracyRisingPA, has a new strategy to keep the reform movement alive.
Potts is attempting to create a citizens watchdog network across Pennsylvania to keep an eye on state legislators, according to O'Neill.
From O'Neill's column:
Mr. Potts, of Carlisle, puts about 30,000 miles on his car each year talking to folks like these. He doesn't want to hear that Joe Citizen can't do anything about the systemic corruption in Harrisburg, and so is trying to counter it with systemic civic vigilance.
It's an ambitious, localized plan, and the punster in Mr. Potts can't resist calling it "Local Eyes." Citizen volunteers will home in on one state representative or senator and track all recorded votes on integrity issues, all sponsorships of reform legislation and any statements on public integrity.
Democracy Rising will provide volunteers with a list of bills and the voting schedule, but volunteers will be expected to meet each month with each lawmaker "for updates on activities toward the highest standards of public integrity in America."
Read the full column, Staring down a corrupt Legislature, at the newspaper's Web site.
Charley Reese, one of my favorite columnists, has retired because of health issues. I'm going to miss his writing. Below is one of my favorite Charley Reese columns, featuring one of the best assessments of Congress I've ever read. It's worth reading again in light of the current financial collapse, which happened while almost everyone in Congress slept. Read the column and do something on Nov. 4 that will benefit you and the rest of this country: Vote out every incumbent member of Congress.
THE BAD-NEWS BOYS
The Congress of the United States is without a doubt, to use one of the vice president's favorite phrases, the most incompetent, inept, cowardly and corrupt legislative body on the world stage.
The members of Congress do not do their duty. One reason they don't is because they are the biggest time-wasters on the planet. Flipping around C-SPAN the other night, I saw a congressman take the floor to lament the fact that there was a shooting in a small Missouri town. Dearly beloved, there have been shootings in small Missouri towns long before Missouri's most famous son, Jesse James, roamed the state. And lest anyone take this as a slam against Missouri, there have been shootings in small towns in every state of the union. Such affairs are not worthy of Congress' time.
Then another congressman took the floor to eulogize a colleague who just died. Heck-fire, man, go to his funeral or send his family a sympathy card. Don't waste time spreading heifer dust on the floor of the House. Those who knew him will either lament or smile, depending on their opinion of him, and the vast majority of Americans who never heard of him don't give a flip. Americans die every day, and death is a matter for private grief, not official congressional bloviating.
You see, Congress, which takes more time off than most malingerers, doesn't do its job even when it does show up for work. The members have a budget to pass, and they almost never pass it on time. They have oversight duties to perform, which they rarely perform because they are too busy grandstanding about matters that are none of their business, such as the health habits of baseball players or cigarette smokers.
Generally speaking, Congress doesn't show up on Mondays or Fridays, which leaves its members only three days a week to get their work done. Of course, they claim to be working even when they are not present, but what they mean is they are out campaigning and raising money for their re-election. If they really were working, then the legislative process would move faster, instead of like a molasses-coated ox trudging along in mud up to its belly.
The spectacle of the members of Congress jumping to their feet to applaud President George W. Bush at his State of the Union speech tells you all you want to know about their intelligence and courage, both of which are virtually absent. Bush's speech should have been called the state of his ego and delusions.
At the most recent congressional election, the American people gave the Democrats a majority in both Houses and learned rather quickly that a majority of Democrats are just as cowardly and worthless as a majority of Republicans. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has turned out to be an airhead, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid a timid whiner. Neither of them could lead a two-float parade.
The Constitution quite plainly spells out a limited number of areas that Congress has the authority to act. The operative word is "limited." Congress does not have the authority to legislate on any topic it pleases. One of its most important duties is to set the budget. People often blame the president because he submits a budget. That is only a formality, however. The president has no power to authorize any spending or to levy taxes. The budget is the job of Congress, so you can squarely and fairly blame Congress for every penny of the mammoth budget deficit.
Congress also has the sole duty to declare war, a duty it has shirked since 1941. The authority to declare war does not mean passing a resolution authorizing the use of force. No such authority is needed if American forces are attacked, and if they are not attacked, no president has the authority to launch an undeclared war of aggression.
These 435 members of the House and 100 senators are (expletive) away your birthright. You ought to be angry about that.
Two members of the Pennsylvania Congressional delegation are among the Top 20 Most Corrupt Members of Congress, an annual list published by CREW (Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington), a watchdog organization based in Washington, D.C.
One is a Democrat, Rep. John Murtha, who represents the 12th Congressional District.
The other is a Republican, Rep. Tim Murphy, who represents the 18th Congressional District.
Neither man is a stranger to corruption allegations. Murphy and Murtha made the 2007 CREW list of the most corrupt members of Congress. Murtha also made the CREW "Dishonorable Mention" list in 2006 before graduating to "Most Corrupt" status in 2007 and 2008.
To learn more about Murtha and Murphy and why they made the corruption list, you can visit the CREW Corruption Web site, http://www.crewsmostcorrupt.org
Both Pennsylvania Congressmen are facing opponents in the Nov. 4 election.
Voters in the 12th and 18th Congressional Districts should take a serious look at the records of the incumbents and decide if they want to send these men back to Washington.
For more on Murtha's opponent, William Russell, visit his campaign Web site.
For more on Murphy's opponent, Steve O'Donnell, visit his campaign Web site.
How would you like to work just 16 days over 6 months?
It may be the most expensive state legislature in the United States, but nobody can accuse the Pennsylvania Legislature of burning the midnight oil.
Actually that may be a good thing because when the Legislature stays in session after midnight, bad things happen, like the casino gambling bill in 2004 and the pay hike in 2005.
Eric Heyl, a columnist for The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, recently totaled the number of days the Pennsylvania Legislature was in session in 2007.
From Heyl's column:
Many readers were upset to learn recently in this space that lawmakers with base salaries of more than $76,000 annually spend more time in recess than they do in session.
For those who missed that column, a brief recap: From January through June, legislators rarely spent more than three consecutive days in Harrisburg performing what is supposed to be their primary professional function: passing legislation.
Before beginning a recess in early July from which they haven't returned, lawmakers took breaks of three and four weeks at a time. In fact, they were not in session at all for 11 of the first 26 weeks of the year.
Now comes the kicker: The Legislature is planning to be in session for just 16 more days in 2008, Heyl says. You heard it right. The most expensive state Legislature in the U.S., costing Pennsylvania taxpayers $300 million a year for the 253 legislators and their 3,000+ staffers, is planning to work just 16 more days this year.
Click here to read "16 days of work in six months may tire House"
It's been a busy summer for Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett.
Following the indictment of 12 House Democratic officials and aides in the Bonusgate scandal and the guilty plea of former state Rep. Linda Bebko-Jones, a Democrat, on public corruption charges, Corbett is making news again today.
Corbett has announced theft and embezzlement charges against Darla LaValle, the former executive director of a Beaver County nonprofit group.
Darla LaValle is the wife of Democrat state Sen. Gerald LaValle, who has represented the 47th Senatorial District since 1990.
She is charged with stealing thousands of dollars from the nonprofit agency, inflating her salary and denying employees pension benefits, according to The Associated Press.
From the Attorney General's Web site:
LaValle is charged with four counts of misapplication of entrusted property and property of government, two counts of theft by unlawful taking, two counts of theft by failure to make required disposition of funds received and two counts of theft by deception.
Each count is a third degree felony and carries a maximum penalty of seven years in prison and a $15,000 fine.
LaValle surrendered today and was preliminary arraigned before Ambridge Magisterial District Judge Mark Schulte, who released her on her own recognizance.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for August 21, at 9 a.m. courtroom 3 of the Beaver County Courthouse.
Read the full release at the Attorney General's Web site.
Crooked politicians beware -- at least in Montgomery County.
Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Ferman has announced the formation of a public corruption unit within her office.
The goal is to investigate allegations of malfeasance on the part of public officials.
The unit will probe complaints from the public regarding elected officials or people in positions of trust who may have violated the public trust for their own financial benefit or simply for power, Ferman told reporter Margaret Gibbons.
The unit will investigate theft-based crimes, abuse of authority and ethics violations, Ferman said.
While the D.A.'s office has always investigated public corruption, a specific unit has not been assigned to the task, Ferman said.
From Gibbons' story:
Citing the public outrage stemming from the results of public corruption investigations in Washington, Harrisburg and Philadelphia, Ferman said, "The public has lost confidence in many of their elected leaders and in government as a whole. We want to do what we can to help restore that confidence in government at the local and the county level."
"I feel it is important that our residents know that there is an office in Montgomery County where they can raise their concerns, where those concerns will be taken seriously and where nobody need fear official retribution," said Ferman.
Too often members of the public "feel something is just not right" but do not know how to address those issues, Ferman said. Now, she continued, they will have a place to voice concerns about public corruption.
"I want this office to be pro-active," Ferman emphasized.
Newspaper: PA voters must clean up Harrisburg mess
There are two possible outcomes from the Bonusgate scandal, according to an editorial in The Delaware County Daily Times:
One, voters will give up, saying they can't change the culture of corruption that pervades state government in Pennsylvania.
Two, voters will rise up and demand accountability by voting out incumbents, just like they did in 2006 in the aftermath of the pay raise scandal.
From the editorial:
People get so discouraged with the process, they begin to withdraw altogether. They shrug their shoulders, roll their eyes. Another day, another scandal in Harrisburg.
Now there is once again talk of reform in Harrisburg, with a handful of legislators pushing for a constitutional convention to address need change in the capital. The last time they did that was back in 1967. If you listen to the poll, the response from the public is clear: Don't bother, or waste the money.
It was just a few years ago when voters, outraged over a midnight pay raise voted by the Legislature in the wee hours of the morning, took out their revenge in a more practical manner.
First they vented their spleen. They demonstrated. They wrote letters. They held protests at the state Capitol.
Then they got serious. They voted.
A lot of politicians didn't even wait for the dust to settle. They left Harrisburg before they could be shown the door in the primaries. Several long-time pols who dared appear on the ballot were unceremoniously dumped from office. In one unheard of event, a sitting state Supreme Court justice was denied what is almost a formality in a retention vote.
It's time for voters to get involved one more time. Three of four people in the state do not believe the Legislature will take the necessary steps to clean up their act.
Citizens should do it for them. At the voting booth.
Read the full editorial, "Pa. voters need to clean up Capitol politics," at the newspaper's Web site.
How timely. A day after a leading House Democrat called for the resignation of House Democratic Majority Leader Bill DeWeese, a new Quinnipiac University poll released today finds that a majority of Pennsylvania residents also want DeWeese to hit the road.
The poll says 53 percent of Pennsylvania residents want DeWeese to step down from his leadership post. (DeWeese is not facing criminal charges in the Bonusgate scandal, but his former chief of staff, Michael Manzo, and his former No. 2 man, Mike Veon, were among 12 Democrats indicted.)
Some other findings from the poll: Only 24 percent of voters have confidence that the Legislature can deal with corruption on its own. A whopping 76 percent of those polled want Gov. Ed Rendell to call a special session of the Legislature to deal with reform.
More than half of those polled (51 percent) disapprove of the Legislature's job performance.
"Pennsylvania voters are clearly fed up with the Legislature; say both parties are responsible for corruption, even though only Democrats were indicted in Bonusgate, and want House Majority Leader Bill DeWeese to step down for his role in the scandal," said Clay F. Richards, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "They are looking to Gov. Ed Rendell to convene a special session to handle corruption, but have no faith that lawmakers can clean their own house."
I wonder if Josh Shapiro saw the poll numbers early when he called a Monday press conference to demand DeWeese resign from his leadership post.
Shapiro gave five reasons why he wants DeWeese to go, but the key reason is that Democrats are worried that DeWeese has become the symbol of state corruption. The longer he remains in power, the more likely Democrats will lose their thin majority in the House.
Pennsylvania Democratic House Majority Leader Bill DeWeese never saw it coming.
On guard against more indictments from the Attorney General's office in the ever-expanding Bonusgate scandal, DeWeese wasn't watching his flank.
On Monday, DeWeese was stabbed in the back by one of his caucus members.
Josh Shapiro, who has been in the House for less than four years, struck a fatal blow to DeWeese at a press conference Shapiro called to denounce DeWeese's leadership and call for his resignation as majority leader.
Shapiro wasn't the first House member to publicly call for DeWeese's ouster, but Shapiro is no ordinary rank-and-file member of the Democratic Caucus.
Shapiro is the golden boy of the Democratic Party. His is a shooting star. He brokered the 2007 deal that put Dennis O'Brien as Speaker of the House when DeWeese couldn't muster enough votes for the coveted position.
Shapiro, who represents parts of Montgomery County, also led the reform effort in the House, although it sputtered in the end.
But here's the key to Shapiro's attack on DeWeese. Shapiro doesn't make a move without the approval of The Godfather, Edward G. Rendell. This was a sanctioned hit against DeWeese by Rendell.
Shapiro did the dirty work, but Monday's public humiliation of DeWeese comes directly from the No. 1 Democrat in Pennsylvania: Gov. Rendell.
Rendell was busy running around the state giving out big checks on Monday, so he sent Shapiro to deliver DeWeese's political death sentence.
There's no way for DeWeese to survive as majority leader. More Democrats will come out publicly against DeWeese, shielded by the golden boy, Shapiro, and under the implied protection of The Godfather, Ed Rendell.
Let's see if this makes any sense. Membership in labor unions has been shrinking for the past 50 years. The influence of labor unions has been declining. Wages are falling and jobs are leaving the U.S.
But Big Labor keeps endorsing Democrats. Has it occurred to anyone that the decline of the American labor movement is tied with its blind allegiance to the Democratic Party?
Just thinking out loud.
It appears that the AFL-CIO brain trust in Pennsylvania has once again found the Democratic Party candidates more qualified for every state and national office.
That includes Rep. Bill DeWeese, who presided over the state House of Representatives during the Bonusgate scandal.
The endorsements also include state Rep. Sean M. Ramaley, who is seeking the vacant 47th state Senate seat. Ramaley was one of the 12 Democratic Party officials indicted in the Bonusgate corruption probe.
"These candidates have proven themselves to be the friends and supporters of working families," Pennsylvania AFL-CIO President William George said in a written statement.
How many of the endorsed Democrats were "friends of working families" when they spent $4 million in tax dollars for illegal campaign work on state time?
What a joke.
For a full list of the incumbent Democrats who have raised taxes on Pennsylvania's working families and approved massive government borrowing that will saddle young Pennsylvanians with billions of dollars in debt, follow the link below:
Support for embattled House Majority Leader Bill DeWeese is crumbling in the wake of the biggest corruption scandal in Pennsylvania history.
DeWeese, who took over as majority leader when the Democrats regained the majority in the House after the 2006 elections, has not been indicted but his former chief of staff, Michael Manzo, and DeWeese lieutenant, Mike Veon, former House Democratic Whip, are at the center of the Bonusgate criminal investigation.
"What did Bill DeWeese know and when did he know it?" is the most popular question being asked around the state Capitol these days.
Eric Epstein, founder of the reform group RockTheCapital.org, told The Philadelphia Inquirer: "DeWeese is asking the public to buy into the I or I defense. He is either incompetent because he didn't know what was going on ... or he is an idiot if he thinks the public is going to continue to buy his line of defense."
Even if DeWeese manages to avoid being indicted himself or somehow manages to win re-election on Nov. 4, there is no way he will hold on to his leadership post when the Democrats reorganize in January. (Read "DeWeese's credibility at stake over scandal" in The Inquirer)
DeWeese barely won re-election in 2006 because of public anger over the pay raise fiasco that DeWeese helped orchestrate the previous year. Political newcomer Greg Hopkins finished just 1,041 votes behind DeWeese. Hopkins is challenging DeWeese again in November.
DeWeese is the public face of Bonusgate. If the Democrats are ever to shake the corruption label, they have to jettison DeWeese. And do it in a hurry.
The Democrats always stand together as a caucus (101 of 102 Democrats voted in favor of the 2008-09 General Fund budget), but the ranks are crumbling.
State Reps. John Yudichak (D-Luzerne County) and Bill Keller (D-Philadelphia) have called on DeWeese to resign, according to The Associated Press and the usually on-target Capitolwire.com
John Micek at Capitol Ideas says state Rep. Harry Readshaw, D-Allegheny, has also called DeWeese to step aside.
Expect more Democrats to distance themselves from caucus leadership in an attempt to save themselves at the polls. The chorus to toss DeWeese overboard will continue to grow louder over the next four months.
A lot of people don't know this, but the Bonusgate investigation was initiated after a newspaper article detailed some of the illegal activity inside the Democratic caucus in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. The same thing happened with the PHEAA spending scandal. It began with newspapers seeking information about the agency's spending. Imagine how little Pennsylvania taxpayers would know about how politicians waste money if newspapers weren't serving as watchdogs over government. In case you missed it, this is the Associated Press article recapping the reaction of Pennsylvania newspapers to the Bonusgate scandal.
By MARTHA RAFFAELE Associated Press Writer
HARRISBURG — The political corruption charges filed against a dozen people connected to the state House's Democratic caucus inspired editorial writers and columnists to wield exceptionally sharp pencils as they vent their outrage about the Capitol's culture.
The secrecy that shrouds legislative leaders' spending practices is just one element that writers have assailed since the attorney general on Thursday accused a lawmaker, a former legislator and 10 others of spending of taxpayer dollars on political campaigns.
"An internal matter? The public's business never is," said the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Newspapers are overwhelmingly calling for sweeping reform — urging voters to vote out incumbents in the November general election or chiding lawmakers for failing to embrace accountability measures such as nonpartisan redistricting or reducing the Legislature's size.
"One does not need to know the full scope of the institutionalized corruption of the General Assembly to conclude that there needs to be a radical change in heretofore accepted practices," said The Patriot-News of Harrisburg, which in January 2007 was the first to report on the payouts of bonuses to legislative staffers who worked on electoral campaigns. "These are practices that may or may not be legal but which offend the sensibilities of hardworking, fair-minded, taxpaying Pennsylvanians."
Fundamental changes, the newspaper said, are needed to return the General Assembly "to the representative and accountable legislative body it was intended to be."
At least two newspapers have called for the ouster of House Democratic leader Bill DeWeese. He was not charged Thursday by Attorney General Tom Corbett, but former Rep. Mike Veon — DeWeese's longtime ally and former second-in-command — and DeWeese's former chief of staff Mike Manzo are among the defendants, and critics say DeWeese's leadership role requires him to be held accountable.
"The Democratic leader has been touting his efforts to clean house, but the fact remains that this alleged scheme occurred on his watch. He should have resigned already," The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote. "The probe makes clear that House Democrats need a new leader to instill public integrity."
The Post-Gazette called the alleged scheme "the height of arrogance" as it weighed in on the need for new House Democratic leadership.
"The Democratic House leadership, as we've said before, deserves a thorough housecleaning, regardless of the names on the indictments, from Bill DeWeese on down," the newspaper wrote.
In a statement released Monday, DeWeese spokesman Tom Andrews said the majority leader brought in seasoned prosecutors to help investigate when the allegations first surfaced more than a year ago.
"He was outraged by the activity they uncovered and, with the backing of the House Democratic Caucus leadership team, they did a major housecleaning last November," Andrews said of DeWeese.
Andrews pointed out that House Democrats implemented a Code of Conduct, a Compliance & Ethics program, and other financial and personnel controls "to make sure that no individual or group of people can ever get away with anything like this again."
Over the next two months, DeWeese will consult with his leadership team and members of his caucus to determine which reform legislation will be considered during the fall agenda, Andrews said.
The Express-Times of Easton suggested that a constitutional convention favored by some activists would be a step in the right direction.
"It's time to let someone other than legislators set the rules for legislating, spending money, and being accountable to the public," the newspaper said.
Veon's hometown newspaper, the Beaver County Times, said the indictments also reflect on Pennsylvania voters for tolerating "politics as usual" despite tossing out 24 incumbents in the elections that followed the ill-fated 2005 legislative pay raise.
"What happened in the 2006 election was a spritz of air freshener," the newspaper said. "The job is not done. A total fumigation is needed."
Philadelphia Daily News columnist John Baer used an equally vivid metaphor in advocating a "thorough, cathartic cleansing."
Baer contended that the indictments are the latest in a series of symptoms of the institution's ethical decay: the pay-raise fiasco, federal corruption charges filed against Democratic Philadelphia Sen. Vincent Fumo, and "the Legislature's ongoing general ineptness."
"I'm talking flamethrowers followed by fire hoses," Baer wrote.
Tony Phyrillas is the city editor and political columnist for The Mercury, a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning daily newspaper in Pottstown, Pa. Phyrillas has won several national and state awards for his columns. Phyrillas has been featured on National Public Radio (NPR) and in The New York Times and is a frequent commentator on radio and television programs. He co-hosted "Talking Politics with Tony Phyrillas & Mike Pincus" on WPAZ 1370 AM.
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The former No. 2 Democrat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives was found guilty Monday night of 14 corruption-related charges following a six-week trial.
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