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PA: ‘Bonusgate’ Probe Remains Quiet

Last Updated on Monday, 25 February 2008 02:33 Written by rslcpol Monday, 25 February 2008 02:33

State Attorney General Tom Corbett did not get any questions last week from members of the House Appropriations Committee about his yearlong “bonusgate” probe.

Maybe lawmakers just didn’t want to risk hearing more bad news.

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PA: ‘Bonusgate’ Not Hampering House Majority Leader

Last Updated on Monday, 28 January 2008 12:02 Written by rslcpol Monday, 28 January 2008 12:02

HARRISBURG — The state attorney general’s probe of bonuses handed out to legislative aides has not hampered the leadership of House Majority Leader Bill DeWeese, according to House Speaker Dennis O’Brien.

“I think he has been very professional,” O’Brien said of DeWeese. “I think he has led very effectively. He has not been affected by the bonus investigation.”

O’Brien, a Philadelphia Republican, made the comments last week during an interview about his first year as the top-ranking member in the 203-member House.

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PA: GOP Hires Representation for ‘Bonusgate’

Last Updated on Wednesday, 23 January 2008 11:57 Written by rslcpol Wednesday, 23 January 2008 11:57

Harrisburg – As many eyes are fixed upon Democrats in the State House of Representatives for awarding $1.9 million in bonuses, allegedly for political work, Senate Republicans have hired their legal representation.One of their new lawyers is Gerald J. Pappert, who served as top state prosecutor before current Attorney General Tom Corbett (R). He now works for the Philadelphia firm Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll.

The Senate GOP has also hired James Rohn, of the Philadelphia outfit Conrad O’Brien Gellman & Rohn. Neither of the two attorneys could be reached for comment.

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PA: ‘Mountain of Evidence’ Means ‘No End in Sight’ for Bonusgate

Last Updated on Monday, 14 January 2008 01:28 Written by rslcpol Monday, 14 January 2008 11:29

Oh you’ve got to be hating this latest bit of news if you’re a Democrat candidate for the state legislature in Pennsylvania this year. And it’s not the best news for any statewide Democrat candidates either who hopes to woo voters with the change message that seems to spreading like wildfire across the political landscape these days – are you listening Jim Eisenhower and John Morganelli? When you advocate for change, you have to make the case that your opponent needs to be changed – that will not be the case in the AGs race with Republican AG Tom Corbett riding high and widely viewed as the man who is cleaning up Harrisburg. Any change message run statewide by a Democrat will wind up severely injuring Democrat legislative incumbents and candidates.

HARRISBURG — The lawyer shepherding House Democrats through a grand jury probe of bonuses paid to House and Senate staffers doesn’t see the investigation wrapping up any time soon.

William G. Chadwick said House Majority Leader Bill DeWeese, D-Waynesburg, has turned over thousands of e-mail messages and other evidence to state Attorney General Tom Corbett.

“They are under a mountain of evidence,” he said of Corbett’s office. “I’d say there’s a lot of work that remains to be done.”

Chadwick said DeWeese is completely credible when he claims he had no knowledge the caucus paid Democratic aides bonuses totaling $1.9 million in 2006.

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PA: ‘Bonusgate’ Probe Focusing On Dems; ‘Oddities’ Arise

Last Updated on Monday, 17 December 2007 12:18 Written by rslcpol Monday, 17 December 2007 12:18

HARRISBURG — House Republicans desperately want Democratic Leader Bill DeWeese to survive the current grand jury mess and remain in power awhile longer. Democrat Gov. Ed Rendell’s aides privately yearn for former House Speaker John Perzel, a Republican, to return to power.

These are two oddities arising from the so-called “Bonusgate” scandal, a grand jury probe of possible state-paid rewards for political work.

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PA: Former ‘Bonusgate’ Dem Staffer Hired By Lobbying Firm

Last Updated on Thursday, 29 November 2007 10:50 Written by rslcpol Thursday, 29 November 2007 10:32

Well clearly the chap has connections, and knows his way around the legislative process. His new employer just might to make sure he pays attention to every detail – like what’s legally and politically appropriate, not just the big ones – which is winning.

HARRISBURG — A Monaca native forced out as House Majority Leader Bill DeWeese’s chief of staff has been hired by Triad Strategies, a lobbying and communications firm in the capital.Mike Manzo was one of seven top House staffers dismissed or asked to resign in the midst of state Attorney General Tom Corbett’s investigation of legislative bonuses. Manzo has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

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PA: New Ethic Rules Aimed At ‘Bonusgate’ Fallout

Last Updated on Friday, 5 October 2007 09:57 Written by rslcpol Friday, 5 October 2007 09:57

DeWeese said the effort was aimed at finally ending a “culture of causality and politics as usual” that has existed in Harrisburg for decades.”People need to be absolutely certain that all political activity is after 5 o’clock or on the weekends,” he said. “We have done our best to make certain that that was historically the case, but I thought it was important to encode this ethos in a code of conduct and a compliance system.”

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PA: Corbett to name his Replacement

Last Updated on Tuesday, 9 November 2010 12:04 Written by rslcpol Tuesday, 9 November 2010 12:04

From MorningCall.com:

Now that he’s been elected governor, Republican Tom Corbett faces the same task confronting any incoming chief executive: filling Cabinet slots and making political appointments across state government.

One of them will hit particularly close to home.

Corbett, who has two years left in his current term as Pennsylvania attorney general, has to nominate his replacement to serve out the two years remaining in his term, which expires in 2012.
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That person, if confirmed by a vote in the state Senate, will become the state’s top prosecutor and lawyer and will be responsible for continuing the Bonusgate public corruption probe that began on Corbett’s watch.

Corbett himself was an appointed attorney general in the mid-1990s, when he was tapped to finish the unexpired term of Ernie Preate, who was convicted on federal corruption charges and sent to prison.

Corbett held the position for two years and ran for a full term in 2004 against Democrat Jim Eisenhower. He was re-elected in 2008, defeating Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli.

Corbett’s not naming names for a successor – yet.

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Control of PA House Up for Grabs

Last Updated on Wednesday, 29 September 2010 11:55 Written by rslcpol Monday, 19 July 2010 01:16

From The Morning Call:

HARRISBURG — If Republicans pick up just three seats in the 203-member Pennsylvania House of Representatives in the November election, it could bring sweeping policy changes to a state that can’t seem to make up its mind whether it wants to be blue or red.

There will be plenty to talk about on the campaign trail, from the dysfunctional budget process and state spending to the “bonusgate” corruption cases and lingering resentment over the 2005 pay raise and the 2001 pension grab.

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PA Gov ’10: GOP AG Corbett Early Frontrunner

Last Updated on Friday, 19 December 2008 11:39 Written by rslcpol Friday, 19 December 2008 11:39

From The Bulletin:

Without question, the Pennsylvania attorney general has earned the “frontrunner” label after his resounding win in November. In a year of huge anti-Republican sentiment, and in a state that saw Barack Obama win by 600,000 votes, Mr. Corbett won by six points. His 400,000 vote margin equates to a net swing of one million, which political experts view as nothing short of spectacular, defying all expectations.

The attorney general has now re-focused his efforts on more indictments in the “Bonusgate” scandal, where state employees are accused of taking taxpayer-funded bonuses for campaign activities. With 12 indictments already under Mr. Corbett’s belt, the investigation will only continue to garner attention around the state, bolstering his law-enforcement image as a no-nonsense crusader against public corruption. Factor in his background as a U.S. attorney, and his credentials as a non-partisan, good-government reformer will play well around a state rocked by corruption and scandal (such as the Vince Fumo trial and Philadelphia’s pay-to-play convictions).

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