Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

A jury has convicted former state Representative Mike Veon and two of his former aides of some charges and acquitted them of others. A fourth defendant was acquitted of all charges in the second Bonusgate trial brought by the state Attorney General's office. The jury found Veon guilty of 14 of the 59 counts he faced. Former aides Annamarie Perretta-Rosepink was found guilty of five counts and Brett Cott was found guilty of three counts. Defendant Steve Keefer was acquitted of all charges. The first Bonusgate trial ended in the acquittal of former state representative Sean Ramaley.

State Representative Bill DeWeese has just resigned his position as Majority Whip. DeWeese was charged earlier in the day in connection with the Bonusgate investigation.

State House Democratic Whip Bill DeWeese and former state Revenue Secretary Stephen Stetler, who resigned this morning, have been charged in connection with the Bonusgate investigation. DeWeese is the second former House speaker named in the investigation. Former speaker John Perzel of Philadelphia is among 10 people with ties to House Republicans who have been charged. 25 people connected to the House of Representatives have been charged so far. Thursday, in the first trial stemming from the investigation, former state representative Sean Ramaley was found not guilty of all charges. For more on this story, including video and the grand jury presentments, you can go to the attorney general's Web site .

Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett has scheduled a news conference for 1 p.m. today to announce more charges stemming from the Bonusgate investigation.

Former state House Speaker John Perzel is one of 10 people connected to the House Republican caucus who are being charged in a new phase of the investigation into misuse of money by the Legislature, known as Bonusgate. Perzel, his former chief of staff Brian Preski and former House GOP counsel Brett Feese are among those charged with misuse of public resources and employees for campaign purposes, according to Attorney General Tom Corbett. Corbett announced the latest charges in the ongoing grand jury investigation during a news conference today in Harrisburg. These charges come 16 months after Corbett's office charged 12 people connected to the House Democratic caucus, including former Democratic Whip Mike Veon, with similar offenses. To see a list of the defendants and the charges against them, go to the attorney general's Web site .

Documents show that in 2006, facing a stiff challenge in an election that (State Rep. Bill) DeWeese nearly lost, his campaign tapped a state-paid computer consultant - a key figure in the Bonusgate probe - to perform a long list of political tasks. Among other duties, that consultant crafted fund-raising invitations and sent out blast e-mails to constituents in DeWeese's district in the southwestern corner of Pennsylvania. For the full story, go to the Philadelphia Inquirer .

A former Beaver County lawmaker is facing corruption charges for allegedly establishing a nonprofit so he could use the money for his own personal and political purposes. State Attorney General Tom Corbett says a grand jury determined the Beaver Initiative for Growth was established primarily for former state Representative Mike Veon's own use and that it "was tightly controlled by Veon, who allegedly spent the taxpayer money at his own discretion without any oversight by BIG, DCED, or any other government agency." Corbett says only 23 percent of the $4.7 million the nonprofit spent over a two-year period went to program expenses. Veon faces charges of theft, conspiracy and conflict of interest. His former staffer Anna Marie Peretta-Rosepink is also charged. Veon and Peretta-Rosepink already face charges in the Bonusgate investigation. Veon was defeated in the 2006 election. For more information, go to the attorney general's Web site .

State Attorney General Tom Corbett says that within the next few days he'll be making an announcement about a state grand jury's corruption investigation into the state Legislature. He told KYW Radio in Philadelphia today that his office has something imminent. In his cryptic comments, he also said people will think it's Bonusgate, but it's not. For the full story, go to KYW .

A newly disclosed e-mail from State Representative Bill DeWeese acknowledges an employee's thanks for a bonus that she says was given for campaigning. Karen Steiner's December 2004 e-mail was sent to DeWeese when he was the Democrats' floor leader. It also went to DeWeese's then-chief of staff Mike Manzo and Mike Veon, then the Democratic whip. Steiner tells the three she can't thank them "enough for the bonus for campaigning." In response, DeWeese says she's welcome. A spokesman for DeWeese says other people monitored that e-mail address and that lawmaker does not remember the exchange. The story was first reported in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review .

HARRISBURG, Pa. - It may take a mediator to settle a dispute over who should control Pennsylvania House Democrats' files related to an investigation into alleged corruption in the Legislature. Dauphin County Judge Lawrence F. Clark Jr. on Friday gave the Democratic caucus and its former legal consultant, Bill Chadwick, until Wednesday to decide if they want to have a retired county judge help them settle the matter. For the full story, go to philly.com .

Members of the Senate Republican Caucus today announced the introduction of a 10-bill package of government reforms intended to continue changing the culture of state government by increasing accountability and transparency. “As we begin a new legislative session, which brings with it new challenges, it is imperative that we continue to build on the positive work we have already begun,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (R-25). “Passage of the reform measures being unveiled today is essential to creating a state government which is open and accountable to the people we have taken an oath to serve.” Among the bills introduced today are measures to change how consulting contracts are awarded, to increase penalties for violating the Sunshine Law which requires public business to be done at open meetings, to ban bonus payments for state employees, and to eliminate lame-duck legislative sessions. “Today, state government is significantly more open than it was just two years ago...

The trial for defendants in the Bonusgate case is being pushed back for several months. A judge has issued a new court timetable for the 12 people associated with the House Democratic caucus who are accused of conflict of interest, theft and conspiracy. Trial had previously been scheduled for January 12. Now pretrial motions won't be due until April 15, and a hearing on them will take place in mid-June. In July, the attorney general's office filed the charges as part of an ongoing investigation into the use of government workers and resources for electioneering and other illegal purposes.

All 12 defendants in Pennsylvania's "Bonusgate" scandal are waiving their arraignments, according to the state attorney general's office. The defendants decided not to show up at the Dauphin County Courthouse to hear the charges against them. The AG's office expect a trial date to be set soon. All of the defendants are connected to the House Democratic caucus and include sitting state lawmaker Sean Ramaley. They are accused of overseeing or taking part in a vast operation to divert state dollars and employees for electioneering. Mike Manzo, the former chief of staff to House Majority Leader Bill DeWeese, has said he plans to plead guilty.

A jury trial for the people accused of misusing public money for Pennsylvania legislative campaigns is set to begin January 12. All 12 defendants are connected to the House Democratic caucus, but Attorney General Tom Corbett says he's investigating both parties in the state House and Senate and more arrests are expected. It's unclear how many defendants will actually go to trial because some are cooperating with investigators and may be plea bargaining. The defendants include current Representative Sean Ramaley of Beaver County, and former House Democratic whip Mike Veon.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — State Attorney General Tom Corbett and his Democratic challenger clashed over ethics Wednesday, accusing each other of allowing conflicts of interest to interfere with their public responsibilities. For the full story, go to pennlive.com .

House Majority Leader Bill DeWeese released the following statement following allegations that he knew about illegal bonuses being paid to legislative aides. "This matter is before the courts. Normally, I would not comment, but because of the seriousness of this situation, let me say this: "Mike Manzo's speculation that I knew about his criminal acts is absolutely false and there is no evidence to support his opinion. In fact, the grand jury described in detail the steps that those now charged took to keep their scheme secret. "Manzo is a desperate, disgruntled former employee whom I fired last year for dishonesty and self-dealing. At the time that I fired him and with witnesses in the room, he apologized for letting me down. "Now he and his wife are confronted with serious criminal charges and long prison sentences, and he is telling a story that conflicts with the evidence and findings of a yearlong grand jury investigation. "He has lied to his wife, to h...

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The former chief of staff to House Majority Leader Bill DeWeese testified Wednesday that DeWeese knew bonuses were paid to reward legislative employees for their help on political campaigns. Michael Manzo made the accusation during a preliminary hearing for two people charged with using state workers and equipment for campaigns. It was the first time anyone has publicly accused DeWeese of knowing about the bonuses and why they were being given out. DeWeese, D-Greene, on Wednesday declined to answer reporters' questions but said he would hold a news conference later in the day, after a House session. For the full story, go to pennlive.com .

A staff worker in former House Minority Whip Mike Veon's district office testified today that she dedicated large amounts of time to campaign work instead of doing work as a legislative and constituent aide. Melissa Lewis talked about the widespread illegal activity while testifying during the preliminary hearings of state Rep. Sean Ramaley and House aide Anna Marie Perretta-Rosepink. Ramaley and Perretta-Rosepink were the only two defendants of the 12 charged in connection with Bonugate who didn't waive their preliminary hearings. Lewis gave detailed accounts of the campaign work she was asked to do in Veon's district office at the direction of Perretta-Rosepink, often alleging her boss blatantly ignored legislative work while assigning her to work on campaigns. She said the campaign work was strenuous, especially when working to remove third-party presidential candidate Ralph Nader from the ballot in 2004.

Former House Democratic Whip Mike Veon and three other people have waived their preliminary hearings on charges that they helped divert millions of taxpayer dollars and other public resources to run campaigns. Of the 12 people charged in the "Bonusgate" scandal, two still await preliminary hearings to begin later this morning: state Rep. Sean Ramaley, the only sitting legislator who has been charged, and Anna Marie Perretta-Rosepink, a former legislative assistant in Veon's district office. In a 74-page report issued in July, a grand jury charged that taxpayer-financed bonuses were doled out as rewards for campaign activity, state-owned computers and other equipment were commandeered for political purposes and government contracts were awarded to firms to provide electioneering services. Republican Attorney General Tom Corbett has been criticized for only bringing charges against Democrats so far. Corbett, however, has said Democratic and Republican caucuses in both the H...

27 witnesses are being summoned to testify at next week's preliminary hearing in the Bonusgate case. The witness list includes a woman who was allegedly given a job that entailed little work because of a sexual relationship she was having with a man, who at the time, was chief of staff to House Democratic Leader Bill DeWeese. Former state Representative Frank LaGrotta is also on the list, as are several people who are currently working for the House Democratic caucus.