Checking the Balance

Playing some stickball

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette talks about this past weekend's conservative conference which took place in Harrisburg.

We've known all along that this Arlen Specter reelection race is going to be fun. (It already is: his early announcement last week about opposing card-check was the first unexpected turn.) Check out all the juicy stuff in this Inquirer story about a conservative conference in Harrisburg this weekend, including anonymous attack flyers about guv candidate Pat Meehan, the Messiah-like treatment of Pat Toomey, alleged double crossing of Senate candidate Peg Luksik, and the need for men to hit each other with sticks:

The race for governor and the battle to unseat Specter from the Senate will be two of the bigger stories in PA politics for the next year and a half.  I'll be following both of these races closely.  Stay tuned.

Can't wait to be shocked

The Patriot News reports that Bonusgate legal costs have reached $6 million.

House Republicans have crossed the $2 million mark on legal fees and other expenses to represent the caucus's interest in the attorney general's "Bonusgate" investigation.

That puts the legal tab for the House and Senate Republican and Democratic caucuses in excess of $6 million.

The amount is nearly triple the $2.1 million that was paid to legislative staffers in a secret taxpayer-funded bonus program.

The legal cost have almost become more embarrassing than the actual crime.  Still, we have to assume that more charges are on the way.  Remember that AG Tom Corbett promised that his next set of findings will shock and awe and at this point, they better. 

I remain skeptical... 

I like where your head is at

Majority Leader Todd Eachus has an excellent idea for Attorney General Tom Corbett; resign.

But Eachus did offer the unsolicited observation that former Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell, a Republican, resigned his seat Feb. 20 as he began to campaign for governor "in earnest." Virginia voters elect their governor later this year.

McDonnell said both jobs demanded full-time effort, and that stepping down "is the right and proper thing to do."

Eachus, speaking at the monthly Pennsylvania Press Club luncheon, said Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett - an early contender for the 2010 governor's race here - should probably review the same question, though he stopped short of calling for a resignation.

"I would say that this attorney general (Corbett) would have to judge, when he actually announces his candidacy, whether he can balance the two both from a political point of view and from the efficacy to taxpayers," Eachus said.

I greatly appreciate the way Eachus brought this subject up as he declined to directly call Corbett out and, instead, was subtle and respectful.  I'm sure that Corbett won't be resigning anytime soon, but, nevertheless, he should seriously consider this an option when he officially declares his run for governor.  

Shh! Don't let anyone know that they're doing anything wrong

According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, it is illegal for a Pennsylvanian to make a complaint to the ethics commission public.  The Tribune's story focuses in on political activist Gene Stilp, who filed a complaint against Rep. Bill DeWeese in November of 2007 to only see the complaint dismissed.  Which leads us to this...

After being informed his complaint would go nowhere, Stilp presumed that was the end of the matter.

He was incorrect.

Two months later, the ethics commission notified Stilp that he was under investigation for publicly disclosing he was filing an ethics complaint.

As difficult as this might be to fathom, in Pennsylvania — with rare exception — it's illegal to reveal to anyone you are pursuing such an action.

That's right. You can't even privately whisper it to your spouse or you risk the ethics commission's wrath, regardless of your complaint's validity.

The investigation into Stilp's nefarious conduct ended in December, when he was fined $500 for having loose lips.

Stilp and his lawyer are surprised that this law hasn't been challenged before and frankly, so am I.  I'm sure the idea behind this absurd rule is to protect the target of the complaint.  After all, most of the complaints are probably dismissed, so they're basically using this to avoid libel and slander.

Still, I don't see this as enough reason to gag people who have complaints. The bottom line is if someone thinks that a government official is acting unethically, it is in the public's best interest to have the complainer air out his/her grievance, as this promotes other people to come forward with new information that could prove the complainer right or wrong.

Doubtful is my final answer

The Philadelphia Inquirer would like to know if Attorney General Tom Corbett plans on charging Republicans in Bonusgate anytime soon.  (I've been waiting for this answer for the better part of a year now.)

His announcement last week of fresh charges against a former top House Democrat has again raised questions about whether Corbett, a Republican, will ever indict members of his own party.

So far, his 26-month-old Bonusgate investigation has ensnared a dozen former and current House Democratic legislators and staffers, including Mike Veon, the former No. 2 Democrat in Harrisburg's lower chamber. The 12 are accused of a conspiracy to use taxpayer money and resources, including bonuses, to help advance Democratic political campaigns.

No Republican has been charged, although there have been clear signs for months that agents have turned their focus on members of the House GOP.

Corbett has said repeatedly that his investigators are not working on anyone's timetable and that when and if he determines a case is ready, he will file charges.

"We do not run investigations to the timetable or the speculation of critics," Corbett told reporters Wednesday after announcing more corruption charges against two Democrats, including Veon. "We run investigations to complete them and to give you the most accurate picture of what we can find, and sometimes it takes us longer than what people want us to do."

But the political reality is that Corbett, who has all but announced a run for governor in 2010, is under pressure to show that he is not partisan, not afraid to pounce on his own, and not doing this for the headlines.

So far, Corbett has used Bonusgate rather opportunistically, so I would expect him to continue this trend.  Perhaps, when other Republican candidates for Governor become clear, Corbett will finally announce some charges against his fellow party members. 

More fallout

The House Democrats have terminated their contract with a consultant company that had ties to Mike Veon.

The House Democratic Caucus on Thursday canceled its contract with a consulting firm, fewer than 24 hours after the release of a stinging report by a statewide grand jury.

Delta Development, an economic development consultant and lobbying firm based in Mechanicsburg, received $1 million from a Beaver County nonprofit agency controlled by former state Rep. Mike Veon, D-Beaver Falls, for doing "little or no work," the grand jury said in a report issued Wednesday.

"After seeing the details of the grand jury report, we have terminated our contract with Delta Development effective immediately," said House Majority Leader Todd Eachus, D-Luzerne County.

According to this article, two Delta Development officials gave campaign money to Majority Whip Bill DeWeese and Attorney General Tom Corbett.

The top recipient was former House Majority Leader Bill DeWeese, D-Greene County, who ran the caucus while Delta had contracts. DeWeese received more than $30,000 from the two officials. DeWeese could not be reached for comment.

Attorney General Tom Corbett, a Republican who is prosecuting Veon and 11 others in a multimillion-dollar legislative bonus scandal, received a total of $8,000 from Kline and Clancy.

A very interesting connection...

Non-profit fallout

The fallout from the Mike Veon case is starting.  Today, the Senate announced plans to senators and Senate employees from establishing non-profit organizations.

Charges filed against former House Democratic Whip Mike Veon over his creation of a nonprofit group to seek state money to use for his alleged personal and political benefit have prompted the Senate to ban its members and employees from having such groups.

Veon and an aide were charged on Wednesday with theft, conspiracy and conflict of interest for directing state grants to a nonprofit Veon formed, called the Beaver Initiative for Growth, between 2004 and 2006. Some of that money was allegedly used to pay bonuses for campaign work.

Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware County, and Sen. Elder Vogel, R- Beaver County, today announced their intention to introduce a new Senate rule that would restrict senators and Senate employees from establishing, incorporating or directing the operation of a nonprofit organization or other entity whose primary purpose is to receive state funds.

The House put a similar rule in place in 2007.

The Senate probably should've implemented this rule back when the House did, but at least they are finally doing it.  Still, if Corbett ends up investigating non-profit organizations, the results could get ugly.  The Senate could avoid future embarrassment by getting this into effect promptly.

Can't wait to see these findings

Attorney General Tom Corbett plans on investigating non-profit organizations that were formed by legislators.

The case of the once-powerful state lawmaker accused of misusing money from a nonprofit he founded is likely to shed light on a small number of similar foundations in Pennsylvania, including one started by Rep. Mike Sturla here.

Investigators with the state Attorney General's Office are "scrutinizing" the nonprofits created by legislators who serve on their boards and get almost all their money from the state, said Kevin Harley, a spokesman for the office.

He declined to identify any of the nonprofits, but the one started by Sturla in 2004 — Lancaster Investment in a Vibrant Economy, or LIVE — matches the criteria of those falling under the attorney general's scrutiny.

I wonder if this mean's that Corbett will take a look at Rep. Nicholas Micozzie? 

This will be a good thing if Corbett targets ALL non-profit organizations that have ties to legislators.   So, in other words, it won't be a good thing.

Apparently, they don't have anything better to do...

A Senate subcommittee is set to meet in order to discuss making the Bowl Championship Series into an actual playoff system. 

Everyone from President Barack Obama on down to fans has criticized how college football determines its top team. Now senators are getting off the sidelines to examine antitrust issues involving the Bowl Champion Series.

The current system "leaves nearly half of all the teams in college football at a competitive disadvantage when it comes to qualifying for the millions of dollars paid out every year," the Senate Judiciary's subcommittee on antitrust, competition policy and consumer rights said in a statement Wednesday announcing the hearings.

Under the BCS, some conferences get automatic bids to participate in series, while others do not.

Obama and some members of Congress favor a playoff-type system to determine the national champion. The BCS features a championship game between the two top teams in the BCS standings, based on two polls and six computer ratings.

Behind the push for the hearings is the subcommittee's top Republican, Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah. People there were furious that Utah was bypassed for the national championship despite going undefeated in the regular season.

The bottom line  America has real problems right now; the BCS system cannot be considered one of those real problems.  Let's try to stay focused...

At least someone's got the right idea (kind of)

Mike Veon's lawyer says his client is innocent and that AG Tom Corbett's Bonusgate investigation is partisan.

Former House Democratic Whip Mike Veon was arraigned today on numerous theft and other charges filed against him for allegedly directing taxpayer funds to a Beaver County nonprofit to use for Veon's personal and political purposes.

The charges were announced on Wednesday by state Attorney General Tom Corbett, who acted on the recommendations of a Pittsburgh-based grand jury.

District Judge Barbara Pianka of Harrisburg released Veon on $50,000 bail and set his preliminary hearing on the 28 counts against him on April 22.

But it's clear Veon is not going down without a fight.

He has a new attorney, Joel Sansone of Pittsburgh, who aggressively proclaimed Veon's innocence of these charges as well as the numerous ones filed against him last summer as part of Corbett's "Bonusgate" investigation into taxpayer-funded bonuses paid to legislative staffers for political work.

I'm not even going to begin to defend Veon because I don't think that Corbett has been wrong with his charges. I just find it impossible to believe that Corbett is using the same vigor, when it comes to investigated his Republican buddies, as he is doing with the Democrats.

Corbett could put any claims of partisanship to rest by merely finishing his Bonusgate investigation.  But, I wouldn't hold my breath, as this situation seems to be working out pretty well for the newest Republican candidate for Governor.