Bill DeWeese
Convicted In Corruption Case
By The Huffington
Post News Editors Feb 7, 2012
HARRISBURG, Pa. -- A jury on Monday convicted a senior
Democrat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on all but one of six
charges in the latest corruption trial stemming from a five-year
investigation into the use of taxpayers' ...
The Huffington Post | Full News Feed
HARRISBURG, Pa. -- A jury on Monday convicted a
senior Democrat in the Pennsylvania
House of Representatives on all but one of six charges in the latest corruption
trial stemming from a five-year investigation into the use of taxpayers'
resources for political purposes.
Rep. Bill DeWeese was convicted
of felony counts of conspiracy, conflict of interest and three counts of theft,
while the Dauphin
County jury acquitted him
of one other theft count.
The verdict, reached early on the third day of
deliberations, struck a grave blow to the 35-year career of the former floor
leader who also once served as House speaker. A woman seated with DeWeese's family cried out when the first guilty verdict
was announced.
DeWeese's lawyer vowed to appeal. DeWeese said he intended
to keep his House seat – despite a constitutional provision interpreted to bar
any felon from serving in public office – and continue his re-election campaign
in his southwestern Pennsylvania
district.
"I certainly feel that I did nothing wrong,"
the 61-year-old DeWeese told reporters.
"I believe that, in the court of public opinion, I
shall be favorably received to some substantial degree. That's up to the
voters, but I certainly will continue to run," the Greene County
lawmaker said.
Lead prosecutor Ken Brown said he was pleased by the
verdict and that state sentencing guidelines recommend a sentence between nine
and 16 months behind bars for each count. He said the conviction will cost DeWeese his House seat and state pension.
"He's a convicted felon and convicted felons, once
they're sentenced, can't sit in the General Assembly," said Brown, a
senior deputy attorney general. "If he wants to spit in the face of the
jury's verdict, I guess that's his prerogative."
County President Judge Todd Hoover, the
trial judge, set sentencing for April 24, which is also the date of Pennsylvania's primary
election.
Under House rules, if DeWeese
does not resign by the time he is sentenced, a resolution calling for his
expulsion will be drafted and put to a vote, according to Steve Miskin, a spokesman for the House speaker.
Any House member may introduce a resolution to expel DeWeese prior to sentencing, but "we do not consider
him convicted until sentencing," Miskin said.
During seven days of testimony, prosecutors relied
heavily on testimony by people who worked for DeWeese
at his Capitol office in Harrisburg
and his district office that campaign work was an integral part of their jobs.
Those witnesses included DeWeese's
former chief of staff, Mike Manzo, who testified
against his ex-boss and is awaiting sentencing under a plea deal in which he
pleaded guilty to reduced charges. Another key witness was Kevin Sidella, a former aide who handled DeWeese's
political fundraising and was granted immunity from prosecution.
DeWeese oversaw hundreds of caucus employees
during his two decades as the House Democratic leader, but said he delegated
responsibility for day-to-day operations to others, including Manzo and the then-No. 2 caucus leader, Democratic whip Mike Veon of
Beaver County, who is serving a six- to 14-year prison term after being
convicted in a related case.
DeWeese said he advocated compliance with rules barring political activity on
state time and realized only after the probe began in early 2007 that many
employees were not filing required paperwork to show that their campaign
activity was on their own time.
More than 30 friends and supporters turned out to testify
– some collectively – in his defense, and DeWeese
himself testified for more than three hours.
A two-thirds majority vote would be required to expel DeWA spokesman for House Speaker Sam Smith said
As he left the courthouse Monday, DeWeese
suggested that his trial was unfair because it was held in the state capital
instead of the hardscrabble, rural district he represents. He had
unsuccessfully sought to have an out-of-county jury brought in to handle the
case because of pre-trial publicity.
"I think that a western Pennsylvania ... jury would have found me
innocent," he said following the verdict. "I believe that Mr. Fina (Chief Deputy Attorney General Frank Fina, chief of the public corruption unit in the attorney
general's office) wanted me tried by his peers, not by my own peers."
Republican Tom Corbett launched the investigation while
he was attorney general and directed it until he was sworn in as governor last
year.
Prior to his trial, DeWeese
made no secret of his view that the investigation was a politically motivated
move by "Corbett and his cronies," although DeWeese
did not publicly criticize Corbett on Monday.
Brown said complaints by several defendants that the
investigation is politically motivated are unfair.
"We've arrested and now convicted Democrats and
Republicans. I don't see that there's anything partisan about that," Brown
said.
Eleven other Democrats and nine Republicans, including
former House Speaker John Perzel, have been convicted
or pleaded guilty in the investigation, while two defendants were acquitted and
charges against another were dropped.
The other defendant, former Rep. Stephen Stetler, D-York, is slated for trial later this year.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/06/bill-deweese-corruption-felony-convicted-_n_1258093.html
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