Local Interest > It came from Harrisburg

Bonusgate, Chapter II

(1/1)

NightmarePatrol:
This is chapter two of this thread. I started a new because I was.... umm... lazy.   :-\

Courtesy of the Philadelphia Enquirer

By Mario F. Cattabiani
Inquirer Staff Writer

HARRISBURG - Insisting there is too much work and not enough time, Attorney General Tom Corbett said yesterday that he would not bring a fresh round of charges in the 19-month-old Bonusgate probe until after the Nov. 4 election, if at all.

"This investigation is like a novel. There are many chapters to this investigation, there are many plots and subplots to this investigation," Corbett said at the monthly luncheon of the Pennsylvania Press Club in Harrisburg, ". . . and it's just not ready."

The announcement allows many in the state Capitol, especially Corbett's fellow Republicans, to breathe a bit easier. At least, for now.

Two weeks ago, Corbett held out the possibility that he could file additional charges in the probe - now focused on the GOP - before the election, but only if "all the dominoes" line up by September's end. Otherwise, he said, it wouldn't be fair to announce indictments within a month of the election.

In order to meet that self-imposed deadline, Corbett said yesterday that his prosecutors would have to present their finding in this phase of the investigation to the grand jury next week - the last time it meets before the elections. And they just aren't at that point yet, said Corbett, who called the probe "clearly the most serious investigation that I or any of my attorneys have ever participated in."

"And we are going to do it the right way," he added. "For me to do it any other way would be like saying we are going to build a house but we are not going to build a foundation."

In July, Corbett filed charges against a dozen House Democratic insiders - including the former caucus whip and a sitting legislator - alleging they were part of a conspiracy to use millions in public funds to underwrite political campaigns to get Democrats elected to the House.

Afterward, the probe shifted its focus to Republicans in the House and Senate.

Since then, Corbett, who is seeking reelection, has come under heavy pressure from many around the state, including numerous newspaper editorials, to announce charges against members of his party before the election in order to balance things out.

John Morganelli, the Democratic nominee for attorney general, yesterday continued pounding away at Corbett, accusing him of mishandling the investigation from the outset.

Corbett should have conducted a simultaneous investigation of Democrats and Republicans, said Morganelli, Northampton County's district attorney. By doing it in stages, Corbett tipped off Republicans of what investigators are keying in on, he said.

"A lot of people are not going to be held accountable as a result," he added.

The dozen Democrats face preliminary hearings on Oct. 7 in Harrisburg, likely offering an update batch of negative stories against Democrats with less than a month before voters go to the polls.

Corbett said he accepted as inevitable complaints of partisanship "especially in an election year." But, he stressed, they "are just dead wrong."

Over the last several weeks, prosecutors have interviewed numerous GOP House staffers, many of whom had worked for Rep. John M. Perzel when the Philadelphia Republican served as speaker from April 2003 through January 2007.

According to published reports, Corbett is examining whether a $1.8 million computer program that Perzel had the House Republicans purchase, purportedly for constituent services, was also used to give the GOP an upper hand in campaigning.

Through his spokesman, Perzel declined comment about the investigation.

Perzel, now a rank-and-file lawmaker, has hired former Attorney General Walter Cohen to represent him on this matter.

Cohen, who has also worked on the Bonusgate legal team assembled by House Democrats, said he was not surprised by Corbett's decision to delay any new indictments and doesn't expect them until spring at the earliest.

"There is a lot of work, and that work takes a lot of time," said Cohen.

They're taking their sweet-ass time on the charges aren't they? If someone is up to no good I would think it's his duty to at least do something to inform the public before the election

Navigation

[0] Message Index