John Heller, Associated Press Pennsylvania State Rep. Jeffrey Habay, R.-Allegheny County faces 20 new counts, including a felony charge of possessing or using a facsimile weapon of mass destruction. Click photo for larger image.

A state lawmaker already awaiting trial for alleged ethics violations was charged today with making up a story that he received a suspicious white power in the mail and with retaliating against and harassing constituents who questioned his political finances.

State Rep. Jeffrey E. Habay, 38, a five-term Republican lawmaker from Allegheny County, faces 20 new counts as a result of the latest complaint, including a felony charge of possessing or using a facsimile weapon of mass destruction.

Habay had claimed that he got a letter with suspicious white powder last May from George Radich, a constituent who along with four others had asked for a court audit of Habay's political action committee.

Postal officials determined the powder was harmless, and noted that Radich did nothing to hide the source of the mailing -- he paid for it with a credit card.

"The day that the postal inspectors came here, they were serious," Radich said today. "I'll tell you, I was scared because you're being accused by a powerful Harrisburg politician."

The State Ethics Commission ordered Habay last year to pay nearly $13,000 in restitution after finding that he had used legislative staffers to campaign on state time from 1997 to 2002. The state attorney general followed up with felony charges of theft of service and conflict of interest.

The new charges, which include additional counts of conflict of interest and theft of services, cover the period of January through August 2004.

"It's sad. It was so senseless and useless. All he had to do was amend his report. He would have said, 'I corrected it and it's over,'" said Radich, the husband of a former employee of Habay's and a one-time campaign volunteer.

Habay's attorney, Jim Ecker, declined comment today and Habay did not return several calls. The county prosecutor's office said he will likely surrender next week for arraignment, but declined further comment.

The court complaint, filed today with the district justice in Glenshaw, paints a picture of a lawmaker engaging in a campaign of retaliation against and harassment of those who raised questions about his campaign finances.

The complaint said Habay directed staffers on at least five occasions to research members of the family of Dan Anderson, the Indiana Township manager. Habay had defeated Anderson in past Republican primaries, and Anderson's father, Raymond Anderson, was among those who had signed the petition seeking the audit of the legislator's political action committee.

According to court documents, Habay also directed staff to collect personal information about Dan Anderson, and on Indiana Township's community day, Habay and a staffer placed 50 to 70 packets of information about him on car windows.

Raymond Anderson said his family has been "the butt of dirty tricks" by Habay since his son, Dan Anderson, ran against him in the 1990s. He also became a target after signing the petition, he said.

"I signed on and immediately the same old crap started happening," he said.

"Mr. Habay, when you first meet him, appears to be one of the nicest young kids you'd ever want to meet. If he went to your house and it was prayer time, he'd be on his knees praying with you," Raymond Anderson said. "I told my sons, 'One of these days the mask will come off.' ... The mask is off now."

Habay also is accused of solicitation to commit perjury. The new complaint said Habay directed two staff members to sign and have notarized Habay's petitions to run for office when neither staffer had circulated the petitions.

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More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.