HARRISBURG -- In a startling day of political bloodletting, House Majority Leader H. William DeWeese forced out several top aides as he acted to distance the House leadership from a widening pay bonus scandal.

In all, seven people were turned out yesterday, including three who played key roles in running the Democratic caucus.

Among those ousted were Michael Manzo, Mr. DeWeese's longtime chief of staff, who earned $151,000 yearly; Scott Brubaker, director of administration and staffing for the House Democratic Caucus, who received $126,000 a year; and Brett Cott, a onetime top aide to Mr. DeWeese's closest political ally, former House Minority Whip Mike Veon. After Mr. Veon was defeated for reelection, Mr. Cott joined the DeWeese staff as a policy analyst at an annual salary of $87,412.

Four other staffers were removed.

One of them, Lauren McClure, a 19-year veteran who worked for Mr. Brubaker as an administrative specialist, was escorted from her office by Capitol employees assigned to carry out the firings. Sources who were present said the hard drive from her computer was seized, her purse was searched and her state-issued cell phone was confiscated.

Others dismissed were Eric J. Webb, director of member services for the House Democrats, Stephen A. Keefer, director of information technologies, and Earl J. Mosley, director of personnel under Mr. Brubaker.

Mr. Manzo said yesterday that he had raised the possibility of his own resignation as early as January as revelations emerged, first that several hundred House Democratic employees had been given bonuses ranging from a few hundred dollars to $28,000 -- a total of $1.9 million overall.

Later reports showed that the largest bonuses appeared to go to employees who had done extensive work on Democratic legislative election campaigns. Anxiety grew inside the caucus after agents from the office of state Attorney General Tom Corbett seized 20 boxes containing documents ---- some of which appeared to be political research -- from the House Democratic Office of Legislative Research on Aug. 23.

An affidavit filed with the search warrant suggested that a confidential informant had advised agents that the documents were slated to be destroyed.

The Attorney General is trying to determine whether the taxpayer-funded bonuses were veiled and illegal compensation for campaign work. Mr. DeWeese has said the bonuses for legitimate state work.

"I think he felt if he was going to get out from under this he was going to have to sever ties with a lot of people he had known a long time," Mr. Manzo said yesterday. "I spent a few hours with Bill and at the end of that I scribbled down my resignation and that was it."

While one witness reported an argument between Mr. Manzo and Mr. DeWeese, Mr. Manzo dismissed those reports and said no harsh words were traded.

"We talked about the fact the investigation is ongoing and it's very aggressive and a lot of our folks have been in front of the grand jury. He had to make a decision on how to move forward with the caucus and how he was going to keep a majority there," Mr. Manzo said.

A spokesman for the Attorney General's office said they would have no comment on yesterday's developments.

A source close to Mr. DeWeese's office said yesterday the mass ousters followed an internal report by William G. Chadwick, an attorney whose firm was hired by the Democratic caucus earlier this year. The source said two of the individuals let go yesterday were implicated in plans to destroy the boxes later seized as evidence in the August raid at Legislative Research.

No one removed yesterday has been publicly identified as a target of the grand jury probe, although Mr. Manzo, Mr. Cott and Mr. Brubaker all were central to organizing the 2006 Democratic campaign work. All three received large bonuses. Mr. Cott last month said that he had not received a grand jury subpoena nor had he been approached by investigators.

"It is literally a witch hunt," Mr. Cott said last month of the grand jury investigation. "When they come after me, they'll come after me. I don't know. If it happens, it happens and I'll deal with it."

In late summer, Mr. Brubaker told several co-workers inside the caucus that he had become convinced that state agents had taken the trash from outside his house and that he believed he was a possible target of the probe.

Ms. McClure had not been implicated in the bonus scandal, had not been subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury and her dismissal was not explained. In June, she was given the Democratic Caucus Staff Achievement Award for outstanding service, based on a vote by her peers in the caucus.

She declined to comment yesterday.

All seven of the terminated employees were contributors to Democratic leaders' campaigns last year and all received bonuses, ranging from Ms. McClure's $3,656 to Mr. Cott's $25,065.

Campaign expense reports show that all but Ms. McClure worked on campaigns last year. The degree of their campaign involvement varied widely.

At day's end, Mr. DeWeese's office issued a release that did not acknowledge the dismissals and, instead, announced three new staff appointments -- essentially replacements for three of the top aides -- that "will result in additional reform and accountability in this great institution."

Named were Eric Fillman as director of legislation and floor operations, Richard "Dick" Dario, a former DeWeese aide, who was appointed a consultant for staffing and administration, and Sandra Williams, director of operations.

Mr. Fillman is a former top aide to State Rep. Mark Cohen, D-Philadelphia, the number three member in the Democratic caucus.