HARRISBURG -- After ex-state Rep. Frank LaGrotta pleaded guilty yesterday to hiring his sister and niece as ghost employees on his legislative staff, he was sentenced to six months of house arrest followed by 30 months of probation.

But the sentence issued by Dauphin County Common Pleas Court Judge Richard A. Lewis wasn't as severe as it could have been because Mr. LaGrotta apparently is cooperating with authorities. He could have received as much as 14 years in jail for pleading guilty to two felonies, violating the state's conflict of interest law.

"Mr. LaGrotta has cooperated with several investigations by the attorney general's office," Senior Deputy Attorney General Anthony Krastek told the judge. "That cooperation is still going on."

Mr. LaGrotta, of Ellwood City, will have to wear a special anklet during the six months of house arrest, so his whereabouts can be monitored. He can leave the house, with a probation officer's OK, to seek a job or buy food.

Mr. LaGrotta also was fined $5,000 and required to serve 500 hours of community service. He gets to keep his legislative pension, but he must repay the state, within two weeks, the $27,000 that his two relatives, sister Ann Bartolomeo and niece Alissa Lemmon, received as "ghost employees," doing little actual work while on his staff in 2005 and 2006.

His relatives each pleaded no contest to one charge of false swearing for lying to a grand jury. Miss Lemmon was placed on probation for 18 months and Mrs. Bartolomeo for 12 months and each was fined $3,000. Mrs. Bartolomeo received a lesser sentence because of health issues.

Mr. LaGrotta, 49, served 18 years in the Legislature before losing his seat in the May 2006 primary, in part due to voter anger over his vote to raise legislators' salaries in 2005.

Judge Lewis lectured Mr. LaGrotta for "putting your sister and your niece in a position of jeopardy. The consequences to them have been severe. You should have known better."

Mr. LaGrotta said the pain he'd caused his family was the worst part of the situation.

Mr. Krastek didn't make a recommendation on Mr. LaGrotta's sentence, leaving it up to the judge, and afterward said he was satisfied with the punishments. He did say that the sentences for Mr. LaGrotta, his sister and his niece "would have been much different if he hadn't been cooperating."

Mr. Krastek wouldn't say if Mr. LaGrotta's testimony was limited just to his own case or he was providing detail on other cases. The attorney general is investigating whether legislative caucus employees received state bonuses for campaign work during the 2006 elections, which would be illegal.

Mr. Krastek said, "I can't detail the specifics of his cooperation." The ongoing investigations "are a work in progress," he said.

So far, no state official has been charged as a result of the bonuses, and Mr. Krastek wouldn't say if any of the investigations involve the leaders of the state House.

Bonuses handed out by House Democratic leaders were $1.9 million in 2006, an election year in which Democrats seized control of the House for the first time since 1994.

Mr. LaGrotta declined to talk about any cooperation he's giving to the attorney general.

"I apologize to my family for the stress and the trauma" they've been under, he said. "I apologize to the people of my House district and to the people of Pennsylvania. It's an unfortunate situation but I take responsibility."

An old friend of Mr. LaGrotta, Sam Scialdone, came from Lawrence County yesterday to urge the judge to show mercy.

"He had such compassion and wisdom for his job," Mr. Scialdone said. "He was always getting a pothole fixed or a bridge built. He went out of his way to make sure everyone in the district was cared for."

There were also numerous letters from people back home on behalf of Mr. LaGrotta, said his lawyer, Stephen Colafella.

"He has shown genuine remorse about what he's accused of doing," Mr. Colafella said. "He has tried to right the wrong."