HARRISBURG -- A conservative watchdog group today is launching an advertising campaign aimed at persuading lawmakers to lease the Pennsylvania Turnpike and disband the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission.

It includes a poster and a 2-minute online video with CSI-like images of pinup boards featuring photos and strings showing connections between people referred to as such things as "the globetrotting chief who hired a web of family and friends" and "the Capitol's original godfather."

The turnpike commission "needs to go" said Matthew Brouillette, director of the Commonwealth Foundation, which launched the advertising campaign.

"It's clearly one of the most corrupt, scandalous, patronage-laden agencies that exists," he told reporters at a press conference today.

The only way to eliminate the commission is to lease the turnpike, a plan the Legislature is considering as a means of raising money for roads, bridges and mass transit. A competing proposal would raise the funds by making Interstate 80 a toll road.

Mr. Brouillette declined to say whether bidders for the turnpike lease provided funding for the advertising campaign, which cost $30,000 to $40,000. He said it is the foundation's policy to keep donors' names private.

Contributors do not affect policy decisions, he said. He stressed that his group has been railing against the turnpike commission for most of its 20-year history.

The video was to be available online this afternoon.