His name is Elmer Bowman, but he gave in after years of having people mishear his nickname and call him "Al" instead of "El."

Now he's known -- in Harrisburg circles at least -- as Al, and that's fine with him.

After all, his job for the past eight years has been to promote other people's names, not his own.

Mr. Bowman, who was among 10 people charged yesterday as part of a government corruption probe, spent the past several years as a spokesman for legislative leaders, both on policy issues and campaign efforts.

Prosecutors say he spent a great deal of time establishing a program called Candidate Connect, which the caucus developed with tax dollars but served "clearly only as a campaign tool," according to a statewide grand jury's presentment released yesterday. The program was used primarily by the House Republican Campaign Committee, where Mr. Bowman had worked as a spokesman from 2003 to 2008 while also serving as a legislative staffer.

Also according to the presentment, Mr. Bowman spent $1,968 in state funds on three trips to seminars on using technology to run political campaigns. Several others who were not charged also traveled for similar purposes.

Mr. Bowman, 34, of York County abruptly resigned last week as director of policy development and planning services for the House GOP caucus. His departure came as word surfaced that prosecutors were targeting him as part of their investigation into alleged misuse of tax dollars to support databases used in re-election campaigns. His salary had been about $100,000, House records show.

Mr. Bowman had previously served as spokesman for former House Speaker John Perzel, R-Philadelphia. He represented Mr. Perzel on issues related to both policy and politics.

He began his career in 1994 as a member of former Gov. Tom Ridge's staff and campaign team. He later worked as press secretary to the state agriculture and education departments.

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