HARRISBURG -- A key prosecution witness claims ex-Beaver County Democrat Sean Ramaley made many political fundraising calls on state time while running for office in July 2004, but Mr. Ramaley's defense attorney attacked the witness's credibility, calling him "a perjurer, a thief and an obstructor of justice."

The witness, Stephen Webb, a researcher for the House Democratic caucus, said that at the direction of former House Democratic Whip Mike Veon and others, he worked on Mr. Ramaley's state House campaign for a month starting July 19, 2004.

Mr. Webb testified yesterday in the first day of Mr. Ramaley's trial on six counts of conspiracy and theft and admitted he had told some lies while under oath before a state investigative grand jury in September 2007.

"I was untruthful," he said. "I made the biggest mistake of my life."

Why?, asked prosecutor Anthony Krastek. "I was scared," Mr. Webb said. "I didn't want to get myself or my [House Democratic] colleagues in trouble. Then I realized the mistake I made and wanted to rectify the situation."

He appeared before the grand jury a second time, in April 2008, and asserted that both he and Mr. Ramaley had worked on the Ramaley political campaign while they were on state time -- four hours a day, five days a week, in July and August 2004.

"I didn't see Sean do any legislative work," Mr. Webb said.

"Sean Ramaley was being paid with tax dollars to run for office," charged Mr. Krastek, who is a deputy attorney general. "It worked so well, he won [in November 2004]. The public paid for Sean Ramaley's election."

Defense attorney Philip Ignelzi of Pittsburgh urged the jury not to believe Mr. Webb, calling him "an admitted perjurer. He has lied under oath before. He has broken the law. He did opposition research [digging up dirt on political foes] while on public time, while he was on the state payroll. That is a crime. That is stealing from the commonwealth."

Mr. Ignelzi also charged that Mr. Webb had obstructed justice by "destroying documents" related to the state's corruption investigation called Bonusgate. Mr. Ignelzi said Mr. Webb removed data from his own computer "and the computers of four or five other employees. That is a crime."

Mr. Ramaley, 34, of Baden, is the first of 12 Democratic defendants to face trial in the so-called Bonusgate corruption scandal, where Attorney General Tom Corbett alleges that taxpayers' funds were illegally paid to people who worked on political campaigns.

In July 2004, Mr. Webb testified, he was asked by then-Rep. Veon and other Democratic officials to help Mr. Ramaley with his House campaign because he was new to politics. Mr. Ramaley, a young lawyer, had just won a five-way Democratic primary in May 2004 but Mr. Veon and others thought he needed help from experienced campaigners, Mr. Webb said.

Normally, Mr. Webb said, he would go off the state payroll when he worked on a campaign, but not this time. "I was not comfortable with it, but I was not in a position to say no," he said.

He told Mike Manzo, who was then chief of staff to House Democratic leader Bill DeWeese, that he needed $2,000 "to pay bills and rent. It was expensive to work on a campaign."

Mr. Manzo, one of those charged by Mr. Corbett but who's now cooperating with the state, said "he would take care of it," Mr. Webb said. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Webb got a $2,000 "meritorious bonus payment in recognition of your excellent efforts in the recent Universal Construction Code" legislation.

Mr. Webb said he regarded the money as an advance state-funded payment for the political work he was about to do on the Ramaley campaign.

Mr. Webb said he distinctly recalls Mr. Ramaley making fundraising calls from Mr. Veon's Beaver Falls office on weekday mornings from about 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in late July 2004. Mr. Ramaley had been hired as a part-time legislative staffer and legal aide in the district office. The state contends he did little or no work for taxpayers or constituents for his state salary, but spent his time on political work.

Mr. Webb said Mr. Veon wanted to keep the House seat in Democratic hands because it had been occupied by Democrats for years, and because it is adjacent to Mr. Veon's district and he didn't want a Republican to win it.

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