Defendants seek to remove Corbett from Bonusgate prosecution
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HARRISBURG -- A Dauphin County judge today is hearing arguments on whether Attorney General Tom Corbett's office should be disqualified from prosecuting defendants in the Bonusgate public corruption case.
Several defendants joined together in a court motion asking to have charges dropped or Mr. Corbett's office removed as prosecutor because they say he has engaged in the same activities for which they are being prosecuted.
Harrisburg attorney Joshua Lock, who represents former state Reps. Brett O. Feese and Stephen Stetler, initiated the motions that are being argued before Dauphin County Judge Richard A. Lewis.
He said Mr. Corbett, the leading Republican running for governor, has used state resources to run political campaigns even as his office prosecuted others on allegations of similar transgressions.
"It is clear that disqualification must occur ... and the sooner the better for everybody," Mr. Lock argued this morning.
Prosecutors from Mr. Corbett's office will have a chance to respond this afternoon.
It will be up to Judge Lewis to decide whether to hold a formal hearing on the motions. He is expected to announce his decision Monday or Tuesday.
Joining Mr. Feese, a Lycoming Republican, and Mr. Stetler, a York Democrat, are Mr. Feese's former secretary Jill Seaman and Don McClintock, a former campaign aide to state Rep. John Perzel, R-Philadelphia.
Former Democratic state Rep. Mike Veon and his district office manager Annamarie Perretta-Rosepink, who were found guilty last month for the illegal use of state resources, could be affected by the ruling. At the center of that case was a scheme to award taxpayer-funded bonuses to state employees who worked on political campaigns, often during state working hours.
Twenty-five people have been arrested in the ongoing corruption investigation. Five have pleaded guilty, three were found guilty by juries, two were acquitted and the others await adjudication.
First Published April 16, 2010 12:21 pm
