Veon convicted on 14 counts in Bonusgate trial
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HARRISBURG -- A Dauphin County jury tonight returned a mixed verdict in the criminal trial of former state Rep. Mike Veon and three associates.
Mr. Veon, 53, of Harrisburg, was convicted of 14 of 59 counts he was charged with, including seven counts of conflict of interest, five counts of theft and two counts of conspiracy.
Meanwhile, former caucus director of information Stephen Keefer, 39, of Lebanon County was acquitted of all 16 counts.
Mr. Veon's former office manager Annamarie Perretta-Rosepink, 47, of Beaver Falls, was convicted of five of 22 counts.
Former top research analyst Brett Cott, 37, of Harrisburg was convicted of three of the 42 criminal charges filed against him.
At the center of the case are allegations that Mr. Veon and his co-defendants schemed to award more than $1.4 million in publicly funded bonuses to state workers in exchange for work on campaigns. They also are charged with directing staff to do political work on state time, in state buildings and on state equipment.
Additionally, Mr. Veon was accused of charging about $16,000 worth of dinners to taxpayers on days that the state already was providing per diems meant to cover his food and lodging while he worked in Harrisburg. He also is charged with using state workers to transport two motorcycles to a rally in South Dakota.
Defense attorneys have said that the transgressions were minor, that many others in the Capitol used state resources similarly and that the defendants, all Democrats, were singled out by Republican Attorney General Tom Corbett, who is running for governor.
The verdict came after six weeks of testimony and seven days of deliberation that sometimes turned so contentious that it brought jurors to tears.
First Published March 22, 2010 11:09 am
