Defense tries to discredit prosecution's case in Bonusgate trial
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HARRISBURG -- Defense attorneys on Wednesday tried to poke holes in prosecutors' claim that state-funded bonuses were distributed to House Democratic staffers as rewards for campaign work.
That contention is at the center of a corruption case against former state Rep. Mike Veon and three former aides.
Former Veon staffer Rich Pronesti -- who now works for state Rep. Jenn Mann, D-Lehigh -- testified Wednesday that he did no campaign work in 2004 but received a $2,000 bonus. He said he did campaign work in 2005 but received no bonus.
"There was no correlation between the campaign work he did and getting a bonus. It's the complete opposite," Veon attorney Dan Raynak said after court adjourned.
Prosecutors say Mr. Pronesti's case is an anomaly and doesn't diminish the rest of the evidence, including direct testimony from people who conspired to use the bonuses to reward legislative staffers for campaign work.
Also yesterday, jurors heard from aides Esther Reever, who said she often worked on campaign mailings in a legislative office, and Pat Cook, who used to quietly haul the stuffed envelopes through the Capitol to the basement mailroom.
He testified that P.J. Lavelle -- a former legislative staffer who pleaded guilty in the corruption case -- gave him the mailings on a covered cart and told him to watch taking these down" because "he didn't want people to see them."
Ms. Reever said she, too, was told to conceal campaign work. She said she stuffed envelopes with political literature and recorded campaign contributions in a database.
"I felt we were doing something wrong, but I felt I had to do what I had to do for my job," Ms. Reever testified.
Like Ms. Reever and Mr. Pronesti, Mr. Cook testified that he regularly campaigned during regular work hours, including on overnight trips to Beaver County to knock on voters' doors and drop off campaign literature in Mr. Veon's district.
First Published February 25, 2010 12:00 am
