DeWeese guilty of five felonies
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HARRISBURG -- A Dauphin County jury on Monday found longtime Democratic state representative and House Speaker Bill DeWeese guilty of all but one of six felony corruption charges resulting from a state legislative probe into the misuse of public resources.
The jurors largely agreed with prosecutors who claimed the Greene County legislator exerted his influence to compel legislative workers to campaign, using more than $100,000 of staff time and other state resources for his own political benefit. They found him guilty of three counts of theft, one count of conflict of interest and one count of conspiracy. He was acquitted on a single theft charge.
The jury took three days to reach the verdict in the scandal that came to be known as Bonusgate.
Mr. DeWeese's girlfriend and sister sobbed as the verdict was read.
Mr. DeWeese, 61, vowed to appeal the convictions and continue his campaign for re-election. Hours after the verdict was announced, he stood in a Capitol hallway, shaking hands with workers there and apologizing for missing a committee meeting.
After pledging to continue his legislative work, at least until his sentencing on April 24, Mr. DeWeese reminded reporters that his constituents twice have re-elected him since his name became linked to allegations that state workers had improperly performed campaign work.
"So the court of public opinion in those faraway and honorable townships and boroughs sanctioned my public duties in these sessions," he said. "And until the official jurisdictions limit my ability to serve, I shall hopefully maintain perfect attendance and a positive attitude."
He noted that he would be in attendance today at the budget address delivered by Republican Gov. Tom Corbett, who as attorney general filed the charges against Mr. DeWeese in 2009.
The investigation by Mr. Corbett's office followed a 2007 series of Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports showing a correlation between sizeable, taxpayer-funded bonuses awarded to House Democratic staff members and their time spent campaigning. Mr. DeWeese was among the last three defendants to be charged in the investigation, which has resulted in the arrests of 25 individuals connected with the House Democratic and Republican caucuses.
First Published February 7, 2012 12:00 am
