Questions reportedly focus on election tasks, possible no-work job

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

BY CHARLES THOMPSONOf The Patriot-News

Before breaking for the summer, House Republican leaders advised their caucus members not to gloatabout the expectation that criminal charges would be filed against people affiliated with the HouseDemocratic caucus. Now, several weeks after charges were filed against 12 people tied to the House Democratic office, itappears that the GOP is sharing the hot seat.In recent weeks, a growing number of House Republican staffers have been interviewed by AttorneyGeneral Tom Corbett's office as part of an 18-month probe into legislative operations.Witnesses reached in recent days said they have been asked about:

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Staffers doing political or campaign tasks on state time. Investigators are looking further intoallegations that several staffers regularly worked on fundraising, mailings and other campaign-relatedtasks, sources said.

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Whether a "no-work" job was created in the caucus for a former House GOP staffer.

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The possible destruction of evidence during what caucus officials have maintained was a scheduledmove to new computers in 2007.Any avenues of investigation of the Republican caucus are just points of inquiry for now. It is likely prosecutors are still gathering information and evidence to determine if they have a basis to filecharges.Investigations into the Democratic and Republican offices in the state House and Senate are continuing.In July, Corbett's office filed corruption charges against 12 people tied to the House Democratic office,alleging that taxpayer money and resources were illegally used for political campaign work. Since then,Corbett's investigators have intensified their look at House Republican caucus.Among those interviewed or questioned before the grand jury in this new phase of the investigation arestaffers who worked for state Rep. John Perzel when he served as House speaker; current and former workers in the caucus information technology department; and members of the House's bipartisanmanagement team.Corbett's office, in keeping with its policy regarding grand jury investigations, refused to comment for this story, other than to confirm that the investigation is active.But Corbett said that if any new charges are filed, it will happen this month or after the Nov. 4 electionto avoid any "undue influence" on voting. Corbett is seeking re-election, and all seats in the state House-- and half the state Senate seats -- are up for grabs.One focus of the probe, according to some of those contacted by Corbett's agents, is an advanced"constituent service" computer system acquired by House Republicans with caucus-controlled publicfunds.Investigators are said to have asked about a system designed by Aristotle International Inc., a dataservices company based in Washington, D.C., specializing in "political technology," and whether it wasadapted for campaign-related work.