Hoeffel calls for a probe of Castor after testimony

By Derrick Nunnally
Inquirer Staff Writer
Adding to the knotty partisan wrangling in Norristown, Montgomery County's Democratic commissioner called
yesterday for prosecutors to investigate his Republican colleague Bruce L. Castor Jr.

Castor, who is excluded from the bipartisan ruling coalition on the Board of Commissioners, said in testimony Monday
that while prosecutor, he used the county's e-mail on government time to discuss political campaign work with an
assistant prosecutor.

Joseph M. Hoeffel III, the Democrat who is vice chairman of the commissioners, said Castor's testimony for the
defense in the corruption trial of former State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo told of conduct similar to Fumo's alleged misuse
of state employees for political work.

"It would be exactly the same criminality that Sen. Fumo is being accused of," Hoeffel said.

Hoeffel held a news conference to call for an investigation before he contacted District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman
about it. He said last night that Ferman had not responded to an afternoon phone message or letter to her office.
Ferman said last night that her office staff had received the letter. Earlier, she said her initial assessment of news
reports was that Castor might have violated county ethics policies but not state law.

"This strikes me as something that is political grandstanding and nothing more," Ferman, Castor's successor in office
and former protege, said of Hoeffel's request.

Hoeffel and Castor declined to address whether an outside prosecutor would be needed for an appropriate
investigation of Castor's conduct as district attorney. Ferman said she did not have enough information to make a
decision.

Castor's testimony included an admission that he gave then-Assistant District Attorney Christian Marrone, Fumo's
estranged son-in-law, political assignments by the county's e-mail system.

"I probably shouldn't have done that," Castor told investigators before Fumo's trial began.

Federal prosecutors also introduced e-mails saved by Marrone, whom Castor eventually fired for disloyalty, showing
Castor campaigning on government time, and using his county office and e-mail account for campaign discussions.

Yesterday, Castor responded to Hoeffel's call for an investigation with a statement that Marrone had approached
Castor to do political work.

Castor said their political communications in the office were "incidental, not planned," and again said he "should not
have communicated about personal matters using the county's e-mail system." He denied holding "official campaign
meetings" in his county office.