Pa. Democratic Machine Corruption:12 accused of running Pa. political machine

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports:

When you worked for former Rep. Mike Veon, the No. 2 Democrat in the state House, two things were certain, prosecutors said: You would work hard on political campaigns while on the government clock; and if you did a "rock star" job, you would get something extra in your paycheck.

All compliments of the taxpayers, of course.

That illegal culture of underwriting political campaigns with public dollars was spotlighted yesterday in sweeping indictments of Veon, 10 former and current legislative aides, and a sitting lawmaker.

The allegations strike at top party staffers in the House, and more charges are expected, say prosecutors. Court documents suggested that hundreds of Democratic staffers might have been involved in illegal work.

The 12 are charged, in varying degrees, with theft and conflict of interest for running a massive political campaign machine out of government offices from Beaver County, where Veon lived, to the state Capitol.

The conspiracy within the House Democratic caucus, prosecutors say, was widespread. It ranged from handing out taxpayer-funded bonuses for campaign work to using state computers and telephones for political and personal purposes.

A number of those charged are accused of doing largely, or only, political work.

In one striking example, Veon had two aides, at public expense, drive his and his wife's motorcycles to Sturgis, S.D., so they would be waiting there for their vacation, court documents said.

No word yet from Mayor Daley or David Axelrod on this one.