LaGrotta Sings in Bonusgate Corruption Investigation

October 7th, 2007, posted by Stanley

A former state House member under investigation on allegations he put family members in state jobs and then padded their pay has given extensive details to the attorney general’s office about inside dealings in the Democratic caucus as part of a growing investigation into the use of state workers for political campaigns.

Former Democratic state Rep. Frank LaGrotta, of Lawrence County, is expected to be charged before year’s end in the first round of grand jury presentments connected to a widening probe into corruption in the state Legislature…

Mr. LaGrotta told agents that partisan political work was widespread in the Office of Legislative Research and that the electioneering work was common knowledge in the caucus.

Investigators are trying to determine if then-House Minority Whip Michael Veon, of Beaver County, assigned House employees to work on his re-election campaign as well as the campaigns of other Democratic incumbents, and whether that campaign work was tied to a series of bonuses given those same employees at the end of 2006.

Mr. LaGrotta told agents he was unaware at the time that the House Democrats had a bonus program in place, and he made clear that while two of the employees being investigated were nominally assigned to work for the House Committee on Tourism and Recreational Development, which he headed, they were, in fact, answerable to Democratic leaders Veon and then House minority leader H. William DeWeese, D-Greene.

Filed under:

Around the Capitol

Chris King

On October 7th, 2007 looking_italian said:

Beyond the story lede here is news that a freshman Assembly member – one elected by only five percentage points – is caught up in this mess. And no indication of how far this thing might spread.

Maybe we’ll have a shot at better than craptacular maps in 2022.

the bird

On October 8th, 2007 LVDem said:

I figured the singing bird would be a staffer. Instead it appears to be a state rep in Veon’s circle.

And I think we are going to find more than Chris King involved in this. Anybody in the state house in 2005-2006 is fair game… well, except the GOP b/c we know Corbett isn’t investigating over there.

really?

On October 8th, 2007 Anonymous said:

And how do you know that?

Ego and Greed...

On October 9th, 2007 thegentlemanfro... said:

My uncle , a rather colorful individual, shared a thought with me just the other day that I feel is relevant here. He said, “There are many potential killers of a man, but two are particularly deadly: greed and ego.” It seems to me that some House Dems have succumbed to those agents of political death. What strikes me about the “Bonusgate” (I despise the “Gate-ism” that must be applied to any political controversy) story is not necessarily the scheming state representatives and back-room trading of tax dollars, but the over-arching arrogance. It seems some of our representatives in Harrisburg truly believe they were ENTITLED to use taxpayer money to further their re-election efforts. They make no distinction between the duties their constituents sent them to Harrisburg to fulfill and their efforts to be sent back two years later. It’s an “I’ve earned it” mentality and it has infected politics at all levels for too long. Today it’s DeWeese, Veon, LaGrotta, et. al; yesterday it was Habay and far too many national Republicans. I truly fear seeing what the above-the-fold headline brings to us tomorrow. Maybe the editors will be kind and place the bad but not entirely unexpected news below the fold.

interesting observation

On October 9th, 2007 LVDem said:

Actually, yesterday it was Veon and LaGrotta… they both lost re-election efforts. But that’s just a small detail. Although it does point out a larger, intesting detail: all of this activity happened before D’s took the state house. It has little to do with the current caucus b/c the bonuses have stopped. I think its interesting that this happened before they came to power and then not all of them even came to power b/c they lost.

Not relevant to anything. Just an observation.

Veon and LaGrotta are Yesterday...

On October 9th, 2007 Anonymous said:

...and the Commonwealth is better off for it. The fact that Jeff Habay isn’t roaming the halls of Harrisburg “ain’t necessarily a bad thing either”. I think nit-picking (not saying that you’re necessarily nit-picking, LV – I respect you more than that – but your comments could be interpreted in that fashion) the fact that the former representatives are just that – former – misses the point. My comments focused on the culture in Harrisburg, and in my opinion the culture is APPEARING to change simply because some of the players were finally caught in the act. The only reason the bonuses have stopped is because the kids got caught with their hands in the taxpayer’s cookie jar. Do you really believe that, absent the public scrutiny and criminal investigation, the House Dem Legislative Research Office wouldn’t be gearing up to finance their efforts 2008 in the exact same fashion as 2006? I think this issue goes beyond the standard Republican/Democrat dichotomy; both parties are certainly capable of arrogance and hubris in conducting the business of the public. It’s the entitlement culture of government that nurtures the type of scandals that we’ve seen at the state and federal level over the past several years. Maybe things are changing in Harrisburg under the new leadership. I certainly hope that’s the case. However, in the words of Reagan: “Trust, but verify”.

If You Weren't Able to Guess...

On October 9th, 2007 Anonymous said:

that last post was mine, LV.

The Gentleman From PA