A former state lawmaker and her aide avoided jail time by pleading guilty Tuesday to forging signatures on nominating petitions for the 2006 primary.

Linda Bebko-Jones, 62, and a former legislative aide, Mary Fiolek, 60, were each sentenced in Dauphin County to 12 months’ probation and fined $500. They pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of forging and submitting false signatures and criminal conspiracy. Ten other charges were dismissed.

The two admitted creating numerous bogus signatures on at least three different nomination petitions that were attested to as authentic and filed with elections officials. Prosecutors said names were drawn from the Erie phone book and Bebko-Jones’ personal address book.

“She obviously regrets what occurred,” said Bebko-Jones’ lawyer, Matt Gover. “The sentence was a legal sentence under the sentencing guidelines and she wants to move forward with her life.”

Bebko-Jones, an Erie County Democrat first elected in 1992, abruptly withdrew from a bid for re-election two years ago after a challenger raised doubts about the validity of her signatures.
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