We learn today from Fox News 29 in Philadelphia that the House Democratic Caucus is holding a retreat today at the Radisson in Camp Hill...or are they?
Is this really a caucus retreat or an elaborate sting operation by gubernatorial candidate Tom Corbett to catch state legislators double dipping?
Corbett charged Mike Veon with five felonies for buying meals for himself and other legislators while still collecting his full per diem for those days.
Using Corbett's standard, if any of these legislators who attend this caucus retreat today fail to deduct the costs of the breakfast and the House Democratic Campaign Committee luncheon from their per diem, they are subject to the same five felony charges as Veon.
So, is this really a retreat or are Corbett's investigators playing more cops and robbers with state legislators?
Ironically, Veon was never in violation of any law for hosting dinners in the Capitol while still collecting his full per diem. Read the Chief Clerk's office interpretation here.
While Corbett charged Veon, he ignored dozens of other House members with contingency accounts who spent money on "off campus" meals to an even more extravagant extent then Veon's "on-campus" carry-out dinners.
We're anxious to see if attendees of today's caucus retreat will deduct the meals from their per diems today. The Chief Clerk memo clearly delineates that it is required.
More importantly, we're anxious to hear why Corbett charged Veon, yet has ignored dozens of other clearly and very easily documented cases of other legislators using their contingency accounts in the very same way.
Is this really a caucus retreat or an elaborate sting operation by gubernatorial candidate Tom Corbett to catch state legislators double dipping?
Corbett charged Mike Veon with five felonies for buying meals for himself and other legislators while still collecting his full per diem for those days.
Using Corbett's standard, if any of these legislators who attend this caucus retreat today fail to deduct the costs of the breakfast and the House Democratic Campaign Committee luncheon from their per diem, they are subject to the same five felony charges as Veon.
So, is this really a retreat or are Corbett's investigators playing more cops and robbers with state legislators?
Ironically, Veon was never in violation of any law for hosting dinners in the Capitol while still collecting his full per diem. Read the Chief Clerk's office interpretation here.
While Corbett charged Veon, he ignored dozens of other House members with contingency accounts who spent money on "off campus" meals to an even more extravagant extent then Veon's "on-campus" carry-out dinners.
We're anxious to see if attendees of today's caucus retreat will deduct the meals from their per diems today. The Chief Clerk memo clearly delineates that it is required.
More importantly, we're anxious to hear why Corbett charged Veon, yet has ignored dozens of other clearly and very easily documented cases of other legislators using their contingency accounts in the very same way.
It is my suspicion that he targeted Mike Veon and others because Corbett has a strong anti-union bent from his Waste Management days.
ReplyDeleteAll of these investigations, charges, and arrest are more than anything else, about breaking the unions.
Mike Veon was Union true and through, when Veon's local Beaver County Time tried to change location to print and the workers went on strike, Mike Veon was on the Picket Line.
The paper never forgave Mike Veon and went after him on many things even bringing money back to his District from those days forward.
As usual, Mike Veon did not flinch and stay the course in his heart, beliefs, and principles.
You may have hit upon something here. I recall in the 1990’s when Tom ridge was Governor, Tom Corbett was working for Waste Management about how much garbage, and toxic waste was coming into Pennsylvania from New York and New Jersey.
ReplyDeleteThey were putting much of it in Keith McCall’s Carbon County deep coalmines, as well as Todd Eachus’s Luzerne County. Citizens and environmental groups and unions opposed this kind of dumping. McCall, Eachus, Stetler, and the Democratic Leadership in DeWeese and Veon made sure fines were issued when Waste Management was found to violate the laws.
Tom Corbett had to defend Waste Management practices and fines and it got to a point where Governor Tom Ridge berated Waste Management and Corbett in public when asked. Competitors that were doing the right thing and following the regulations actually help inform on Waste Management’s violations.
It is really time for some group to actually research Corbett's Waste Management relationship, contributions, connections to non-profits, individuals and corporations, as well as how many fines Waste Management has avoided as opposed to Waste Management Competitors under Corbett’s OAG regime
This would give us an actual nexus to Tom Corbett's Anti-Amicus against Unions and corruption with waste Management.
All one need do is look up those fines, complaints, and newspapers articles and put them up on CasablancaPa and send them to all other websites, and candidates running for Governor.
When Mike Veon wins his case, I am going to start to call him, NIKE VEON.
ReplyDeleteJUST DO IT!
What we need is full-blown Audit of the Attorney General’s regarding Environmental Violations, fines, and Prosecutions and compares it to previous years before tom Corbett took office.
ReplyDeleteThis could really shine the light on his connections to Waste Management and his hatred towards the Unions and their Representative and Candidate endorsements.
It does seem quite strange on how these prosecutions are being selected and others ignored?
If Auditor General Jack Wagner will not do it, then a Non-Profit Bi-Partisan Research Foundation not taking any contributions from anyone connected to Waste Management should do it.
The Democrats should be investigating and double-checking on Corbett’s prior actions to get to the truth and nothing but the truth.
Maybe Mike was indicted because he oversaw the illegal distribution of $2.4 million in taxpayers’ money to reward staffers for campaign activity?
ReplyDeleteJust asking.
Anonymous said...Maybe Mike was indicted because he oversaw the illegal distribution of $2.4 million in taxpayers’ money to reward staffers for campaign activity? Just asking.
ReplyDeleteJanuary 27, 2010 3:15 PM
Just answering,
Why have others not been charged too that did the same thing?
Why is the Senate Investigation not even begun with Grand Juries after 4 years with 800 OAG employees?
Why did Corbett refuse to investigate the Republican Judges when a complaint was filed at his office before this year’s election?
Why did the Ramaley Jurors reject Corbett's entire charges and Grand Jury findings in less than 3 hours?
Does any of this seem strange and a double standard and if many all broke the law according to Corbett's Investigations and Charges, then should not all be charged?
Just answering with some more questions? If you can answer any of mine questions above, I will commend and salute you too, in all fairness?
Today, 200 and some Subpoenas issued under the Emerald Dome to Chief Counsel Winkleman to be witnesses in February at the Mike Veon Trial some at Strawberry Square too!
ReplyDeleteYou only need one target to have a campaign issue.
ReplyDeleteEmerald Dome!! C'mon, this is Casablanca, not the Wizard of Oz.
ReplyDeletePay no attention to. . .
wasn"t there a Democratic Party Chair who resigned to get into waste management, not that the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, for that matter, could not manage to waste money for they are all the same...and he would talk in TRILLIONS$$$$$$$$$$$$$ and then drive away in a fancy sports car!!
ReplyDeletewasn"t there a Democratic Party Chair who resigned to get into waste management, not that the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, for that matter, could not manage to waste money for they are all the same...and he would talk in TRILLIONS$$$$$$$$$$$$$ and then drive away in a fancy sports car!!
ReplyDeleteWhere are the Republican State Committee and the Democratic State Commmittee in these issues? Why do they let there endorsed candidates act this way? Have they no conscience? We should be hearing from them. Where are they hiding? Why are the Republicans not standing behind Corbett? Why do the Democrats not stand up to him. Too much organization?
ReplyDeleteSince the topic always seems to be about SOD, maybe your readers would like to read about this "dude".
ReplyDeleteRemember Habay? You can try to use every convoluted excuse you want, but precedent is clear. The warning was loud and clear, but the arrogance of the current defendants is and was wanton.
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_422126.html
Anonymous said:
ReplyDeleteJust answering,
Why have others not been charged too that did the same thing?
Why is the Senate Investigation not even begun with Grand Juries after 4 years with 800 OAG employees?
Why did Corbett refuse to investigate the Republican Judges when a complaint was filed at his office before this year’s election?
Why did the Ramaley Jurors reject Corbett's entire charges and Grand Jury findings in less than 3 hours?
Does any of this seem strange and a double standard and if many all broke the law according to Corbett's Investigations and Charges, then should not all be charged?
Just answering with some more questions? If you can answer any of mine questions above, I will commend and salute you too, in all fairness?
I’ll take these one by one:
1. What does it matter?...the “other people did it” defense doesn’t work for 5 year olds either.
2. Don’t know what’s happening in the Senate, but again, irrelevant.
3. Who filed the complaint?...was it legit or superfluous?
4. Because of reasonable doubt…they couldn’t prove that he did campaign work on state time…if you review the testimony, it’s pretty clear he didn’t do much of ANYTHING for his salary, but, again reasonable doubt.
5. Perhaps they will, perhaps they won’t, but none of that will help Mike – WHO WAS IN CHARGE.
Understand, I am no fan of Tom Corbett…I think the Ramaley indictment WAS purely political…I think they tried to get him to cooperate and, when he wouldn’t, they charged him…and you raise legitimate points as to the investigation or prosecution of others…but all this site tries to do is cast a cloud on the proceedings…READ the presentments…LOOK at the 7 admissions of guilt…LISTEN to anyone who worked in the Democratic Caucus during that time period, and it’s clear that Veon is in serious trouble.
If he gets off – more power to him…the burden is on the state to prove its accusations…but the “he did it, she did it” defense is crap...even a bit pathetic.
It was neither a retreat nor a sting, it was the “Eachus - I’m the leader now and by the way, I’m so wonderful and you must listen to me and praise me show” He did mention that the Dem Caucus is on a one way street to being broke and of course he blamed that on prior caucus administrations.
ReplyDeleteBut who is surprised to learn that he failed to provide any detail on the 100 +/- new employees that he hired in the past 13 months on his watch as leader (our fiscal watch dog), about 1/3 of witch enjoy mid to high 6 figure salaries and the many huge raises that he passed out like candy to “his people”. And of course, not a single peep about the millions of dollars spent on outside legal counsel because of good old bonus gate and “the box.”
Does anyone recall his first high 6 figure cost election (to beat DeWeese’s arch enemy) and where those funds and “support” came from? Lest we forget – his motto: LOYAL TO ONE - HIMSELF.
tyrany wins today with the loss of of J D Salinger and Howard Zinn,
ReplyDeleteNo question the election of Todd Eachus as Majority Leader was the single biggest mistake of the HDC and Democratic Party at a critical time.
ReplyDeletesometimes we didn't stay awake during geography class.
ReplyDeleteAll of Eachus's high priced talent is not helping him.
ReplyDeleteIn case you were napping***sometimes we did not stay awake in geography class!!
ReplyDeleteshouldn"t you have said: NONE OF EACHUS'S high-priced help is helping ?
ReplyDeleteOnce again, where is the Democratic
ReplyDeleteParty? Who is the Democratic Party? Is it the Democratic State Committee? At least their members are elected by the Democratic voters. Who or should I say WHERE ARE THEY??? and lest we forget, where are the Republicans, duh? Isn't it time both parties should be weighing in on reform..organization...planning for the future...real change???
Perhaps, one should be inclined to think that all this scandal has come to pass because Mike Veon and victims actually had an organization that was more effective than the Democratic Party and Republican Party in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and thus had to be brought down. Neither of those organizations have shown any progress in behalf of individual and local issues since the absence of George Bloom and David L. Lawrence, Billy Meehan and Bill Green. Stuart Helm or Pete Camiel. All leaders who were not SELF ABSORBED!!
ReplyDeletePennsylvania's only hope is that each major Party will return to the
principles of the above mentioned leaders...Then, and only then, will the Parties be able to serve their respective members and assume the mantle of governance.
and, I might add, in the words of Pete Wambach, it would be a "beautiful day in Pennsylvania".
HEY ANONYMOUS, haven't you ever heard of SELECTIVE PROSECUTION? It's between the chapter on Profiling and Double Standards in the Book of Hypocrisy in case you need to refresh yourself. Try the NIV translation. Grand Inquisitor's Version. Bound in blood-stained Moroccan leather.(There is probably a copy for sale cheap at Rick's -- Sasha could probably locate it.)
ReplyDeleteWhat is needed to fight this Fascists Regime of Tom Corbett using the misinterpretation of the Law to destroy Unions, Union Political Allies, and intimidation of Social Justice Causes?
ReplyDeleteBy the elimination of worthy political leadership being accused of crimes during his campaign for Governor.
What we need is the rebirth of the Spirit of Noble Women that know what, when, and how to fight such carefully planned tyranny, in the likes of Genora Dollinger.
Genora Dollinger was the one to stand up at GM Fisher strike when Police began beating the Men Strikers.
She yelled at them, “Cowards, Cowards All Of You”, and then spoke to make Women of these Men to stand with them on the Strike Line taking beatings and pushing until the Police bowed down and withdrew.
We need to hear what a woman named GENORA DOLLINGER said many years ago:
“Don’t Depend On Our Leaders To Do What Needs To Be Done….”
That is a significant quote for our reflections tomorrow that will grow out of the narrative in LUKE 3: 1-18 around the story of John the Baptist’s preaching that led some of the people to ask the question:
What Do We Need To Be Doing?
The People That Walked In Darkness Has Seen A Great Light;
On Those Who Live In A Land Of Deep Shadow A Light Has Shone.
Especially, to be united as an enlightened and empowered community of faith in living out the light of good news to the poor and liberation of the oppressed.
WE NEED MOBS TO SHOW UP AROUND STRAWBERRY SQUARE, AND AT THE COURTHOUSES, TO PROTEST AND STOP THE TYRANNY OF TOM CORBETT AND EVERYWHERE HE CAMPAIGNS AT HIGH MIGHTY HOTELS OR COUNTRY CLUBS.
All men and women must understand we must stand up together, when Cowards like Corbett misuse the Law to become Governor.
WHERE IS PENNSYLVANIA’S GENORA DOLLINGER WITHIN ONE WOMAN BRAVE ENOUGH TO FIGHT CORBETT”S INJUSTICE?
http://www.thepeoplespeak.org/
vive l'France!!
ReplyDeleteThis club is closed until further notice' ' '
God said that if just ten good men would stand up he would deliver Sodom and Gommorrah. It sounds as though we could be be delivered from the duplicity of the two party corporations if only one Genora Dollinger would step to the forefront and stand on the side of Justice, not the sham that is being perpetrated upon the citizens of our Commonwealth in her name.
ReplyDelete