Borys Krawczeniuk of Northeast Pennsylvania's Times-Shamrock News group followed up on Attorney General Kathleen Kane's grand jury presentment of the pay-to-play culture at the PA Turnpike by looking more closely at the contractors mentioned in the presentment. Krawczeniuk placed particular emphasis on turnpike contractors' belief that contributing to the right political committees was a cost of doing business.
The grand jury presentment focused on Traffic Planning and Design's contributions to the thinly disguised "Senator 6" -- easily unmasked as former State Senator Vince Fumo. We took a step beyond the presentment and examined exactly how much Traffic Planning and Design gave to ALL Pennsylvania political committees. What we found was quite interesting and should portend further arrests in the future.
The company's executives were generous to Democrats, with a total of $58,000 in contributions to Democratic candidates and committees at every level since January 2000, including all contributions to Fumo, former Governor Ed Rendell, and 2010 gubernatorial nominee Dan Onorato.
However, during the same time period, Traffic Planning and Design's executives gave a whopping $239,000 in contributions to Republican candidates and committees - and that's just to GOP state senators, GOP county committees and GOP gubernatorial nominees. The total grows when contributions to Republican House and local candidates are counted.
The same company that considered political contributions marketing expenses in order to score lucrative Turnpike contracts gave at least $15,000 to Governor Tom Corbett's committees. The Pennsylvania Future Fund, a PAC controlled by Corbett's powerful political patron Bob Asher, collected over $28,000 from Traffic Planning and Design executives.
More startling is the amount of Traffic Planning and Design money that found its way to Republican County Committees in Southeast Pennsylvania: Suburban Philadelphia GOP county parties received more than $134,000 in contributions from the company's executives, including $96,000 to Chester County alone.
When it comes to the now-infamous "60/40" rule for awarding contracts at the Turnpike, Traffic Planning and Design clearly falls into the Republican side of the equation. Why else would it make sure 2002 GOP gubernatorial nominee Mike Fisher got at least $13,500 and 2006 nominee Lynn Swann at least $18,000. Executives at Traffic Planning and Design even gave Congressman Jim Gerlach's short-lived gubernatorial campaign $4,500.
While powerful individual GOP Senators like Bob Jubelier ($1,000), Joe Scarnati ($2,500), and Dominic Pileggi ($3,900) didn't receive quite nearly as much to their individual accounts, it's obvious the money sent to county committees (and Bob Asher) in the GOP's most challenging area of Pennsylvania was directed primarily to GOP State Senate campaigns.
All of these campaign contributions are outlined here.
Does anyone actually believe Senate GOP spokesmen (who received large taxpayer-funded bonuses) when they insist that Scarnati and Pileggi didn't know about the corrupt contracting arrangement at the Turnpike?
"Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson County, 'doesn't have any knowledge of the so-called 60-40 split,' said staff attorney Andrew Crompton. The same is true for Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware county, said his spokesman, Erik Arneson." (Tribune-Review 3/14/13)
Before swallowing Crompton and Arneson's absurdity, read the very detailed 2005 reporting by the Tribune-Review's Brad Bumsted on the chokehold both parties in the State Senate had over the Turnpike. It's ridiculous to believe Jubelirer, Brightbill and their former staff leader, Mike Long, didn't pass along the tricks of the trade to Scarnati and Pileggi:
"They've got a friend in Pennsylvania" (Tribune Review 1/3/05)
"Well-connected firms get no-bid legal work" (Tribune Review 1/3/05)
"Turnpike practices likely to be unchecked" (Tribune Review 1/9/05)
And, of course, Traffic Planning and Design's "marketing expenses" didn't end following the 2006 loses of former State Senate GOP leaders Jubelirer and Chip Brightbill.
Is this the real reason why Brian Nutt's dad quit the PTP Commission? Brian Nutt was Corbett's Chief of Staff in the AG's Office and campaign manager for several elections. Fina ignored the activity of Corbett's inner office while charging people in the legislature. Is Corbett next?
ReplyDeleteTP is nothing compared to SEPTA all of insider dealings and political give aways to SEPTA board members law firms. Look at the insider deal Duane Morris has with SEPTA ... THEY GET ALOT OF LEGAL WORK AND LOBBYING WORK..... Everyone is out to hurt the little guy. Just like the turnpike we all pay in the end for these pigs.
ReplyDeleteThey are all pigs every last one of them.
The Second Mile is (or was) classified as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. As such, it was prohibited from making political contributions.
ReplyDeleteThe roughly 130 unpaid people who sat on the board of directors across the state were not prohibited from making personal contributions.
Apparently many of them were Republicans who would have supported any Republican candidate in an election cycle.
Isn't Brian Nutt's consulting business tied to the Lottery deal as an adviser? How much does Nutt make out of the British deal? Looks like another Corbett scheme. Stir up an issue, extract campaign contributions, and blame someone else for the results. Does this sound like the Sandusky investigation and the manipulation of the Board of The Second Mile and BOT of PSU?
ReplyDeleteTurnpike Commissioner since 2002, SEPTA board member since 1995 and now SEPTA chair, and legal Beer Cartel owner BucksCo Republican Pat Deon is innocent until proven guilty.
ReplyDeleteThere is no evidence he heard or saw anything that would have alerted him to such outrageously illegal activity just as Speaker Smith knew nothing of John Perzel's $10,000,000 computer contract heist or the other $10, 000, the Republican House Campaign Committee stole from the taxpayers.
Bob you forgot part casino license owner as well.
ReplyDelete(Interesting how all the insiders all got to wet their beaks on that one!)
Republicans always much more subtle in their thievery of the system. After all they are entitled as a matter of right as opposed to the lumbering and oaf like democrats who usually settle for the crumbs but act that drunken sailors when they get a shot.
UN PRESIDENT TIM KALEMKARIAN, US PRESIDENT TIM KALEMKARIAN, US SENATE TIM KALEMKARIAN, US HOUSE TIM KALEMKARIAN: BEST MAJOR CANDIDATE.
ReplyDelete