CORBETT: DO AS I SAY, NOT AS I DO

Here at CasablancaPA, we are getting a kick out of the great information readers are sending us. The latest document really shows how hypocritical partisan Attorney General Tom Corbett's bonusgate investigation has become.

As everyone is well aware, Corbett uses several members of his official Office of Attorney General staff for campaign work. In fact, the Chief of Staff of the entire OAG, Brian Nutt, regularly moonlights as Corbett campaign manager (how the person in charge of the entire OAG can flit in and out of his state-paid duties so easily is a mystery to us.) Kevin Harley, OAG spokesperson, is also well known as Corbett's campaign spokesperson.

When questioned about how Corbett charged only Democrats for doing what is standard operating procedure for the OAG, Kevin Harley told the Lebanon Daily News:

“There’s a right way to do this, and a legal way, and that is what’s being done (in the attorney general’s office.)" - 7/20/09

It is very convenient for Corbett arbitrarily to define the way he operates as the "right way."

So, we're guessing that Corbett also arbitrarily decided that the "right way" to fundraise for his campaign is to send solicitations into Republican state legislators' official state offices in the Capitol.

Check it out for yourself here.

This is just one more example of the pervasive political activity in Republican legislative offices. And, more troubling, how equally culpable Corbett is.

Corbett clearly condones sending political solicitations to a state-funded office, where it is sorted and delivered by state-funded mailroom workers, opened and screened by a state-funded office worker, and read and considered either by a legislator on state time, or by a state-funded legislative aide on state time.

He may have gotten the idea to use the state-funded political postal service from the House Republican Campaign Committee, which used it to direct checks to the proper people in the Capitol. We sincerely doubt that Republicans Tom Killion, Nick Micozzie, Katie True or Rich Geist have been brought before a grand jury to explain why they directed some rather large donations to and from their state capitol offices.

We are increasingly skeptical that Corbett will bring any charges against Republicans -- certainly none that will "shock the conscience" as he promised in February of this year.

Heck, given the level of political activity Corbett thinks it is ok for state officials to conduct using state workers on state time, he probably won't even bring what we expected to be his window dressing charges against either former Republican Rep. Matt Wright or former Republican Rep. Brett Feese.

PAINTED INTO A CORNER

A concerted effort has begun to rescue partisan Republican Attorney General Tom Corbett from the political corner into which his bonusgate investigation has painted him.

It seems to us that Corbett or his tax-payer funded campaign aides, Brian Nutt and Kevin Harley, have been working hard to win over the editorial board of an important newspaper for a GOP gubernatorial primary candidate.

Today's Pittsburgh Tribune Review editorial "Beating Up Corbett: To What End?" emphatically defended Corbett and his investigation:

"Corbett has made great strides in his investigation and he's done an admirable job of keeping politics out of it."

We know the Tribune-Review is the official GOP party organ in Pennsylvania, but this stretches even its editorial page's credibilty.

How does Colin McNickol, the Trib's editorial page editor, or anyone else know whether or not "great strides" have been made? Has he or someone else at the Tribune-Review been talking with someone in Corbett's office/campaign?

Because without some special (and illegally provided) information from Corbett or his investigators, the fact no one has been charged with bonusgate related charges in over a year doesn't sound like any "strides" have been made by Corbett and his team.

This week, the message from the Corbett campaign has taken an abrupt turn.

Here is Corbett in February of this year:

“I am shocked at the cost of what it takes to run the legislature, and when we get through what we’re doing right now and we make announcements, I think it will shock the conscience of people.” – KYW Radio February 19, 2009

Compare that with his comments Monday night at a fundraiser for his campaign in Williamsport:

"Corbett, who has come under criticism for failing to prosecute Republicans while going after House Democrats in the so-called 'Bonusgate Scandal,' said he never promised to pursue members of his own party. 'What I have vowed to do is complete the investigation,' he said. 'I'm not worrying about the issue of partisanship.'" -- Williamsport Gazette August 18, 2009

Finally, Gerlach's attack on Corbett for concurrently conducting his bonusgate investigation while running for governor didn't elicit the normal response from Corbett's team.

By now, we've all grown used to the pap from Corbett or Harley or Nutt assuring us that the investigation is ongoing and they expect more arrests. Here is a typical statement:

"The overall investigation is continuing, and the attorney general has said from the very beginning that he anticipates more arrests coming in this case." – Kevin Harley to the Patriot News June, 11, 2009

Following the Gerlach attack on Wednesday, Brian Nutt couldn't even muster up "the investigation is continuing" and didn't come near to saying there are anticipated arrests.

It is highly unlikely that Corbett will ignore all the evidence and not bring charges against Republicans.

But the signs this week are that Corbett is beginning to distance himself from his earlier promises and beginning to set the stage for some less than "shocking" indictments.

NUTT'S SPIN

Today, Congressman Jim Gerlach ratcheted up the heat on partisan Republican Attorney General Tom Corbett today by calling on Corbett to give up his gubernatorial effort if he intends to continue with his bonusgate investigation.

Remember, we're all waiting for the Republican charges Corbett has promised are going to "shock the conscience."

Here at CasablancaPa, we are really enjoying the spin that tax-payer funded Corbett political operative Brian Nutt is spouting today:

“We all expected better from Jim Gerlach. Clearly he is trying to take a page from John Morganelli’s unsuccessful playbook from last year, a tactic that voters clearly saw through when they re-elected Tom Corbett with more votes than any Republican candidate in Pennsylvania history. Pennsylvania families can be assured that Tom Corbett will continue to diligently fight corruption, fraud and waste no matter where it is found.” -- Capitolwire 8/19/09

There are two things that stick out in Nutt's spin.

First, Nutt is right that Gerlach is echoing Morganelli. And, yes, it would appear through the ballot box that voters were giving Corbett the benefit of the doubt when it came to his conduct of the bonusgate investigation...at that time.

Now, over a year since Corbett arrested only Democrats, it is disingenous for Corbett to say he is above reproach even though he still hasn't indicted any Republicans. Everyone has been waiting for Corbett to drop the other proverbial (and "shocking") shoe.

Second, it is very important to note that up until this week, Corbett has said repeatedly that the investigation is on-going and that he expected to bring more charges. In his statement today, Nutt doesn't follow that line. Rather, Nutt doesn't promise indictments. Instead, Nutt is follwing Corbett's new (and troubling) bonusgate message from earlier this week when Corbett said to his guests at his fundraiser in Williamsport as reported by the Williamsport Gazette:

"Corbett, who has come under criticism for failing to prosecute Republicans while going after House Democrats in the so-called "Bonusgate Scandal," said he never promised to pursue members of his own party. "What I have vowed to do is complete the investigation," he said. "I'm not worrying about the issue of partisanship." -- 8/18/09

Corbett's investigation is off the rails and, in the words of Republican Senator Eichelberger, "a joke." At best, Corbett is likely to indict some low-hanging Republican fruit like former Rep. Matt Wright or former Rep. Brett Feese.

Here at CasablancaPa, we are still very skeptical that Corbett will live up to his promise of a "shocking" set of indictments...Perzel, Preski, Hanley, Jubelirer, Brightbill, Long, O'Berry, Crompton.

COURIER-EXPRESS TO CORBETT: "WITHDRAW"

Denny Bonavita, the editor and publisher of Northwest Pennsylvania's Tri-County Courier-Express, published an editorial today urging partisan Republican Attorney General Tom Corbett to drop his bid for the GOP gubernatorial nomination next year.

Bonavita cites concerns that the prosecution appears partisan and that the entire investigation "is going nowhere."

Here's the editorial in its entirety:

Corbett should drop unannounced bid

Attorney General Tom Corbett should "take one for the team" and abandon his all-but-announced campaign for the Republican nomination as Pennsylvania's next governor.

The "team" is not Pennsylvania's Republicans.

The "team" is - us. Republicans. Democrats. Independents. Unregistered residents.

Two years - and probably $10 million - ago, Corbett announced an investigation that produced charges, but no convictions, against a dozen staffers and one former lawmaker from the House Democratic caucus.

The investigation is going nowhere.

Even fellow Republicans sense the frustration. State Sen. John Eichelberger last week labeled the investigation a "joke," because its going-nowhere status leaves Corbett vulnerable to the charge that he is playing political games, not prosecuting criminals.

That could be bad for Corbett next year, either in the primary election - if Republicans field credible opponents - or in the general election.

But it could be worse for the rest of us.

Suppose that next year, you are a juror in one of the trials spawned by Corbett's investigation. Suppose you add 2 plus 2 in your head, court testimony notwithstanding, and you get 5 (or maybe 4). You think the prosecution was unfair to begin with. How impartial will you be? How honest will a verdict be?

Corbett is a big boy. He knew what he was getting into when he sought the attorney general's job. He knew that some aspects of that job could boost his political career afterward - or damage it.

We think Corbett owes it to the taxpayers who have paid his salary to stay with the investigation until it concludes, or until his term ends.

And, to make it clear that the investigation was not political in nature, Corbett should withdraw his name from consideration as a candidate next year for governor.

BACKPEDALING

In response to a rare question from a journalist about his failure to target a single Republican in his epic Bonusgate investigation, Gubernatorial Candidate Tom Corbett abandoned his usual "investigation is continuing" dodge:

Corbett, who has come under criticism for failing to prosecute Republicans while going after House Democrats in the so-called "Bonusgate Scandal," said he never promised to pursue members of his own party. "What I have vowed to do is complete the investigation," he said. "I'm not worrying about the issue of partisanship."

Maybe failure to prosecute Republicans is what Corbett meant when he said our consciences would be shocked. Maybe the estimated $10 million his investigation has cost the taxpayers is what he meant by the stunning amount of money involved.

Most of us at Team CasablancaPA believe Corbett never intended to charge a single Republican. We disagree whether public pressure will force his hand. What none of us can figure out, though, is how he got away with pretending charges were imminent a full year ago.

IMITATION = FLATTERY?

We have just been informed that Signor Ferrari has attracted an imposter!

We would be most interested to hear from any of our readers who have received correspondence from someone claiming to be Signor Ferrari.

Che macello! We hope this is not the work of a sinister conspiracy!

BIZARRO BIG

In the comics, Bizarro is a supervillain who is the opposite of Superman. In the comical mind of Gubernatorial Candidate Tom Corbett, Bizarro BIG is the opposite of BIG.

BIG is, of course, the Beaver Initiative for Growth, a nonprofit that received taxpayer dollars to fund economic development projects in Beaver County.

Bizarro BIG is the Blairsville Improvement Group, a nonprofit that received taxpayer dollars to fund economic development projects in Blairsville, Indiana County.

They sound awfully similar, even though Bizarro BIG was much smaller in scale than BIG. So, what makes the Indiana County BIG Bizarro? Simple: BIG's patrons in the General Assembly, Rep. Mike Veon and Sen. Gerald LaValle, are Democrats, and Bizarro BIG's patrons, Sen. Don White and Rep. Dave Reed, are Republicans. In fact, Republican Reed is the former Executive Director of Bizarro BIG. Therefore, BIG's activities are criminally suspect, while Bizarro BIG's are hunky-dory.

Obviously, no one bothered to explain to Blairsville's police chief and the new president of the board of Bizarro BIG's directors that Republican-sponsored nonprofits that receive state funds are allowed to do whatever they want without scrutiny.

CasablancaPA has already provided a long list of examples: Rep. Nick Micozzi and the Clifton Heights Economic Corp., former Rep. Gene McGill and the Historic Property Preservation Institute, Rep. John Perzel and the Mayfair Community Development Corporation and the 8001 Torresdale Corporation, and former U.S. Sen. (and please, oh, please, the 2012 Republican nominee for President) Rick Santorum and Operation Good Neighbor.

If only she'd heeded the Rules According to Corbett, Bizarro BIG board president Margaret Kinter would have known how silly and unreasonable she was being when she requested Bizarro BIG's financial documents and asked that Bizarro BIG be audited.

Why, that's as outrageous as expecting Corbett to investigate the largest legislative bonus in the entire General Assembly that was awarded to the Senate Republicans' most prolific campaign operative!

The only financial information anyone needs to know about Bizarro BIG is that Sen. White contributed $8,500 to Corbett's campaign.

OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF BABES AND REPUBLICANS

With the indictments of 12 Democrats safely under his belt and the Republican gubernatorial primary just months away, Tom Corbett thought he'd be sitting pretty by now.

Instead, his undeclared candidacy is crumbling around him.

"The whole thing's been a joke, in my opinion," Republican Senator John Eichelberger of Altoona told the Tribune-Review.

Those indictments of which Corbett's so proud? "A first-year law student could have prosecuted" them, Eichelberger sneers.

With Election Day looming, anything Corbett does will seem politically-motivated, Eichelberger points out. And that's coming from a guy who urged Corbett to launch the investigation.

What could have prompted Eichelberger's surprising attack? As CasablancaPA noted earlier this week, Curt Schroeder's decision to hire former Senate Republican taxpayer-funded political guru Mike Long for his congressional campaign is a clear sign that Long is not on Corbett's chopping block.

Eichelberger, like anyone else with a functioning cerebral cortex, recognizes that an investigation of Senate Republicans that doesn't target Long is no investigation at all.

While there are those who delight in Corbett's obvious partisanship - "I'm confident in (Corbett) and I think he has handled this well," McCandless Republican Senator Jane Orie gushed - those with more foresight are justifiably embarrassed.

Furthermore, as Senate Republicans try to cast themselves as cost-cutters and belt-tighteners, the investigation's estimated $10 million-and-counting price tag is mortifying. It's tough to make the case for laying off thousands of state workers and withholding school funding when the bloated legislature is indirectly dumping truckloads of taxpayer loot into Corbett's gubernatorial campaign.

We still don't know whether any Republicans will at long last be indicted, even a token effort for appearances' sake. But Republicans are now being forced to choose: will they stand on the side of Corbett's blatant partisan recklessness or will they grasp at a shred of dignity?

CORBETT TO CURT SCHRODER AND MIKE LONG: ALL CLEAR!

PA2010.Com reports today that Republican State Rep. Curt Schroder brought onto his congressional campaign team Mike Long to handle the direct mail in his primary bid.

This is just another sign that even the most obvious suspects for investigation and indictment in partisan Republican Attorney General Tom Corbett's bonusgate investigation have nothing to worry about whenever Corbett finally gets around to his much anticipated round two of indictments.

As we all remember, Corbett told the Tribune Review in February that they will "shock the conscience" of Pennsylvanians. Now, we can all erase Long from this list of possible arrests.

Corbett or his taxpayer-funded campaign manager, Brian Nutt, obviously gave the all-clear sign to Schroder that he was perfectly safe in bringing Long onto his campaign team with no fear of any splashback due to an indictment of Long.

After all, why would Schroder who says on his campaign website that he is "one of the top reformers in the General Assembly" risk the embarassment of bringing onto his campaign team Mike Long who received $41,405 in bonuses for 2005 and 2006 -- more than any other state legislative employee.

At the same time Long received these astronomical bonuses, the media referred to him as the Senate Republicans':

-- "chief campaign strategist" (Post Gazette)
-- "political guru" (Patriot News)
-- "a homegrown version of White House political czar Karl Rove" (Morning Call)
-- "top political aide" (Capitolwire)

Only the most gullible will deny what most in the Capitol have know for years...Long (and other well-known Senate Republican political operatives like Drew Crompton and Suzanne O'Berry) were given bonuses for the campaign work they did for their bosses.

In a letter to the Pottstown Mercury on 9/6/2008, Schroder gave his reasons for wanting to convene a state constitutional convention:

"Bonuses for legislative staffers, grand jury investigations and corruption charges against state officials have shaken the public's confidence in our state government...That is why I am calling for a constitutional convention."

Here at CasablancaPA, we guess by hiring Long, Schroder isn't worried about charges of hypocrisy either.

EACHUS BONUSGATE DOCUMENTS POSTED BY SIGHTS ON PENNSYLVANIA

The conservative NEPA based political blog "Sights on Pennsylvania" has begun to post selections of the Mike Veon selective prosecution motion. Check out today's post here.

We're not sure why "Sights" replaces Majority Leader Todd Eachus' name with "Legislator X" in his posts, but anyone who has seen the complete Veon filing will recognize these as from the Eachus sections.

After reading just these couple emails (and there are many, many more in the Veon filing), the question isn't "Why didn't Eachus and these staff people get charged with crimes?"

Rather, given that these documents were provided to Veon by Corbett as part of the discovery process of the criminal proceedings, it is "How could Corbett know all this and not even interview Eachus, let alone subpoena or indict him?"

Remember, here is Brett Marcy, Eachus' spokesperson in the Times Leader on 7/7/09:

"HDC spokesman Brett Marcy said Eachus was not among the legislators who testified before the grand jury, nor was he interviewed by any law enforcement officials regarding the Bonusgate case."

What kind of investigation has Attorney General Tom Corbett been conducting? He has said repeatedly that he will let his investigators follow the evidence where it leads...why does it always seem to stop abruptly when it comes to anyone but Veon?

HAS MEEHAN DERAILED "SHOCKING" REPUBLICAN INDICTMENT EXPRESS?

Here at CasablancaPA, we figured this week's passage of a "bridge budget" would suffice as the green light for partisan Republican Attorney General Tom Corbett to announce his much anticipated and long-promised indictments of Republicans in his Bonusgate investigation.

There have been no Republican indictments since Corbett started the bonus investigation nearly 2 1/2 years ago or since he arrested 12 Democrats more than a year ago. Don't forget Corbett's giddy prediction regarding his next round of indictments:

"[The next Bonusgate charges] will shock the conscience of people...You will be stunned. It's the amount of money involved." (Tribune Review 2/20/09)

For a normally boring guy, Corbett sure built up some scintillating expectations!

Unfortunately, the Republican Indictment Express was derailed yesterday when former US Attorney/Fumo vanquisher Pat Meehan ended his nascent gubernatorial bid and endorsed Tom Corbett.

Now that Corbett doesn't need to out-prosecute Meehan in the political corruption category, he is much less likely to hammer the folks that have provided most of the funding and support to put him in office as Attorney General...and that will help him secure the Republican gubernatorial nomination in 2010.

Corbett has raised millions of dollars from Republican state legislators like Bob Jubelirer, Chip Brightbill and John Perzel, plus loads of contributions from GOP National Committeeman Bob Asher and Republican party committees. (Capitolwire, 10/17/07)

Recent polling shows that the vast majority Pennsyvlania Republican primary voters aren't looking for "a prosecutor who has experience dealing with crime and political corruption."

Knowing this, and with Meehan's endorsement, Corbett is likely to make the political fundraising calculation to take an early public relations hit (that will soon fade away in the minds of reporters, editorial writers and, most importantly, Republican voters) by bringing no or at best very weak Republican indictments that won't antagonize his Republican ATMs.

Instead of a "shocking" set of indictments comparable to the Democratic presentment from over a year ago, Corbett is likely to throw up his arms and say he doesn't have the evidence to prosecute Republicans -- as he did for York County DA Stan Rebert and Bedford County DA Bill Higgins.

At best, the much-anticipated Republican GOP indictments will be flimsy window dressing -- think former Rep. Matt Wright and Lisa Deon or former Rep. Brett Feese and his shady legal practice on state time.

Some of us at CasablancaPA still think Corbett is going to let Republicans off the hook completely. The majority here, however, believe Corbett has to do something and soon. We're hearing indictments this upcoming week (of course, all the Harrisburg blow-hards have been saying "next week" every week since July 2008.)

Regardless of whether or not Corbett and his keystone kops investigators indict Republicans, be prepared to be underwhelmed.

"CHECKING THE BALANCE" GIVES CORBETT A MATH LESSON

The folks at "Checking the Balance" do some ciphering with the figures in the Tribune Review's latest report on the astronomical legal bills the legislative caucuses have run up in their efforts to appease partisan Republican Attorney General Tom Corbett.

It doesn't take a slide rule to figure out that Corbett's botched investigation has not only let the Republicans off the hook, but has allowed them to do it by having the taxpayers pick up the legal tab.

ANTICI ... PATION

We can't decide who has been more frustrated with the state budget impasse: state workers who haven't been paid, or Gubernatorial Candidate Tom Corbett, who's been waiting to get the media's undivided attention before he announces his highly-anticipated next round of Bonusgate indictments.

The longer he waits to file charges, the greater the public's expectations. Even he has got to be afraid by now that what he's got won't live up to the hype, which grows even stronger with every day he waits.

After more than two and a half years of investigation and declaring how shocked all our consciences will be, Corbett has cobbled himself some pretty enormous shoes to fill.

It's clear a real state budget isn't forthcoming anytime soon. Will the "stop-gap" budget present enough of a lull for him to lure the media with another dog-and-pony show? How long can he wait before he is forced to throw all his careful public relations planning out the window for a Hail Mary play?

Even worse for Corbett, someone is now watching every move he makes, ready to pounce at every misstep.

We know you've been hearing it for more than a year, but: any day now! This time for real!

BUILDING EXPECTATIONS

"House Republicans received a subpoena for documents in the long-running investigation into bonuses for legislative employees...." Associated Press, Oct. 23, 2007

"Attorney General Tom Corbett's yearlong probe of legislative operations entered new turf this week when his investigators subpoenaed records from the state Senate's majority Republican caucus." Patriot News, Feb. 13, 2008

"In a widening investigation into allegations of government corruption, prosecutors have interviewed 20 to 30 House Republican staffers in the last two weeks..." Post-Gazette, Aug. 8, 2008

"The other shoe could drop as soon as this week. Look for Republicans wearing handcuffs like the 12 Democrats did at their arraignments in July." Tribune-Review, Sept. 14, 2008

"When the next criminal charges come in a public corruption investigation of the Legislature, they will 'shock the conscience of people' because of the staggering amount of tax money involved, Attorney General Tom Corbett said Thursday. 'You will be stunned,' he told the Tribune-Review. 'It's the amount of money involved.'" Tribune-Review, Feb. 20, 2009

"At this point even some Republicans and taxpayer watchdog groups are critical -- at least privately -- that nothing more has happened in a year." Patriot News, July 12, 2009

"...the fact that his investigation has yielded no Republicans and is now bumping into his own gubernatorial ambitions only further clouds a murky Harrisburg picture." Patriot News, July 15, 2009

LESSONS LEARNED SO FAR

Nobody cares if you do it.

Nobody cares if you get "caught."

They only care if you get indicted.

While the 31-month-and-counting Bonusgate saga holds many lessons for Capitol denizens, the public reaction to Mike Veon's ill-fated motion to dismiss the case based on "selective prosecution" has taught one of the most interesting.

The judge denied the motion, saying not that Veon wasn't singled out, but that singling him out isn't illegal. C'est la vie. This isn't a lesson in the law.

In support of his motion, Veon filed hundreds of pages of evidence, which he obtained from prosecutors through the discovery process, showing other lawmakers and staff aides did what Veon and others are indicted for doing.

These "revelations" were greeted by press and public alike - the same press and public clamoring for Veon to be hanged from the highest tree - with a collective yawn.

Are there consequences - and we're not talking about indictment - for doing what Veon did? Only if you're Veon.

The evidence shows that - among other, more chilling misdeeds - Bill DeWeese approved bonuses for political work and used a state-funded contractor to campaign. Veon and others face multiple felony charges - not for similar activities, but for these very bonuses and this very contractor. Has DeWeese been drummed out of his leadership position? Has he faced the outrage of his colleagues? Has he endured even a single negative editorial from his hometown newspaper (whose former editorial page editor now receives a state paycheck to sing DeWeese's praises)? He did it. He got "caught." But he didn't get indicted. So, who cares?

The evidence shows that Revenue Secretary Steve Stetler, while running the House Democratic Campaign Committee, used legislative staffers to conduct opposition research. Veon and others face multiple felonies - not for similar activities, but for this very opposition research. Has Stetler been asked to resign? Have his colleagues denounced him? Has Gene Stilp floated his giant inflatable pink pig outside Stetler's office? He did it. He got "caught." But he didn't get indicted. So, who cares?

Veon's motion included evidence that Sen. David Argall, while a House member, held political meetings in his district office and kept nominating petitions on hand for constituents to sign when they visited the office, seeking his assistance. According to the documents: Argall and Reps. Merle Philips, Dick Hess, Mario Civera, Paul Clymer, Richart Geist and Mike Turzai collected full per diems while using their contingency accounts to purchase meals. Geist and Rep. Nick Micozzi accepted campaign contributions in their state offices. Rep. Dan Frankel supervised staff coordinating political work with a state contractor. Dozens of other staff and members engaged in political work using state resources and on state time.

Pink pigs? Public denouncements? Indignant editorials? Shunned by colleagues? Demands for resignations? Nope. They did it. They got "caught." But they didn't get indicted. So, who cares?

Months ago, when evidence of DeWeese's complicity first came to light, editorial writers across the state seemed convinced that his indictment was imminent. They didn't seem to realize that, although they were learning of this evidence for the first time, Gubernatorial Candidate Tom Corbett had been aware of it for more than a year. When the indictment failed to materialize, were they outraged? They're not even curious.

Corbett isn't the only one with double standards. As this is CasablancaPA, we'll just say we're shocked - shocked - to find that hypocrisy is going on all over the state.

"CHECKING THE BALANCE" ASKS IF CORBETT'S LUCK CAN HOLD

"Checking the Balance" asks today whether or not partisan Republican Attorney General Tom Corbett is lucky enough to get through his bonusgate investigation without announcing any charges against Republicans and still be considered a viable gubernatorial candidate. Check it out here.

LAGROTTA JOINS THE BLOGOSPHERE

A CasablancaPA reader alerted us to former Rep. Frank LaGrotta's blog that started up a few days ago. You can find it here.

We're looking forward to checking in on it frequently to see if he has any thoughts or insight regarding partisan Republican Attorney General Tom Corbett's bonusgate investigation, especially since he was collateral damage from Bill DeWeese's effort to throw everyone under the bus in order to save himself.

We're wondering if Todd Eachus, Keith McCall, Josh Shapiro, Dan Frankel and many other members will meet the same fate as LaGrotta. Based on the information found in Mike Veon's recently denied motions (all of it provided to Tom Corbett by DeWeese), it looks like the have reason to worry.

HERALD STANDARD ASKS CORBETT: "WHY THE DELAY?"

Today, the Uniontown Herald Standard editorial board questions the motivation behind partisan Republican Attorney General Tom Corbett's delay in bringing bonusgate related charges against Republicans. You can check it out here. They raise serious questions that Corbett will need to answer very, very soon.

JUSTICE FOR RENT

Here at Casablancapa, we've been following the on-going drama surrounding Senate Minority Leader Bob Mellow's district office rental agreement that resulted in Mellow and his family receiving over $200,000 in rent money.

It is of keen interest because the Mellow situation is a perfect example of how partisan Republican Attorney General Tom Corbett's woefully mismanaged and arbitrary bonus investigation can and will inhibit the investigation of even the most blantant violations of the law.

First, we should discuss how Mellow's self-dealing is clearly illegal.

Mellow renting a building for his district office from a company owned either by himself or his wife is illegal. The ethics law can't be any clearer. Read it for yourself here.

And, if you think there is any ambiguity, the Ethics Commission spelled out why Mellow's arrangement is illegal in a 1989 ruling involving former State Representative Italo Cappabianca's attempts to collect rent for his district office, as well as collect a 10% commission through the travel agency he owned by purchasing airline tickets for his travel to and from Erie for legislative business.

Mellow attempts to throw up a smoke screen of confusion in an effort to say he didn't break the law by trotting out Senate Resolution 2 of 2009.

However, this ploy is dripping with disingenousness when you consider that in 1990, CJ Hafner, Mellow's chief counsel, was part of an ethics ruling seeking to revisit the 1989 Cappabianca ruling. Hafner was turned down and told unequivocally that a member of the state legislature could not pay themselves rent money for their district offices.

This would all seem reason enough for Attorney General Tom Corbett to investigate Mellow for his conflict of interest, but that is not all. You see, Corbett has a keen interest in how members of the state legislature pay for their district offices.

In March, Corbett charged Mike Veon with three felonies (see the charges here) for splitting his district office rent with the Beaver Initiative for Growth (read the relevant section of the grand jury presentment here.)

So, if Corbett believes Veon's district office rental arrangements rose to the level of illegality, then surely Corbett will launch a full investigation of Mellow and begin dragging the Senator and relevant staff into the Grand Jury?

Don't count on it.

Corbett's train wreck of an investigation of the bonuses has backed him into a corner of political expediency for his gubernatorial campaign.

Even though Mellow clearly should be investigated and charged with a crime, Corbett's political handlers are telling him that he can't because he has yet to charge any Republicans after more than a year after arresting Veon and eleven other Democrats.

Political expendiency is preventing Corbett from charging any Republicans for bonus related crimes ahead of the GOP primary because the Republican legislative caucuses and their leaders have been among his largest financial supporters and they in turn are very close with Bob Asher, Corbett's top political adviser and donor.

Consequently, Corbett can't investigate and charge Mellow because his blatant disregard for Republican illegalities would be highlighted even further if he arrests yet another Democrat without any Republicans or even Republican window dressing.

Corbett thought he would have an open and shut case when it came to arresting only Democrats in relation to bonusgate. One that would make for great tv commercials and glowing editorials. Instead, his political miscalculations and the ineptitude of his investigators have made it possible for blatant violations of the law like Mellow's to go uninvestigated and uncharged.

THE NEWS THE NEWS IGNORES

We finally got around to reading the latest court filing in the Bonusgate case, and we couldn't disagree more with the Patriot-News' lazy and shallow characterization of the information as Mike Veon pointing a finger at other legislative leaders.

Veon is pointing a finger, and it is aimed squarely at Gubernatorial Candidate Tom Corbett.

The first and most important section of the "supplement to various omnibus pretrial motions" accuses Corbett of an "amateurish attempt" to conceal important evidence from the defendants.

Although the law requires the prosecution to turn over to defendants both incriminating and exculpatory evidence, portions of an investigative report were redacted.

Fortunately for the defendants, Corbett's agents appear to have the computer skills of sixth-graders; the "redacted" sections in the electronic document actually were highlighted in black. Even the Post-Gazette managed to crack the code.

According to the court documents, the redacted portions of the report fall into five categories:

1) the apparently improper removal of computer equipment from the House Democratic Caucus by an information technology supervisor in December 2007. (Veon was no longer a caucus member in 2007).

2) the assignment of a House Democratic intern in February 2007 to destroy computer hard drives.

3) the assignment of a House Democratic intern to shred documents in the information technology department between December 2007 and January 2008.

4) interviews with at least four individuals who supplied "documentary evidence" to the prosecution; there is no explanation of what they said or what evidence they supplied.

5) a "systematic scheme" by the House Democratic Caucus to shred documents related to the investigation.

Veon's lawyers call the redactions "an effort to hide the fact that the Democrats who are colluding with the prosecutor to set up these Defendants were, at the same time, destroying or altering other evidence which presumably exculpates these Defendants and inculpates other individuals who were not selectively prosecuted."

In other words, Corbett allowed Bill DeWeese to pick and choose what evidence to turn over. He appears to have been fully aware that DeWeese's staff apparently tried to destroy evidence DeWeese didn't want turned over. But instead of prosecuting DeWeese and his staff, he helped them cover up their scheme by redacting all traces of it from his report.

Anyone have a logical explanation for any of this?