Former lawmaker gets up to 5 years
By Associated Press
HARRISBURG — A judge today sentenced a former high-ranking Pennsylvania lawmaker to 18 months to 5 years in prison for his conviction on charges involving the illegal use of state employees to perform campaign work.
The sentencing of former state Rep. Stephen Stetler resolved the last of 25 public corruption cases that grew out of the more than five-year-old investigation of the Legislature by the state attorney general’s office.
In addition to the prison term, Dauphin County Judge Todd Hoover ordered Stetler to pay more than $466,000 in restitution and fines totaling $35,000.
Stetler, 63, who represented a district that includes York City for 16 years in the state House of Representatives, displayed no reaction following his sentencing for six felony counts that included conspiracy, conflict of interest and four counts of theft.
Thirteen Democrats and nine Republicans were convicted or pleaded guilty as a result of the investigation. Two defendants were acquitted and charges against another were dropped.
