Pa. legislative bonus probe tops $5.8M
HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Legislature has burned through $5.8 million in taxpayer money so far on legal fees and other expenses stemming from an investigation into staff bonuses and potential misuse of public resources.
Nearly all the money was spent by the House Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate.
The total was calculated Thursday after the House Democrats disclosed their costs have reached $2.6 million. The House Democrats would not release the information without a formal Right-to-Know Law request, which The Associated Press submitted Jan. 9.
Senate Republicans have spent $1.4 million, House Republicans $1.8 million and Senate Democrats just $5,000. Senate Democrats also distributed the smallest amount in bonuses.
"On a personal level, I'm just kind of disgusted that the actions of a few have cost taxpayers so much," said House Majority Leader Todd Eachus, D-Luzerne. "Clearly the number is large."
The Legislature's expenses now far exceed the $3.7 million in bonuses that lawmakers said in early 2007 that they had doled out to employees over the prior two years. News of the bonuses triggered a criminal investigation.
Last summer 12 people connected to the House Democratic Caucus were charged with theft, conflict of interest and conspiracy. No legal expenses for the defendants have been paid since they were charged.
Prosecutors say legislative employees received bonuses for campaign work — some of it done on state time — and that public equipment and contracts were deployed to help win elections.
Attorney General Tom Corbett declined to comment Thursday on the amount the Legislature has spent. He said the investigation has resulted in a small amount of additional cost for his office — including overtime for investigators — but he did not provide a dollar figure.
"Our costs are not outlandish," he said shortly before appearing at a House Appropriations Committee hearing on the state budget. "We've contained them within the budget."
He said the probe has pushed other cases to the back burner, so he recently obtained court approval to add an investigative grand jury so the one in Harrisburg can focus on public corruption.
Democracy Rising PA co-founder Tim Potts, a reform advocate and frequent critic of the Legislature, said the $5.8 million figure shows how "corruption is always more expensive than integrity."
"You wonder what better uses there could be for that money," Potts said.
House Democrats, who gave out the most in bonuses, have spent $1.2 million since August. Their total costs include legal representation, consultant fees and new ethics training.
House Republicans paid out about $400,000 since the start of the year. Caucus spokesman Steve Miskin likened the investigation to a thorough audit.
Outside legal counsel for Senate Republicans cost $313,000 in December alone. The great majority of their bonus investigation expenses have been paid to two Philadelphia law firms. Senate GOP lawyer Steve MacNett said outside lawyers have helped conduct an internal investigation and ensure that paper and electronic records do not get destroyed.
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