HARRISBURG — A judge on Thursday threw out the corruption case against a former State Capitol power broker and his one-time aide, but prosecutors immediately vowed to refile charges.

Prosecutors had accused former Rep. Michael Veon of Beaver County and his former aide, Annamarie Perretta-Rosepink, of illegally diverting millions of taxpayer dollars through a nonprofit. But Harrisburg District Judge Joseph Solomon ruled after an eight-hour preliminary hearing that the Pennsylvania attorney general's office didn't have enough evidence against the pair.

Solomon told prosecutors they were just "a step or two short" of providing enough evidence to send the case to county court. He dismissed all six counts against Perretta-Rosepink and the 28 counts against Veon, who was the No. 2 ranking House Democrat before he lost re-election in 2006.

Prosecutors claimed the two siphoned tax money through the nonprofit Beaver Initiative for Growth by hiring consultants, renting office space and using the organization to accomplish Veon's personal, political and legislative objectives. They had been charged with theft, misapplication of entrusted property, conflict of interest and conspiracy.

"I wouldn't say (the case) was paper thin, I think it was less than that," said Veon attorney Dan Raynak.