HARRISBURG — A former top-ranking House Democratic staff aide testified Wednesday about the variety of ways caucus leaders tapped into the public treasury to run campaigns, from funding a blast e-mail program and researching weaknesses in Republican candidates to dispatching state workers to canvass door-to-door.

Mike Manzo told jurors in the public corruption trial of former Rep. Mike Veon and three former House Democratic aides that he conferred regularly with Veon about campaign matters, often during work hours at the Capitol.

In one episode, Manzo said, Veon came to him in 2004, saying the House Democrats had the means to launch a legal challenge to presidential candidate Ralph Nader's nominating petitions, prompting Manzo to assign another staffer to oversee it.

A dozen House Democratic employees worked on the petitions inside the Capitol, Manzo said, in an effort that proved successful.

Manzo said Veon also gave his approval to letting caucus employee Eric Buxton leave his state job and set up a private company that contracted with the caucus to create a mass e-mail system that had both campaign and legislative uses.

Manzo said Veon and Rep. Bill DeWeese, who at the time was Manzo's boss and the Democratic floor leader, both used that e-mail system to send out campaign messages to seek donations or tout upcoming public campaign events.

DeWeese said Wednesday he has "no recollection of authorizing any campaign activity utilizing commonwealth resources."

Also Wednesday, prosecutors and defense lawyers met at the judge's bench regarding what comments lawyers are allowed to make to the press about the case. Prosecutors said they were particularly concerned that one of the defense lawyers spoke about an exhibit that was ruled inadmissible regarding Attorney General Tom Corbett's campaign phone contacts with his own office.

Dauphin County Judge Richard Lewis directed all lawyers to stop talking about anything that is not admissible, said Senior Deputy Attorney General E. Marc Costanzo.

Veon and the former aides — Brett Cott, Stephen Keefer and Annamarie Perretta-Rosepink — are accused of theft, conspiracy and conflict of interest. Prosecutors say they were involved in a scheme to divert public resources for electioneering and other illegal purposes.