HARRISBURG — The one-time chief of staff to a former Pennsylvania lawmaker testified Thursday that state employees looked for minor legislative duties back in the home district so they could get reimbursed for expenses while campaigning there.

Jeff Foreman, on the stand for a second day in the criminal trial of former House Democratic Whip Mike Veon and three of his former aides, said employee trips around the time of the May 2005 primary were primarily campaign-related, even though he wrote a letter at the time justifying those costs as legitimate legislative expenses.

He said Veon's staff would use some minor legislative work, such as attendance at informational events for seniors or visits to the district office, so that the General Assembly would pay their travel between Harrisburg and Veon's Western Pennsylvania home.

Foreman, the second person to testify in the case, is among seven people connected to the House Democratic caucus who pleaded guilty last month and are cooperating with the state attorney general's office.

Veon, Brett Cott, Annamarie Perretta-Rosepink and Steve Keefer are charged with theft, conspiracy and conflict of interest in what prosecutors say was an effort to illegally fund campaign efforts with state resources and legislative employees.

As Foreman discussed a series of e-mails to and from Veon and other Veon staffers, defense lawyer Dan Raynak periodically pointed out that some of them were sent outside of the normal 9-to-5 work week, sometimes late at night or on weekends. The issue of whether campaign work was funded by the state payroll is central to the case.

Senior Deputy Attorney General E. Marc Costanzo told reporters that Foreman's testimony was "a little monotonous but what you're seeing pounded away, over and over again, is e-mail after e-mail after e-mail detailing exactly what they were doing, why they were doing it and who was involved."