Former state Rep. Mike Veon, now serving time in prison for his role in the Bonusgate scandal, was back in the news last week. With his appeal of his original restitution order, the former Democratic House powerbroker reminded voters of the arrogance of some lawmakers who treat taxpayers' money as their own. Veon and other lawmakers are also a reminder of the need for the news media, watchdog groups and citizens to keep an eye on Harrisburg.

At Veon's sentencing following his Bonusgate conviction, the judge ordered him to pay restitution of $100,000. His lawyers appealed that amount, but when the judge was presented with the amount of money prosecutors say Veon diverted for political purposes, mostly for bonuses to Democratic House staffers who worked on campaigns, the judge upped the restitution figure to nearly $1.9 million.

While that figure might accurately reflect the amount of taxpayer funds diverted for political purposes, Veon's restitution tab should be redirected.

Any money spent for Veon's personal benefit, which is probably a fairly small percentage of the total, should be repaid by the former lawmaker. But the bulk of the $1.9 million should be repaid by the state House Democratic caucus, which represents those who benefited most from the Bonusgate scheme. All campaigning efforts of House Democrats should have been paid with campaign money, not taxpayer money.

An alternate approach would be to break down the $1.9 million so that it is repaid by each of the Democratic House members who benefited from Bonusgate campaign efforts — both those who won as well as those who lost elections.

Because Veon is serving a six- to 14-year sentence in state prison and is reportedly in a dire financial situation, the chances of his repaying the $1.9 million are slim. If the state expects to get any significant amount of the money back, the House Democrats should be billed.

If such a plan looks as though it is too lenient for Veon, there will be another chance for Veon to take on a substantial restitution tab early next year when he faces charges related to alleged misuse of funds by a nonprofit organization he created called Beaver Initiative for Growth (BIG).

Veon and a former aide will face charges of misusing some of the $10 million in mostly state grant money that was channeled from taxpayers to BIG, where Veon was one of two people on the board of directors for much of the now-defunct organization's history and had near total control over how the money was spent.

Promoted as an economic development agency for the Beaver area, earlier reports suggest that most of the money BIG spent was for overhead, salaries and also for fees to consultants, many of whom were generous contributors to Democrats' political campaigns.

The Bonusgate trial helped voters understand how Veon and others used taxpayer funds to pay for various election activities. Likewise, the Veon trial focused on BIG should reveal how taxpayers' money was spent by Veon — and how much was spent on economic development in Veon's district versus how much was spent to benefit Veon's friends, political cronies or campaign contributors.

Veon's alleged misuse of taxpayer funds through BIG is reminiscent of former state Sen. Vince Fumo, D-Philadelphia, and his misuse of a nonprofit agency called Citizens Alliance for Better Neighborhoods. Fumo is serving time in prison following conviction on charges of corruption and misuse of funds.

Veon might not be highly visible these days, given his residency in state prison. But his role in both the Bonusgate scandal and the alleged abuses in his pet nonprofit, BIG, should both be well understood — so they will never happen again.