HARRISBURG — Former state Rep. Sean Ramaley was cleared of all charges Thursday in the first trial spawned by Pennsylvania's legislative corruption investigation.

The former two-term Democrat from Beaver County was accused of using a state job to run his first campaign out of a Western Pennsylvania legislative office in 2004.

A Dauphin County jury found the 34-year-old lawyer not guilty of four counts of theft and one count each of conspiracy and conflict of interest. Ramaley nodded his head slightly as the verdicts were being read, and then hugged his lawyers and his wife as the jury filed out.

He told reporters he felt "vindicated" by the jury's verdict, which came after about three hours of deliberation. He said he was not bitter and his immediate plans were to "spend some time in private life and enjoy my family."

"This was a big important day," Ramaley said. "I've been really humbled by the people who have stuck by me."

Senior Deputy Attorney General Anthony Krastek offered no apologies for the prosecution.

"It was based on the evidence as we believed it. We didn't get a verdict, but I'm happy with the job that we did," he said.

The government's position, Krastek said, was Ramaley "was not a bad man but that he got involved with a bad group of people. Apparently the jury was more thinking that he was a good man."