Files prompt grand jury to look at DeWeese again New information -- e-mail printouts and campaign donation spreadsheets

-- prompt fresh subpoenas Sunday, June 28, 2009 By Dennis B. Roddy and Tracie Mauriello, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette HARRISBURG -- A state grand jury is poring over the contents of a recently discovered box of files from a Capitol office, a find that has triggered renewed prosecutorial interest in longtime state Rep. Bill DeWeese, D-Greene. The files, described by those who have seen them as a collection of e-mail printouts, discuss political operations apparently from inside Mr. DeWeese's office at the time he served as state House minority leader. The grand jury inherited the ongoing investigation into the use of state employees and resources for political work that grew out of the state payroll bonus scandal. The data in the box also include campaign donation spreadsheets that appear to have been assembled on a state computer. The discovery of the new materials prompted a fresh round of subpoenas for current and former DeWeese staff members. A veteran of more than 30 years in the state House, Mr. DeWeese -- now House Democratic Whip -- has served as both the Democratic leader and, in the early 1990s, as speaker. The renewed scrutiny comes at the same time the attorney general is known to be investigating the actions of another former speaker, Republican John Perzel, of Philadelphia. The latest round of inquiries into the activities of Mr. DeWeese, who has steadfastly denied any wrongdoing, came as a seeming accident: a newly appointed Democratic caucus employee moving into an empty office earlier this year stumbled across a box of records left by a predecessor. Sources close to the investigation say the documents appear to suggest widespread campaign activity inside Mr. DeWeese's Harrisburg and district offices during state work hours. Walter Cohen, a former chief deputy attorney general representing Mr. D-e Weese, said he remains confident his client faces no charges. He has theorized that investigators are settling the questions raised in defense filings by former Minority

Whip Michael Veon, D-Beaver, who has argued that he is being selectively prosecuted for corruption when Mr. DeWeese also should have been charged. "It is totally appropriate and understandable that the attorney general's office would be speaking with staff people to learn what they can to respond to the allegations Mr. Veon raised in the 590-page document he filed," Mr. Cohen said. In the past two weeks almost all members of Mr. DeWeese's current staff have been summoned before the statewide grand jury. On Thursday, Michael Manzo, Mr. DeWeese's former chief of staff and one of the principal defendants in the payroll bonus charges, spent several hours before the grand jury where he was questioned about any role Mr. DeWeese might have played. Departing the grand jury, Mr. Manzo and his attorney, James Eisenhower, declined to comment. Four sources with firsthand knowledge of the discovery say the box contained printouts of Democratic caucus e-mails and was found by Nora Winkelman, a lawyer for the newly installed Democratic caucus leadership, as she moved into an office previously occupied by Michael Edmiston. Mr. Edmiston, while officially counsel for Mr. DeWeese in past years, acted as a top adviser to the former minority leader. He was moved to another position in a power shift eight years ago that put Mr. Manzo in control of the leader's office. According to sources, Ms. Winkelman found a box of printouts of e-mails dating to earlier this decade and stretching to 2004, some of them including responses by Mr. DeWeese. Several people who have seen the e-mails say some of them discuss plans to use caucus employees to press ballot challenges to candidates Mr. DeWeese did not want on the Pennsylvania ballot. Other e-mails reportedly included exchanges with staff at Mr. DeWeese's district office in Waynesburg, Greene County, outlining election work. Among those copied on e-mails was Kevin Sidella, who worked as an aide to Mr. DeWeese and who was granted immunity from prosecution in return for his cooperation. Mr. Sidella told investigators that he handled numerous partisan political chores while on Mr. DeWeese's staff, including fundraising duties for Mr. DeWeese's re-election campaigns.

Mr. Sidella was among those summoned to the grand jury where he was questioned about his work duties. His attorney, Nick Rodriguez-Cayro, declined to comment on his client's role. Two sources said he has stated that many of his work days, especially during election years, consisted primarily of political chores, notably raising funds for Mr. DeWeese's re-election. Mr. DeWeese's attorneys, in turn, have produced documents they say show Mr. Sidella doing extensive state-related work, notably overseeing Mr. De- Weese's appointments to state boards and commissions. Among documents being examined are a number discovered earlier by investigators for Attorney General Tom Corbett's office and later turned over to defense attorneys. They include a series of spreadsheets dating to 2006 that Mr. Sidella assembled, keeping track of Mr. DeWeese's campaign expenses and expenditures throughout a difficult re-election challenge. Computer time stamps suggest that the spreadsheets were likely assembled using software owned by the House Democratic Caucus -- a taxpayer-funded entity -- and a state computer. Mr. Sidella testified before the grand jury that he had assembled the spreadsheets at his state computer in Mr. DeWeese's office with Mr. DeWeese's knowledge. Another document under examination was an e-mail exchange in which Mr. Manzo and others discuss a last-minute electoral push on behalf of Mr. DeWeese during the final days of an election campaign. Investigators earlier had a copy of the original e-mail, on which Mr. DeWeese was copied. But sources close to the investigation said the recently discovered box turned up a reply that indicated Mr. DeWeese had read and replied to the e-mail, saying simply, "Wow -- thank you." Investigators are attempting to determine whether the extent of any political work by Mr. Sidella on Mr. DeWeese's behalf rises to the level of criminality if it can be established that Mr. DeWeese was aware of that work. For his part, Mr. DeWeese, through his attorneys, has repeatedly stated that Mr. Sidella, while employed by Mr. DeWeese's office, was supervised by Mr. Manzo.

The latest phase of the investigation grows out of a two-year probe into allegations that some top House members and aides deployed scores of state employees to campaign for Democratic candidates and then paid them with taxpayer-funded end-ofyear state performance bonuses. At the time the bonuses were revealed, Mr. DeWeese summoned a former Philadelphia prosecutor, William Chadwick, to Harrisburg to assemble details and reconstruct the origins of the bonuses, which amounted to nearly $2 million. Mr. DeWeese has steadfastly said that he was unaware of the bonus scheme and, in signing a letter sent with the checks, thought it was for roughly $400,000 in run-ofthe-mill seniority and performance bonuses for a handful of staff members. Last week, in the Capitol, he was overheard telling one acquaintance that he believed a couple of caucus members were angry at him for breaking an unwritten code by cooperating with prosecutors. The box containing the new material was forwarded by now Majority Leader Todd Eachus, D-Luzerne, who has been engaged in a protracted legal battle with Mr. DeWeese over files Mr. Chadwick gathered in the course of his in-house inquiry. Mr. Eachus, through a spokesman, declined to discuss the box or its contents other than to say he was cooperating with the attorney general.

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