Guilty or innocent?
The long-awaited corruption trial of state Rep. Bill DeWeese, D-Waynesburg, finally began this week in Dauphin County Court in Harrisburg.
DeWeese was initially charged in December 2009, and after numerous appeals and delays, a jury of seven women and five men was selected last week.
The trial, which is expected to last for three weeks, is being closely watched by political observers across the state as it’s guaranteed to unveil plenty of drama and theatrics. And the stakes couldn’t be higher.
On the one side is DeWeese, who is charged with six criminal counts stemming from allegations that he illegally used his legislative office and public employees to do campaign work for him.
The highest-ranking legislator to stand trial on charges resulting from an ongoing investigation by the attorney general’s office, DeWeese has been in the House for 35 years and spent years in Democratic leadership, even serving two years as House speaker.
If he’s convicted, DeWeese will almost certainly be expelled from the House and could very well be sentenced to serve time in a state prison.
On the other side is Gov. Tom Corbett. While Corbett won’t be appearing in the courtroom, he conducted the investigation leading to charges against DeWeese and other political leaders in both parties while serving as attorney general. He was elected governor, at least in part, because of those investigations, which have resulted in a number of convictions.
A guilty verdict in this case will certainly be seen as another feather in Corbett’s hat, while an acquittal could be seen as a setback for the governor, who has already had a rocky first year in office.
DeWeese has tried to make Corbett the focal point of the trial, claiming the governor has a political vendetta against him. He’s also claimed that there’s no substance to the charges, calling them “petty.”
While it’s hard to say if there’s any truth to the political vendetta charges, we completely disagree with him that the charges are “petty.” The charges go right to the heart of our Democratic form of government. If it’s true that DeWeese used taxpayer-paid employees to do campaign work, then it’s little wonder that he was able to defeat a succession of challengers over the years. In fact, that’s as serious as it gets in regards to our form of government. These charges should be troubling for everyone but especially for those who live in the 50th legislative district, which includes all of Greene County and parts of Fayette and Washington counties.
There’s no doubt that DeWeese faces a battle in his fight for freedom. Set to testify against him are Michael Manzo, a former chief of staff, and Sharon Rodavich, a former aide and co-defendant.
Manzo was indicted in the first round of “Bonusgate” arrests, but as part of a plea agreement he testified in the grand jury investigation which resulted in the charges being brought against DeWeese.
He told the grand jury that DeWeese employed Kevin Sidella solely as a campaign fundraiser. Under a grant of immunity, Sidella told the grand jury the same thing – and said his campaign work was done with DeWeese’s knowledge.
Rodavich, 56, pleaded guilty last week to one count each of conspiracy and conflict of interest while four counts of theft were dropped. As part of the plea agreement, she admitted to having helped DeWeese use public resources for campaign purposes.
The former supervisor of DeWeese’s day-to-day campaign efforts in his Waynesburg office, she insisted that workers spend much of their time on the campaign trail on behalf of their boss, according to the grand jury report. Co-workers also complained that Rodavich missed work a lot and when she did come to the office, she attended to personal tasks such as planning her daughter’s wedding.
While their testimony could be devastating for DeWeese, they will be scrutinized vigorously by DeWeese’s attorney William Costopoulos, a highly regarded Harrisburg defense attorney. How they stand up to his questioning will play a large part in whether or not DeWeese is found guilty or acquitted.
It will also be interesting to see if DeWeese himself takes the stand and testifies on his own behalf. Under no legal obligation to do so, his decision to testify or not will be a huge gamble. Known for his expansive vocabulary and colorful manner of speaking, his testimony could very well convince the jury of his innocence or guilt.
DeWeese should be assured the presumption that he’s innocent. It will be up to the prosecutors to convince the jury that he’s guilty, but even if DeWeese is acquitted, there should be no celebrating by local residents. DeWeese could be re-elected for eons, but his future as an influential political powerbroker in Harrisburg is cloudy at best. He will always have the taint of political corruption hanging over his head, and at the age of 61, he doesn’t have much time to reinvent himself.
It’s all a shame, because DeWeese showed real promise when sent to Harrisburg at the age of 26 in 1976. Intelligent and charismatic, he could have done so much more for the residents of his district and the commonwealth. Instead, he spent much of his time in the state’s capital, working backroom deals that benefited mostly himself and fellow legislators.
While he did some good, such as his key role in passing the much needed open records law, there’s no doubt he could have done more if he’d have put his clout to better use.
Now after all this time as a legislator, DeWeese finds his political career will be decided not by voters but by a jury. Somehow that only seems fitting.
(EDITOR’S NOTE: This editorial was originally published in the HeraldStandard.com newspaper on Jan. 22.)