Republicans called to testify on Bonusgate

HARRISBURG - Prosecutors have offered Rep. John M. Perzel of Philadelphia, the former speaker of the Pennsylvania House, a chance to testify before the so-called Bonusgate grand jury in what lawyers say is a sign that criminal charges may soon be filed against him.

Perzel's former chief of staff, Brian Preski, and as many as 10 other current and former House Republican aides have received similar letters, according to lawyers with knowledge of the investigation.

Perzel, 59, could not be reached for comment yesterday. In the past he has said he did nothing improper with the state money that is at the center of the investigation.

Perzel's lawyer, former acting state Attorney General Walter Cohen, declined to comment yesterday, saying he wouldn't discuss any issues relating to the grand jury because of its secrecy restrictions.

The letters from prosecutors, received within the last two weeks, are the clearest indication yet that state Attorney General Tom Corbett, a Republican gubernatorial candidate, is contemplating criminal charges against members of his own party in the sweeping probe known as Bonusgate.

To date, a dozen Harrisburg insiders, all Democrats, have been charged in the 33-month political corruption probe.

The letters from prosecutors in Corbett's office invite Perzel and the other recipients to testify Monday before the grand jury. The letters say such testimony would be voluntary and given without a grant of immunity.

Experts say such letters from state authorities are akin to the "target letters" that federal prosecutors often use to advise people that they are likely to face criminal charges.

"It's not good news to the people who receive them," said George Parry, a Philadelphia lawyer and a former federal and city prosecutor who is representing several witnesses in the Bonusgate investigation. "It's a sign that this [state] investigation is coming to an end, and it's a sign that you are a person they are looking at very hard in terms of bringing charges."

Two lawyers representing various people in the long-running investigation confirmed yesterday that the letters had arrived. The lawyers spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Kevin Harley, a spokesman for the Attorney General's Office, declined to comment on the letters, citing grand-jury secrecy rules.

Past interviews with various grand-jury witnesses and their lawyers suggest that prosecutors are focusing on whether top House Republicans improperly used a $9 million taxpayer-funded database to improve their chances of winning elections.

The database in question employed complex algorithms to search large amounts of data as varied as motor-vehicle records and credit-card purchases to build up profiles of voters. It was developed by a company called GCR & Associates of New Orleans under a contract signed in 2002 by Perzel, then the House majority leader.

Perzel has said that neither he nor anyone in his office used the database for campaigns. Rather, he has said, it was designed to help provide constituent services.

Known for his bare-knuckle brand of politics, Perzel has represented Northeast Philadelphia in the House since 1979. He took over as speaker in 2003.

In January 2007, after Democrats won a House majority of the 203 seats, they voted Perzel out as speaker. Since then, he has remained largely out of the spotlight - a great departure for someone who had considered a gubernatorial bid in 2010.

Preski's lawyer, William Winning, declined to comment.

Preski had for years served as Perzel's chief of staff and a top aide to his campaign team before leaving state government in 2007 to go into private practice in Philadelphia.

In July of last year, based on recommendations of the grand jury, Corbett filed charges against a dozen House Democratic insiders, including former House Whip Mike Veon of Beaver County. The 12 are accused of conspiring to award millions in government bonuses to legislative staffers as a reward for working on political campaigns.

Corbett has said from the start that he would be investigating all four legislative caucuses - Democrats and Republicans in the House and the Senate.

In February, he told reporters that the next round of charges in Bonusgate would "shock the conscience of people" because of the amount of taxpayer money involved.

Today marks the 1,000th day since the public first learned of what came to be known as Bonusgate. In January 2007, the Patriot-News of Harrisburg broke a story questioning the bonus payments to legislative aides.

Yesterday, on the eve of the anniversary, a group of Harrisburg activists scolded Corbett for dragging out the investigation and called on him to step down as attorney general if he continues to run for governor.

"It's lasted longer than Watergate," said Gene Stilp, founder of the Harrisburg-based Taxpayers and Ratepayers United.