Corbett, McCall, Eachus directed investigation towards Veon, he says

A former House Democratic Caucus staffer has accused Democrat legislative leaders of conspiring with the state Attorney General, a Republican, to target certain individuals and to ignore others during the bonusgate investigation and subsequent trials.

Stephen Keefer

Stephen Keefer, a former House Democrat Caucus staffer who was charged and later acquitted on public corruption charges, filed a civil suit in federal court against Attorney General Tom Corbett, Speaker of the House Keith McCall (D-Carbon), House Majority Leader Todd Eachus (D-Luzerne), House Majority Whip Bill DeWeese (D-Greene) and others. Mr. Keefer claims to have been the victim of a political conspiracy costing him his job and good name, and is seeking $200,000 in damages, the return of his previous position within the caucus and back pay.

“It seemed clear to [Mr. Keefer] that DeWeese and Corbett have conspired in the investigatory process that eventually resulted in all of the decisions that were eventually made” about who was charged and who was not, states the complaint.

After working for the House Democrat Caucus since 2002, Mr. Keefer was suddenly fired in November 2007 by Mr. DeWeese. At the time, Mr. DeWeese was Democrat Leader in the House, and later told the caucus leadership Mr. Keefer and six other individuals had been fired for their roles in bonusgate, according to court documents. Specifically, Mr. DeWeese said Mr. Keefer was fired for destroying evidence, which Mr. Keefer denies.

Mr. Keefer alleges he was never told why he was fired, was never allowed a hearing to attempt to clear his name and was never given an explanation for why other members of the House Democrat Caucus were allowed to keep their jobs, were granted immunities and were compensated for the expense of counsel during the Bonusgate investigation.

In July 2008, Mr. Keefer met with members of the Attorney General’s staff after being charged in part of the Bonusgate investigation. In court documents, Mr. Keefer alleges the staffers “were rude and asserted that he was obstructing justice.” He also claims to have been told he would get “a free ride” if he admitted to destroying evidence.

Mr. Keefer alleges he told the Attorney General’s staff if anyone was to be prosecuted, it should be Mr. DeWeese, William Chadwick, a Washington D.C. attorney who was employed by Mr. DeWeese at the time, and Darryl Hazelwood, another Democrat Caucus staffer.

“It was obvious to [Mr. Keefer] that the members of the Attorney General’s staff did not want to hear what [Mr. Keefer] told them….which made it clear to [Mr. Keefer] that Corbett had other individuals in mind for prosecution,” reads the complaint.

Prior to being fired, Mr. Keefer turned over computer hard drives to Mr. Chadwick in compliance with a request from Mr. Corbett. Those hard drives were eventually withheld from the investigation and remain in the possession of Mr. Chadwick, according to the complaint.

Mr. Chadwick is currently embroiled in another Pennsylvania political scandal. He was handpicked by state Supreme Court Chief Justice Ron Castille last month to head an investigation into the loss of $12 million during the planning and development stages of a new Family Court building in Philadelphia. He also formerly worked for Governors Ed Rendell, Bob Casey and Tom Ridge.

The complaint alleges the conspiracy directed the investigation towards then-state Rep. Mike Veon.

In July 2008, the attorney general charged Mr. Veon and 11 others, including Mr. Keefer, for using public resources for political campaigns. Mr. Corbett’s office charged 10 Republicans in November and charged Mr. DeWeese and two other Democrats in December.

“We stand fully behind the investigations and the cases, and if you look at the convictions and the guilty pleas and the cases moving to trial, you can see this is an effort to address criminal activity,” said Nils Frederiksen, a spokesperson for Mr. Corbett’s office. “Politics doesn’t even enter into the discussion in this office.

Mr. Keefer was acquitted of all charges against him in March. Mr. Veon was convicted and sentenced to between six and 14 years in prison. Two of Mr. Veon’s former staffers have also been convicted. Mr. DeWeese had a preliminary hearing last week and will go to trial, but no date has been set.

In Mr. Keefer’s case, Mr. Frederiksen said the Attorney General’s office did not agree with the jury’s decision, but respected it.

Spokespersons for Mr. McCall and Mr. Eachus declined to comment on the pending litigation.