Former Pennsylvania representative sentenced to 6-14 years in legislative corruption case

Pa. ex-lawmaker gets 6-14 years for corruption

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A once-powerful western Pennsylvania lawmaker was sentenced Friday to at least six years in prison for taking part in a scheme that used taxpayer resources for political campaign purposes and paid bonuses to state employees who helped in legislative re-election campaigns.

Mike Veon, a former state House Democratic whip, could spend up to 14 years in prison after Dauphin County Judge Richard Lewis sentenced him on 14 counts of theft, conspiracy and conflict of interest. The judge declined a bail request from Veon’s attorneys and ordered the former Beaver County lawmaker directly to jail.

Lewis also ordered Veon to pay $37,000 in fines and $100,000 in restitution.

The state attorney general’s office had asked the judge to impose a 12- to 17-year prison sentence for Veon. His attorneys asked for a sentence including probation but no jail time.

Veon is the first of five current or former lawmakers in the probe to be convicted. He was one of 25 people arrested in the case since the investigation began in 2007, amid news that millions of dollars in bonuses were quietly handed out to legislative employees.

A sharp dresser with a cocky style who wore cowboy boots and rode motorcycles, Veon was once the second-ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives. Voters ousted him in the 2006 election.

Ex-Veon aide Annamarie Perretta-Rosepink was also sentenced Friday. She received a three- to six-month prison term.

Attorneys for Veon and Perretta-Rosepink said they plan to appeal the sentences.