Veon, aide rearrested on refiled charges

HARRISBURG -- Former state Rep. Mike Veon and a top aide from his Beaver Falls office were rearrested in Dauphin County today on charges related to a nonprofit they ran.

The pair had already faced a preliminary hearing on the criminal accusations, and Harrisburg District Justice Joseph Solomon dismissed all charges.

Prosecutors said Judge Solomon erred in dropping the charges and refiled most the charges last week. Mr. Veon and Annamarie Perretta-Rosepink turned themselves in today.

Arraignment this time was before Harrisburg District Judge Barbara Pianka.

Mr. Veon and Ms. Perretta-Rosepink were released on $50,000 unsecured each.

The criminal charges stem from a state investigation into Beaver Initiative for Growth, a nonprofit that dispensed millions of dollars in state funds to economic development projects in Beaver County.

Prosecutors allege that Ms. Perretta-Rosepink, 46, of Beaver Falls helped Mr. Veon, use some of that money for political gain. Ms. Perretta-Rosepink was employed simultaneously by the nonprofit and by the state as a legislative aide.

Mr. Veon, 52, who now lives in Harrisburg, represented Beaver County in the legislature for 22 years.

Mr. Veon and Ms. Perretta-Rosepink also are defendants in a related government corruption case that has become known as Bonusgate.