PERZEL EX-AIDE ADMITS HIS GUILT

HARRISBURG

- Paul Towhey, who served as former Northeast Philly state Rep. John Perzel's chief of staff, pleaded guilty to corruption charges yesterday.

Towhey, 40, of Blue Bell, Montgomery County, is the third Republican defendant to admit involvement in a scheme to divert taxpayer resources to political campaigns.

Towhey pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and one count of conflict of interest and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in pending trials of his former co-defendants. Both charges are felonies and each carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Towhey was appointed as chief of staff to Perzel in the summer of 2007 - after Perzel's long tenure as House Republican leader and House speaker and amid a high-profile Capitol investigation by the state Attorney General's Office.

Prosecutors say Towhey helped hide campaign materials from investigators after a grand jury subpoenaed the House Republicans for all such files in February 2008.

Under orders from Towhey, several boxes containing campaign-related material were removed from a basement storage room assigned to Perzel in the Capitol complex and transferred to the offices of the House Republican Campaign Committee across the street, according to the grand jury's presentment.