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Raphael Musto | Former Pa. lawmaker, 85

Former State Sen. Raphael Musto, 85, of Pittston, Pa., died Thursday after a long illness, leaving unresolved pending corruption charges against him.

State Sen. Raphael Musto (D., Luzerne) could lose his hefty taxpayer-funded pension if convicted.
State Sen. Raphael Musto (D., Luzerne) could lose his hefty taxpayer-funded pension if convicted.Read more

Former State Sen. Raphael Musto, 85, of Pittston, Pa., died Thursday after a long illness, leaving unresolved pending corruption charges against him.

Sen. Musto was surrounded by family members at his Pittston home when he died, according to niece Jacqueline Musto Carroll.

The retired lawmaker had recently been released from a federal medical prison in North Carolina, where he was sent in January after being declared mentally unfit to stand trial. While there, he was diagnosed with advanced-stage lymph-cell cancer.

Prosecutors say Sen. Musto accepted cash and free building renovations in exchange for his help obtaining taxpayer funding of development projects, and took additional cash as a reward for helping a municipality get state loans.

Sen. Musto was elected to the state House of Representatives in 1971 to fill the unexpired term of his late father, James Musto. He spent a term in the U.S. House in the early 1980s and then won election to the state Senate in 1982.

Sen. Musto is survived by his wife, four children, and many grandchildren, Carroll said. - AP