Editorial: The line is drawn

The guilty verdict against former Democratic State Rep. Michael R. Veon in an illegal bonus scheme proves the shameful extent of Harrisburg's corrupt culture.

Veon, 53, was no small fry in the legislature. He represented Beaver County for 22 years. For much of that time, he was the second-ranking House Democrat and the power behind the throne of party leader Bill DeWeese.

Today, Veon stands convicted by a jury of 13 felony charges and one misdemeanor for handing out illegal, taxpayer-funded bonuses to staffers as rewards for political campaign work. He also was convicted of requiring aides to perform personal tasks for him on state time.

Attorney General Tom Corbett charged Veon and others with doling out $1.4 million in government bonuses during the Democrats' drive to win back the House majority from 2004 to 2006. Two former top aides to Veon also were convicted of some charges; one staffer was acquitted.

Democratic partisans are taking perverse satisfaction from the jury's acquitting Veon on 45 other criminal charges, including accusations that Democrats deployed state employees to derail the third-party presidential campaign of Ralph Nader in 2004. Critics claim these "not guilty" verdicts diminish Republican Corbett's crusade against the legislature and undermine his campaign for governor.

This just in - there's no comfort for Pennsylvania's taxpayers in this case. A powerful public servant has been found guilty of conspiring to steal tax dollars to ensure his party's success at the polls. It's precisely the sort of arrogance and waste that has sickened citizens about their state government in recent years.

Typical of this taxpayers-be-damned attitude was the testimony of one witness in Veon's trial, a man who tried to explain why Democrats put him on the state payroll.

"I needed a place to be parked while I was waiting to go out on a campaign," he said.

The pathetic story line of the top players in Harrisburg had been that culpability trickled downhill. DeWeese said he didn't know what Veon was scheming. Veon, in turn, claimed he didn't know what his aides were plotting.

But now Veon is guilty, and nine former House Democratic staffers are guilty, too. Many of them undoubtedly are headed for prison. DeWeese, who invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination at Veon's trial, still faces charges in a separate case.

Further, Corbett has charged 10 current and former House Republican officials, including ex-Speaker John M. Perzel (R., Phila.), for misusing tax dollars for political purposes.

A hefty share of Corbett's charges haven't stuck. Even so, it is clear by now that legislative leaders and their aides illegally used state coffers as their political piggy bank.

They repeatedly crossed the line between legitimate public expenses and campaign work. The state treasury was also an illicit campaign fund. Not only did they cross the line; they didn't care that the line even existed.

Maybe these verdicts will finally drive home the message to current public servants: It's not your money; quit pretending like it is.