2006 Pennsylvania General Assembly Bonus Controversy
In 2007, Pennsylvania Attorney General Republican Tom Corbett began investigating $3.8 million in public bonuses which were paid to state legislative staffers in the Pennsylvania General Assembly to work on party politics and campaigns. While the bonuses themselves are not illegal, state law forbids state employees from performing campaign work while on the job and forbids payment for campaign work out of taxpayer funds. Pennsylvania media referred to this scandal as "bonusgate." Originally the investigation centered on Democratic and Republican Caucuses (top state committees of each party) in each of the state's two chambers, the Senate and the House of Representatives. Democrats dominated the investigate in the highly (at that time) Democratic state. As the investigation continued other areas of concern arose, including findings of judicial corruption, nepotism, conflict of interest and Republican corruption in a subsidiary investigation dubbed "Computergate" by the press, in wh ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enforcement, prosecutions or even responsibility for legal affairs generally. In practice, the extent to which the attorney general personally provides legal advice to the government varies between jurisdictions, and even between individual office-holders within the same jurisdiction, often depending on the level and nature of the office-holder's prior legal experience. Where the attorney general has ministerial responsibility for legal affairs in general (as is the case, for example, with the United States Attorney General or the Attorney-General for Australia, and the respective attorneys general of the states in each country), the ministerial portfolio is largely equivalent to that of a Minister of Justice ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Brian Preski
Brian Preski is a Pennsylvania Republican former legislative staffer and government relations professional. He was a long-term legislative aide working as Chief of Staff for former Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives John Perzel. Early years He is a graduate of Widener University School of Law (J.D., 1992) and St. Joseph's University (B.A., 1987). Preski began his career in Philadelphia, where he served in the District Attorney's Office as an assistant district attorney in multiple administrations. Early in his career, Mr. Preski was tapped to represent the District Attorney and the citizens of Philadelphia in the federal courts as the City fought a cap on prison crowding. Although at the time assigned to the Civil Litigation Unit, Preski was also asked to accept the duties of Assistant Chief of the Prison Litigation Unit. Preski immediately began his practice in the U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the Third Circuit Court of Ap ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Political Scandals In Pennsylvania
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies politics and government is referred to as political science. It may be used positively in the context of a "political solution" which is compromising and nonviolent, or descriptively as "the art or science of government", but also often carries a negative connotation.. The concept has been defined in various ways, and different approaches have fundamentally differing views on whether it should be used extensively or limitedly, empirically or normatively, and on whether conflict or co-operation is more essential to it. A variety of methods are deployed in politics, which include promoting one's own political views among people, negotiation with other political subjects, making laws, and exercising internal and external force, including w ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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List Of Pennsylvania State Legislatures
The Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, has convened many times since statehood became effective on December 12, 1787. In earlier colonial times (1682–1776) the legislature was known as the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly. Legislatures * 12th Pennsylvania General Assembly, 1787–1788 * 24th Pennsylvania General Assembly, 1799–1800 * 2005. See also: 2005 Pennsylvania General Assembly pay raise controversy. * 2006. See also: 2006 Pennsylvania General Assembly bonus controversy. * 2010: January 5 – November 30, 2010 * 2011: January 4 – November 30, 2011 * 2012: January 3 – November 30, 2012; House Resolution 535 passed on January 24, 2012. * 2013: January 2 – December 31, 2013 * 2014: January 7 – November 12, 2014 * 2015: January 6 – December 31, 2015 * 2016: January 5 – November 30, 2016 * 2017: January 3 – December 31, 2017 * 2018: January 2 – November 30, 2018 * 2019: January 1 – December 31, 2019 See ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mike Manzo
Michael L. "Mike" Manzo is a former chief of staff for Pennsylvania House of Representatives Majority Leader H. William DeWeese. He served as a staffer for the Democratic Caucus in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for over 10 years, rising to become one of the most powerful staffers in the state capitol. Manzo controlled the policy and communications efforts for the House Democratic Caucus and helped engineer the passage of a wide range of bills. In 2007, he was fired by DeWeese and subsequently charged for allegedly using taxpayer money for illegal campaign purposes and creating a no-work job for his mistress. In his testimony for the prosecution at a preliminary hearing, he implicated his former boss, DeWeese, in the alleged scheme. Personal life Manzo was born in Monaca, Beaver County, Pennsylvania. His father was a steelworker and his mother worked at a local jewelry store. He played drums and baseball at Monaca School District, where he graduated fourth in his class ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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List Of Scandals With "-gate" Suffix
This is a list of scandals or controversies whose names include a ''-gate'' suffix, by analogy with the Watergate scandal, as well as other incidents to which the suffix has (often facetiously) been applied. This list also includes controversies that are widely referred to with a ''-gate'' suffix, but may be referred to by another more common name (such as the New Orleans Saints bounty scandal, known as "Bountygate"). Use of the ''-gate'' suffix has spread beyond American English to many other countries and languages. Etymology, usage, and history of ''-gate'' The suffix '' -gate'' derives from the Watergate scandal of the United States in the early 1970s, which resulted in the resignation of US President Richard Nixon. The scandal was named after the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C., where the burglary giving rise to the scandal took place; the complex itself was named after the "Water Gate" area where symphony orchestra concerts were staged on the Potomac River bet ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2005 Pennsylvania General Assembly Pay Raise Controversy
In the early morning hours of July 7, 2005, the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed pay increases for state lawmakers, judges, and top executive-branch officials. The vote took place at 2 am without public review or commentary and Governor Ed Rendell signed the bill into law. The raise increased legislators' base pay from 16% to 34% depending on position. Provisions The pay raise included a provision allowing legislators to take their raises immediately in the form of "unvouchered expenses." This provision was included due to the Pennsylvania Constitution's clause prohibiting legislators from taking salary increases in the same term as which they are passed. State courts have ruled similar legislation to be constitutional on three separate occasions. Reaction Outrage over the pay raise was picked up by several influential state blogs like Grassrootspa and PennPatriot Blog. Advocacy groups spawned several grass-roots movements, some geared toward voting out incumbents and s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Court Of Common Pleas Of Pennsylvania
In Pennsylvania, the courts of common pleas are the trial courts of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania (the state court system). The courts of common pleas are the trial courts of general jurisdiction in the state. The name derives from the medieval English court of Common Pleas. Pennsylvania established them in 1722. nbsp;– information from the They hear cases with ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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North Dakota
North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south, and Montana to the west. It is believed to host the geographic center of North America, Rugby, North Dakota, Rugby, and is home to the tallest man-made structure in the Western Hemisphere, the KVLY-TV mast. North Dakota is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 19th largest state, but with a population of less than 780,000 2020 United States census, as of 2020, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 4th least populous and List of U.S. states by population density, 4th most sparsely populated. The capital is Bismarck, North Dakota, Bismarck while the largest city is Fargo, North Dakota, Fargo, which accounts for nearly a fifth of the s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mike Veon
Michael R. Veon (born January 19, 1957) is a former member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, representing the 14th District from 1985 through 2006. Personal life Veon is a 1975 graduate of Beaver Falls High School. Veon attended Allegheny College, where he graduated in 1979 with a degree in political science. In March 1977, he and six of his fraternity brothers were arrested after breaking into a half dozen mobile homes in Hadley, Pennsylvania, as a fraternity prank. Police charged the fraternity brothers with burglary, theft, and criminal conspiracy for taking furniture, a range and an oil furnace. They paid $1,500 in restitution and the charges were reduced to summary citations. Political career After graduation, he worked for then-State Representative Joe Kolter's 1982 campaign for Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district. Kolter was successful, and Veon remained on Kolter's staff until 1984, when, at the age of 29, Veon resigned to run for state representative ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Whip (politics)
A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. This means ensuring that members of the party vote according to the party platform, rather than according to their own individual ideology or the will of their donors or constituents. Whips are the party's "enforcers". They try to ensure that their fellow political party legislators attend voting sessions and vote according to their party's official policy. Members who vote against party policy may "lose the whip", being effectively expelled from the party. The term is taken from the "whipper-in" during a hunt, who tries to prevent hounds from wandering away from a hunting pack. Additionally, the term "whip" may mean the voting instructions issued to legislators, or the status of a certain legislator in their party's parliamentary grouping. Etymology The expression ''whip'' in its parliamentary context, derived from its origins in hunting terminology. The ''Oxford English ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dauphin County, Pennsylvania
Dauphin County (; Pennsylvania Dutch: Daffin Kaundi) is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 286,401. The county seat and the largest city is Harrisburg, Pennsylvania's state capital and ninth largest city. The county was created ("erected") on March 4, 1785, from part of Lancaster County and was named after Louis Joseph, Dauphin of France, the first son of King Louis XVI. Dauphin County is included in the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area. Located within the county is Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station, site of the 1979 nuclear core meltdown. The nuclear power plant closed in 2019. Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (5.9%) is water. The county is bound to its western border by the Susquehanna River (with the exception of a small peninsula next to Duncannon). The area code is 717 with an overlay of 223. Adjacent counties * N ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |