20071114 Post Gazette Top Aides to State Dems Sacked

8/3/2019 20071114 Post Gazette Top Aides to State Dems Sacked

1/3

Top aides to state Dems sackedSeven lose jobs as House leadership seeks distance from scandal over big pay bonusesWednesday, November 14, 2007By Dennis B. Roddy, Tracie Mauriello and Tom Barnes, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

HARRISBURG -- In a startling day of political bloodletting, House Majority Leader H. WilliamDeWeese forced out several top aides as he acted to distance the House leadership from awidening pay bonus scandal.

In all, seven people were turned out yesterday, including three who played key roles in runningthe Democratic caucus.

Among those ousted were Michael Manzo, Mr. DeWeese's longtime chief of staff, who earned$151,000 yearly; Scott Brubaker, director of administration and staffing for the HouseDemocratic Caucus, who received $126,000 a year; and Brett Cott, a onetime top aide to Mr.DeWeese's closest political ally, former House Minority Whip Mike Veon. After Mr. Veon was

defeated for reelection, Mr. Cott joined the DeWeese staff as a policy analyst at an annual salaryof $87,412.

Four other staffers were removed.

One of them, Lauren McClure, a 19-year veteran who worked for Mr. Brubaker as anadministrative specialist, was escorted from her office by Capitol employees assigned to carryout the firings. Sources who were present said the hard drive from her computer was seized, herpurse was searched and her state-issued cell phone was confiscated.

Others dismissed were Eric J. Webb, director of member services for the House Democrats,

Stephen A. Keefer, director of information technologies, and Earl J. Mosley, director ofpersonnel under Mr. Brubaker.

Mr. Manzo said yesterday that he had raised the possibility of his own resignation as early asJanuary as revelations emerged, first that several hundred House Democratic employees hadbeen given bonuses ranging from a few hundred dollars to $28,000 -- a total of $1.9 millionoverall.

Later reports showed that the largest bonuses appeared to go to employees who had doneextensive work on Democratic legislative election campaigns. Anxiety grew inside the caucusafter agents from the office of state Attorney General Tom Corbett seized 20 boxes containing

documents ---- some of which appeared to be political research -- from the House DemocraticOffice of Legislative Research on Aug. 23.

An affidavit filed with the search warrant suggested that a confidential informant had advisedagents that the documents were slated to be destroyed.


2/3

The Attorney General is trying to determine whether the taxpayer-funded bonuses were veiledand illegal compensation for campaign work. Mr. DeWeese has said the bonuses for legitimatestate work.

"I think he felt if he was going to get out from under this he was going to have to sever ties with

a lot of people he had known a long time," Mr. Manzo said yesterday. "I spent a few hours withBill and at the end of that I scribbled down my resignation and that was it."

While one witness reported an argument between Mr. Manzo and Mr. DeWeese, Mr. Manzodismissed those reports and said no harsh words were traded.

"We talked about the fact the investigation is ongoing and it's very aggressive and a lot of ourfolks have been in front of the grand jury. He had to make a decision on how to move forwardwith the caucus and how he was going to keep a majority there," Mr. Manzo said.

A spokesman for the Attorney General's office said they would have no comment on yesterday's

developments.

A source close to Mr. DeWeese's office said yesterday the mass ousters followed an internalreport by William G. Chadwick, an attorney whose firm was hired by the Democratic caucusearlier this year. The source said two of the individuals let go yesterday were implicated in plansto destroy the boxes later seized as evidence in the August raid at Legislative Research.

No one removed yesterday has been publicly identified as a target of the grand jury probe,although Mr. Manzo, Mr. Cott and Mr. Brubaker all were central to organizing the 2006Democratic campaign work. All three received large bonuses. Mr. Cott last month said that hehad not received a grand jury subpoena nor had he been approached by investigators.

"It is literally a witch hunt," Mr. Cott said last month of the grand jury investigation. "When theycome after me, they'll come after me. I don't know. If it happens, it happens and I'll deal with it."

In late summer, Mr. Brubaker told several co-workers inside the caucus that he had becomeconvinced that state agents had taken the trash from outside his house and that he believed hewas a possible target of the probe.

Ms. McClure had not been implicated in the bonus scandal, had not been subpoenaed to appearbefore a grand jury and her dismissal was not explained. In June, she was given the DemocraticCaucus Staff Achievement Award for outstanding service, based on a vote by her peers in the

caucus.

She declined to comment yesterday.

All seven of the terminated employees were contributors to Democratic leaders' campaigns lastyear and all received bonuses, ranging from Ms. McClure's $3,656 to Mr. Cott's $25,065.


3/3

Campaign expense reports show that all but Ms. McClure worked on campaigns last year. Thedegree of their campaign involvement varied widely.

At day's end, Mr. DeWeese's office issued a release that did not acknowledge the dismissals and,instead, announced three new staff appointments -- essentially replacements for three of the top

aides -- that "will result in additional reform and accountability in this great institution."

Named were Eric Fillman as director of legislation and floor operations, Richard "Dick" Dario, aformer DeWeese aide, who was appointed a consultant for staffing and administration, andSandra Williams, director of operations.

Mr. Fillman is a former top aide to State Rep. Mark Cohen, D-Philadelphia, the number threemember in the Democratic caucus.

Dennis Roddy can be reached at [email protected] or 412-263-1965. Tracie Mauriellocan be reached at [email protected] or 717-787-2141. Bureau Chief Tom Barnes can

be reached at [email protected] or 717-787-4254.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]

20071114 Post Gazette Top Aides to State Dems Sacked

Documents

Transcript of 20071114 Post Gazette Top Aides to State Dems Sacked