Defense Begins in Veon Case

The defense begins its case this morning in the public corruption trial of former Beaver County State Representative Mike Veon and three legislative aides. The prosecution wrapped up its presentation Friday after five weeks of testimony.
Lead defense attorney Dan Raynak says he’ll call sitting legislators to the stand when he makes his case. Raynak says he intends to question House Majority Leader Todd Eachus and former top Democrat Bill DeWeese, among others.

"I’ll tell you the topic areas. One will be the basketball dinners. Some were referenced in various emails and other things throughout the course of the trial. So those will be some of the various reasons we’ll be calling them."

Raynak wouldn’t say whether Veon will take the stand in his own defense.
The prosecution wrapped up its five-week presentation Friday by questioning two special agents from the Office of the Attorney General. The agents went through the details of specific bonus payments, and answered technical questions.
On cross-examination, defense lawyers pointed out many staffers who did campaign work didn’t receive bonuses, and several of the people earning bonuses hadn’t volunteered for political activity.
Veon is accused of using tax dollars to fund expensive dinners he had with other lawmakers, along with the charges of campaigning with public money.