Another Bonusgate Defendant Held for Trial

Following a preliminary hearing, a district judge has ordered former state legislator Stephen Stetler, who is also a former member of the Rendell Administration to stand trial for allegedly doing campaign work on state time.
A one-time York County Representative, Stetler ran the House Democratic Campaign Committee before working as Governor Rendell’s Revenue Secretary.
Stetler is facing six counts of theft, conspiracy and conflict of interest for allegedly ordering legislative employees to raise money, conduct opposition research and do other campaign work, while on the clock at their publicly-funded jobs.
Witnesses at the hearing testified about making fundraising calls from the state Capitol, using legislative staffers to do background checks on Republican opponents, and coming in early and staying late in order to rack up “comp time,” so they could go campaign for Democrats.
Stetler is one of six current or former lawmakers to face charges in the ongoing legislative corruption probe. Two have gone to trial already.
One, former State Representative Sean Ramaley was found “not guilty.” The other – former House Democratic Whip Mike Veon – has been sentenced to up to 14 years in prison.