DeWeese trial set for January 2012
A Dauphin County judge set a January trial date for state Rep. Bill DeWeese and a former district office aide who are accused of doing campaign-related work when they were supposed to be performing legislative duties.
?In an order issued last month, President Judge Todd A. Hoover also gave DeWeese, 61, of Waynesburg and Sharon S. Rodavich, 55, of Carmichaels until July 30 to file any pretrial motions.
DeWeese and Rodavich are each charged with conflict of interest, theft by unlawful taking, theft of services, theft by deception, theft by failure to make required disposition of funds and criminal conspiracy to commit theft by unlawful taking.
The state attorney general’s office alleged that DeWeese used government employees and resources to run his political campaigns on the taxpayers’ dime, and Rodavich participated.
Among the allegations made were that DeWeese had a staffer in Harrisburg whose job consisted, in part, of fundraising for campaigns between 2002 and 2007.
During a July preliminary hearing, an agent from the attorney general’s office testified DeWeese testified before a grand jury that mixing legislative work and campaign work “was part of the culture” in Harrisburg.
However, DeWeese’s attorney said at the time that DeWeese also told the grand jury that staffers were told to take compensatory time, vacation time or personal days to do campaign work.