DeWeese wants start of prison term deferred
The attorney for a former state representative, sentenced to up to five years in prison for using state employees to do campaign work, asked a judge to delay the start of his prison term so that there is time to decide on his motion for bond pending appeal.
Bill DeWeese, 62, was slated to start serving his sentence of 2 ½ to-5 years on May 14. In the motion Wednesday, however, attorney Bill Costopoulos asked Dauphin County Judge Todd Hoover to leave himself time to decide the initial bond motion, filed April 26.
Earlier this week, Hoover gave prosecutors five days to respond to that request once his order is served, and 14 days to respond to Costopoulos’ request for a new trial.
There was no ruling made on whether DeWeese could defer reporting until prosecutors respond and Hoover makes his decision.
Earlier this year, DeWeese was convicted of conflict of interest, criminal conspiracy to commit theft, theft by deception, theft of services and theft by failure to make required disposition of funds between 2001 and 2006. DeWeese, who resigned his House seat of 35 years the day he was sentenced, also was ordered to make $117,000 in restitution and was fined him $25,000.
DeWeese was the only sitting legislator to stand trial in the attorney general’s five-year state corruption investigation that resulted in 25 arrests of people connected to the House Democratic and Republican caucuses.
DeWeese’s aide, Sharon Rodavich, also was charged in the probe and sentenced to five years probation for conspiracy to commit theft and conflict of interest. Rodavich, 56, of Carmichaels worked in DeWeese’s Greene County office and she testified at his trial that it was common for his staff to do campaign work on state time.
Hoover ordered her to pay $35,000 restitution, fined her $5,000 and ordered her to do 750 hours of community service.