DeWeese eager to begin telling his side of story
With a preliminary hearing in his conflict of interest case set for today, state Rep. Bill DeWeese (D-Waynesburg) said he is eager for people to start hearing his side of the story. “Attorney (William C.) Costopoulos will begin some exceedingly sharp questioning. I believe people will begin to know there are at least two sides to this unhappy prosecution,” DeWeese said.
“So far, the public has only heard Tom’s side of the story,” he said.
“Tom” is state Attorney General Tom Corbett, a gubernatorial candidate and the man whose office filed charges against a dozen former and current legislators and legislative aides in 2007. That set of charges became known as “Bonusgate,” because it dealt with bonuses that were doled out for political work that was done.
DeWeese, then in a leadership position, said he hired two Republican attorneys to help facilitate Corbett’s investigation. But in December 2009, Corbett announced that DeWeese and his legislative aide, Sharon Rodavich, would face charges for doing campaign work when they were supposed to be doing legislative work.
Corbett has maintained that doing campaign work while being paid by taxpayers is illegal.
The charges were not related to Bonusgate.
“Since I had been cooperating since the beginning, I was stunned that he made the unilateral decision to charge me,” DeWeese said. “I’ve done my best to meet head-on with the attorney general’s team, and project absolute transparency and integrity.”
DeWeese said that, to the best of his knowledge, he is the only elected official that met with Corbett’s prosecutors on three different occasions without a grant of immunity or any other deal in place.
And while DeWeese said that he would continue to be “forthright and respectful of the prosecutors,” he also said he believes that Corbett “made a spectacular mistake” in charging him.
DeWeese said that he looks forward to facing those who will offer testimony against him, and beginning to refute the allegations.
He said he is realistic about how preliminary hearings work and knows that, generally, most charges are bound over for common pleas court by a magisterial district judge.
“It would be a stunning and unexpected phenomenon if this case were any different,” DeWeese said.
But one thing in particular gives him hope as the legal battle begins, DeWeese said.
“I am given renewed faith that I will be exonerated because just recently, over 10,000 of my neighbors had the chance to embrace me or reject me in the court of public opinion in the spring primary. I prevailed decisively,” he said.
“I don’t believe that those who voted for me believe I’m a criminal, and I’m hopeful the 12 peers who hear the case next year will reach the same conclusion.”