Aug 12, 2011 4 min read

The ongoing feud between state Rep. Bill DeWeese, D-Waynesburg, and Gov. Tom Corbett has taken another interesting twist.

Those who follow state politics — or our local legislator’s legal wranglings — know that Corbett, then the attorney general, filed charges in late 2009 against DeWeese, accusing him of using legislative staffers for personal and political work on state time.

DeWeese claimed the charges were part of a political vendetta, which Corbett denied, and the feud was underway.

This week saw a reversal of sorts, with DeWeese jumping at the opportunity to try to tie similar theft-of-services charges on the governor’s administration. DeWeese is calling for an investigation into what he calls the state police-provided “taxi service” for the wife of a Corbett cabinet secretary who was charged with DUI back in July.

On the surface, this is just another chapter in the never-ending feud. But if you look closely, there are some very real questions that need to be answered.

According to the media reports, state police confirmed that a trooper assigned to the governor’s security detail left the governor’s mansion in the early morning hours of July 10, drove across three counties, picked up Georgina D. Zogby, wife of Budget Secretary Charles Zogby, at a police processing center and drove her the six miles home.

According to state police spokesman Sgt. Anthony Manetta, Georgina Zogby had attempted to call to her husband’s office when her call automatically transferred to the governor’s residence, where the trooper was stationed.

Manetta said the trooper made the decision on his own to pick up Zogby. Corbett was in Pittsburgh the night of the incident.

DeWeese has sent letters to Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan, Attorney General Linda Kelly and Inspector General Kenya Mann Faulkner requesting that their offices investigate the events that night.

There’s a lot we don’t know about the incident. The trooper involved is unknown, as is any possible disciplinary action against him or her. It also isn’t known whether Zogby asked the trooper to pick her up or the trooper simply offered to do it.

What is clear, however, is that DeWeese makes a few good points in calling for an investigation of the incident.

“Watergate was the cover-up, not the crime,” said DeWeese. “While our new governor is attempting to sweep this issue under the rug by calling it ‘a private matter,’ the people I represent want answers to this very questionable practice of using state resources for ‘a private matter.’ It’s clear that somebody in authority must get to the bottom of ‘Zogbygate.'”

Government watchdog, Eric Epstein, founder of the Harrisburg-based Rock the Capital, joined DeWeese in complaining about Corbett’s handling of the affair. He said Mrs. Zogby’s troubles should be private, but they become a matter of public concern when “the taxpayers underwrite private cab service for the privileged.”

However, it is interesting to note that thus far no other legislators have joined DeWeese in his call for a formal investigation into the incident.

That shows how the longtime lawmaker is isolated from his fellow lawmakers and how no one wants to be seen as supporting him, at least as long as he’s facing a criminal trial on charges involving corruption and fraud. It’s a sign of how far this once powerful lawmaker has fallen from grace in the halls of our state capital.

But the lack of support from lawmakers doesn’t lessen the significance of what happened on the night of July 10. This is a very serious issue and taxpayers deserve to know how their money was spent that fateful night.

Both Corbett and the state police should step up to the plate and give some answers as to the circumstances surrounding Mrs. Zogby’s ride home. Particularly, we feel it’s important to know if the trooper’s actions were against state police policy, and if so, what disciplinary actions were taken or will be taken.

If it’s not against policy, there should be efforts taken to correct the oversight. Regardless, the governor and the state police should be more forthcoming.

After all this isn’t the kind of service the state police should be performing for anyone, even if that person has close ties to the governor.