E-mails allowed as evidence at Bonusgate trial

The decision came as prosecutors with state Attorney General Tom Corbett's office and a team of defense lawyers began selecting a jury to hear the case against former House Democratic Whip Mike Veon and ex-aides Brett Cott, Anna Marie Perretta-Rosepink, and Stephen Keefer.

By the end of the day, six people had been picked for the jury. It likely will take several more days to fill out the jury and select four alternates for the trial, which is to start Feb. 1.

Veon (D., Beaver), who turned 53 yesterday, is accused of orchestrating a program to award $1.3 million in government bonuses to legislative staffers as rewards for working on political campaigns. His three aides were charged with helping him carry out the alleged scheme.

In the ruling, key to the prosecution's case, Dauphin County Court President Judge Richard A. Lewis denied a defense motion to prohibit e-mail exchanges involving the alleged conspiracy to be entered as evidence. The defense argued that the e-mails could not be authenticated, and that even if they could, they told only a partial story.

Nonetheless, one of Veon's attorneys, Joel Sansone, said he was pleased with the ruling because it allows the defense to challenge individual e-mails on a case-by-case basis at trial.

Seven others who also were charged in July 2008 pleaded guilty last month and will testify as government witnesses under deals with prosecutors. Former Rep. Sean Ramaley (D., Beaver) was acquitted in December. He had been charged with serving in a no-work job as a legislative aide while running for a seat in the state House in 2004. He abandoned a bid for the state Senate and left the House in 2006.


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