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Blog
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Welcome to the Holtzman Vogel Law Blog. We aim to keep you
up to date on important legal developments and other items of interest. On this
blog, we'll track developments in the news and changes to the rules and regulations
affecting political committees, corporate PACs, trade associations, non-profit groups
and advocacy organizations. We'll also keep you updated on the lobbying and ethics
arena. The Law Blog is designed to supplement our regular newsletter.
On behalf of the Holtzman Vogel team, I hope you find this site helpful and interesting.
And we hope you'll become a regular visitor. (If you'd like to receive our newsletter,
please click here to sign up.)
Jill Holtzman Vogel
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Sunday, June 20, 2010
PA Patriot-News: Mike Veon sentenced to 6-14 years in prison in Bonusgate case
The Patriot-News has this update: "Former Pennsylvania Rep. Mike Veon will spend six to 14 years in jail for his role in a public corruption case that involved using public money and employees for campaign work. Veon, sentenced this morning before Dauphin County Judge Richard A. Lewis, also was ordered to pay a $37,000 fine and $100,000 in restitution."
Click here to read the entire post.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Senate Candidate Removed From PA Ballot After Signature Challenge
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports "In his challenge to Sen. Arlen Specter, Rep. Joe Sestak will get the one-on-one matchup he wanted after knocking another Democratic Senate contender off the primary ballot. Commonwealth Court Judge Mary Hannah Leavitt ruled Tuesday that Joseph Vod Varka, a retired machinist from Robinson, was ineligible for the May 18 primary after finding that he had not submitted enough valid signatures. His nominating petitions were filed with 2,590 signatures, but the Sestak campaign successfully argued that nearly 700 of them were invalid. That left the long-shot challenger, who said he was funding his campaign solely with his Social Security payments, short of the 2,000 needed to secure a spot on the ballot."
Click here to read the entire post.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Pennsylvania "Bonusgate" Case Decided
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports "Former [Pennsylvania state] Rep. Michael R. Veon, once among the most powerful politicians in the state Capitol, was convicted tonight of masterminding a scheme to have the public underwrite the campaigns of House Democrats. He was found guilty on 14 counts of theft, conflict of interest and conspiracy. He was found not guilty on 45 counts....The case that gave the Bonusgate corruption scandal its name centered on a secret scheme to award $1.4 million in government bonuses to legislative staffers as rewards for working on the campaigns of Democrats running for House seats between 2002 and 2006."
Click here to read the entire post.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Phil. Inquirer: Former Pa. legislator to pay $10,000 in ethics case
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports "A former state legislator from Bucks County has agreed to pay $10,000 to settle allegations that he violated ethics rules. Matthew Wright, 51, a Republican who served in the House from 1991 to 2006, allegedly used legislative staffers, equipment, and material to help run his last three reelection campaigns, according to findings released yesterday by the state Ethics Commission."
Click here to read the entire post.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Philadelphia Inquirer: Some sound call for 'resign-to-run' law in Pa.
From the Philadelphia Inquirer: "Six of the seven men hoping to succeed Gov. Rendell, who cannot run for a third term, are elected officials. All six - four Democrats and two Republicans - are capitalizing on the influence and attention that accompany their present jobs. . . . But five states - Arizona, Georgia, Florida, Hawaii, and Texas - bar certain elected officials from using their positions as stepping-stones. Those provisions are often called resign-to-run laws. Some say it's time for Pennsylvania to have one. . . . One aim of such measures, she said, is to keep officeholders focused on their current jobs rather than diverted by other ambitions. But states with resign-to-run laws have found they have a downside. In Arizona, the resignation requirement has become fodder for what Bowser called political gamesmanship. Officeholders seeking to trade up are often accused of running a below-the-radar campaign long before openly announcing their candidacies."
Click here to read the entire post.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Task Force Recommends Philadelphia Adopt Lobbying Rules
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports, "Philadelphia is the nation's largest city government where lobbyists roam City Hall free from rules requiring them to register, disclose clients, or identify whom they are meeting. Mayor Nutter's task force on ethics and campaign finance reform yesterday suggested ending that practice and asked the mayor to consider 35 other recommendations as he begins the second half of his four-year term."
Click here to read the entire post.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Unregistered Lobbyist Fined In Pennsylvania
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports "A Pittsburgh-based lobbyist agreed she violated Pennsylvania's lobbying law by working unregistered for about 200 days on behalf of a California film company that pushed for passage of a $75 million state film tax credit program. Leslie Merrill McCombs will pay $5,025, a fine of $25 for each day she was not registered for Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. in 2007, according to a recently released state Ethics Commission ruling."
Click here to read the entire post.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
WTAE-TV: Pittsburgh Campaign Finance Reform Bills On Table
According to this report, Pittsburgh City Councilman Bill Peduto "introduced a package of bills on Monday that would set donation limits in each election, eliminate no-bid contracts and create an online searchable database of all campaign contributions and contracts. He also introduced the Lobbyist Registration Act, which would require the annual registration of all lobbyists in Pittsburgh, and the Lobbyist Disclosure Act for finder's fees and payments to lobbyists."
Click here to read the entire post.
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Wall Street Journal editorial: The State Lawsuit Racket; A case study in the politician-trial lawyer partnership.
This Wall Street Journal editorial explores an interesting twist on traditional pay-to-play activities. A pending case in Pennsylvania involves a Houston law firm hired by the state, on a contingency fee basis, to litigate a case against a pharmaceutical company. The law firm's founding partner made substantial contributions to Gov. Rendell's 2006 campaign committee.
Click here to read the entire post.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
New York Times: Ex-Pennsylvania Lawmaker Convicted
The New York Times reports that "A 30-year veteran of the Pennsylvania State Senate was convicted Monday of defrauding the state and two nonprofit groups of $3.5 million and having state employees do political and personal tasks. After more than four days of deliberation, a federal jury unanimously found the former senator, Vincent J. Fumo, guilty on all 137 counts of conspiracy, fraud, obstruction of justice, and tax violations for using state employees and consultants to do political work and run personal errands."
Click here to read the entire post.
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