Executive Summary: Is
Tom Corbett Above the Law?
While the legislature and the attorney
general’s office have investigated gift-taking by members of the General
Assembly and a judge, no investigation has begun of the governor’s taking of
gifts and the receipt of government benefits by some those who gave. This
report documents shocking facts that demand an investigation and pose a stark
question: is Gov. Corbett above the law?
Gov. Corbett has delivered substantial
benefits to several people and companies that have made large gifts to him and
his wife. The benefits provided by the governor include appointments to state
commissions, appointments to the board of the state-funded and controlled Team
Pennsylvania which the governor co-chairs, a contract worth hundreds of
thousands of dollars entered into without competitive bidding, and regulatory
relief. In some instances, less than a week separates the date of the gift to
the governor and the receipt of a benefit to the gift-giver.
A review of public records[1]
finds that Gov. Corbett and his wife have received a total of $28,424.66 in
significant gifts. Of this total, $18,658.00
came from people and businesses that do business with or are regulated by the
state. Two major gifts, a gown and jacket for Mrs. Corbett, were given by designer
who appears to have received no benefit; therefore, the value is not included
in the $18,658.00. Also, not included in these totals are expenses paid by
other organizations for the governor to attend conferences, meetings or
speaking engagements or gifts that are plainly ceremonial. Gift givers have
also made $1,132,050.48 in campaign
contributions to the governor.
Gifts to the Corbetts approach the total value of the cash and jewelry
given to legislators and a judge in the notorious Ali sting
operation. But, unlike the Ali scandal, in which no meaningful quid pro quo has
been demonstrated, the governor's gift givers, in several instances, received
favorable actions—appointments to commissions and influential organizations
like Team Pennsylvania Foundation, contracts, grants, and regulatory relief
from the Corbett Administration. Based
on the current public record, gift givers to the governor have received more
and bigger benefits from the Corbett Administration than what has been revealed
in the much-heralded Ali sting.
In some cases, the giving of the gift and the
receipt of a benefit took place close together. The timing of these gifts and
receipt of the benefit add to the need for a full investigation.
Immediate
Action Needed
We are calling for a
thorough investigation of Gov. Corbett’s acceptance of gifts and subsequent
benefits to donors. We are asking the Auditor
General, the Attorney General, the United States Attorney for the Middle
District of Pennsylvania, the United States Department of Justice and/or the
Dauphin County District Attorney to begin investigations. The next governor
must re-issue an executive order on his first day banning employees and
officials in the executive branch from accepting gifts. We also are calling for
the General Assembly to pass legislation banning all government officials from
accepting gifts from lobbyists, individuals, and entities that do business with
or which are regulated by state government.
GOVERNMENT
FOR SALE
Appointments
to Commissions and Boards, Favorable Regulatory Action and Legislation
The gift givers, in several instances, received favorable
actions—appointments to commissions and influential organizations, contracts,
regulatory relief from the Corbett Administration, or passage of favorable
legislation. There are two examples when less than a week separated the date of
the gift to the governor and favorable treatment by the governor or his
administration to the gift giver. Repeatedly, a gift is given to the governor
and then a benefit flows to the gift giver. Based on what is in the public
record now, gift givers to the governor have received more and bigger benefits
from the Corbett Administration than what has been revealed in the Ali sting.
A
Special Partnership – Tom Corbett and Team Pennsylvania Foundation
Team Pennsylvania Foundation
(Team PA) is non-profit charitable (501 C 3) organization created in 1997 to
bring business and government together to work on economic development in the
Commonwealth. Its board is comprised of state agency heads, one member from
each legislative chamber, and representatives from local economic development
organizations, utilities, labor unions, lobbying firms, universities, and
variety of businesses and industries. Most of its revenue comes from
investments and grants from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and
Economic Development.
In 2001, Gov. Tom Ridge institutionalized Team PA within state
government by issuing an executive order directing state agencies to recognize
Team PA as a unique and trusted partner. On May 3, 2011 Gov. Corbett signed an executive
order that strengthened Ridge’s order by directing the
governor to include Team PA leadership on all relevant state government
commissions, boards, and appointments to other bodies.
A seat on the Team PA board
is a coveted plum. Board members can anticipate appointments to boards and
commissions. Board members also get direct access legislators and state agency
heads and to unparalleled business networking opportunities and accompany the
governor on overseas trade missions. Over the last three years, Team PA paid
the tab for Corbett’s and his wife’s participation in three trade missions, a
total of $25,578.84.
A
CHRONICLE OF GIFTS AND FAVORS
A review of Corbett’s ethics
disclosure filings and campaign contributions available online between 2008 and
2013 shows that:
·
Corbett and his wife have received a total of
$28,424.66 in gifts from people and businesses.
·
The gift donors have also made a total of $1,131,050.48 to Corbett in campaign contributions.
CORBETT
GIFT DONORS WHO GAVE GIFTS AND RECEIVED BENEFITS
John
Moran
Campaign
contributions - $141,833.06
Gifts
- $2,324.60
John Moran runs a business
empire from Watsontown, Northumberland County. His lines of business include
trucking, rigging, warehousing, security, information services, and
construction. He hauls waste over road and rail for the shale drillers. News
reports indicate that Moran began to haul shale drilling waste
the day before Corbett took office as governor, before he had a determination
from the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) that the operation did
not need a permit.
Moran joined the Team PA
board in June of 2011 shortly after Corbett signed the new executive order that
directs the governor to appoint Team PA leadership to all relevant boards,
commissions and other bodies. About a week after being appointed to the board,
Moran treated Corbett and his wife to a luxury yacht vacation in Rhode Island.
A few weeks later, in September, Corbett appointed John Moran to the Advisory Council
on Privatization and Innovation and Mrs. Moran to the Pennsylvania Museum and
Historical Commission. The day after the appointments, Moran provided Corbett
with free air transportation on Moran’s private plane and helicopter. In March
of 2012, Moran accompanied Corbett on the trade mission to France and Germany.
During the same time the DEP
ruled that Moran did not need a permit to operate a gas drilling waste hauling
operation in Sunbury. In June of 2012, Moran was named co-chair of Team PA at
the governor’s
urging.
Here’s the timeline:
·
Between 2008 and 2013, Moran contributed a
total of $141,883.06
to Corbett’s campaign.
·
In December 2010, Corbett named Moran to the Economic Development
Committee of his transition team.
·
On
June 26, 2011, Moran joined the board of Team PA, an
economic development organization made up of state officials and private
businesses.
·
On July 1, 2011, Moran gave Corbett a
four-day vacation on his private yacht in Newport, Rhode Island worth
$1,422.80. Corbett initially failed to disclose the gift on his 2011 ethics
disclosure form, but amended it later to show the gift.
·
On September 29, 2011 Corbett
appointed Mrs. Ann Moran, John’s wife, to the Pennsylvania Historical and
Museum Commission.
·
On September 29, 2011, he appointed Mr. Moran
to the Advisory Council on Privatization and Innovation Commission.
·
On September 30, 2011 Moran provide Corbett
and his wife free air transportation with a value of $901.80 on his private
helicopter and airplane.
·
On March 8 - 23 of 2012, Moran, in his
capacity as a Team PA board member, accompanied Corbett and Corbett’s wife on a
trade mission to France and Germany. Corbett’s and his wife’s ethics filings
show that Team PA paid the $10,856.00 cost for each of them.
·
On March 16, 2012 DEP deemed that Moran
did not need a permit to operate a truck-to-train gas drilling waste hauling
business in Sunbury.
·
On June 18, 2012, at Corbett’s urging, Moran
was named the private sector co-chair of Team PA. The government sector chair
is Corbett.
·
Team PA paid $1,154 for Corbett to travel to Silicon Valley,
California for a trade mission on September 13-15, 2012
·
Team PA paid $13,568.84 for Corbett to travel to South America for
a trade mission on April 6-17, 2013. News accounts indicate that Susan Corbett
also went, but her 2013 ethics filing is not yet available on the Ethics
Commission website.
·
On November 22, 2013, Moran took over a distressed commercial
property in Harrisburg for under $300,000.
Moran has clearly benefited
from his close relationship with the governor, receiving appointments to a
board and commission where he can establish and strengthen business connections
at the highest level. Corbett made appointments of both Morans to influential
commissions within weeks of accepting a free vacation on Moran’s yacht.
Blank
Rome
Campaign
contributions - $54,211.96
Gifts
- $10,065
Blank
Rome
is a high-powered law firm with an office in Philadelphia. Between 2008 and
2013, Blank Rome employees have contributed $54,211.96 to Corbett’s political
campaigns. The largest contribution was reported on December 31, 2012.
In 2008 and 2010 this law
firm also treated Corbett and his wife to premium tickets valued at $10,000 to fundraisers
for the Philadelphia Academy of Music. In 2010, Blank Rome bought Corbett a $65
ticket to the Phillies home opener.
In
January 2013, Corbett gave Blank Rome a $200,000 contract
to defend his administration from a lawsuit filed by AFSCME against his plan to
privatize the Pennsylvania Lottery.
Vahan
Gureghian
Campaign
contributions - $332,714.25
Gifts
- $500
Vahan Gureghian, Corbett’s
biggest single campaign donor, owns Charter School Management, Inc. (CSMI)
which owns and operates or provides back-office support for charter schools in
nine states. Between 2008 and 2013, he donated $332,714.25 to Corbett’s
political campaigns. The contributions include $136,714.25 in 2009. The 2009
contributions include two in November in amounts of $34,285.68 and $1,428.57.
His 2010 Corbett campaign contributions totaled $190,000. In November 2009,
Gureghian gave Corbett two World Series shirts worth $400, and in December the
same year, he sent Corbett a gift basked valued at $100.
Gureghian still operates
Chester Community Charter School, the first charter school he founded. Chester
Community Charter School is the largest bricks and mortar school in the state
enrolling half of Chester’s school children. He owns the buildings, hires the
teachers, and runs the schools. Chester Community also pays CSMI a management
fee. In 2011, the Pennsylvania Department of Education opened an investigation
of Chester Community for possible cheating on the Pennsylvania System of School
Assessment (PSSA) tests. In
October 2012, the department closed its investigation.
The department did find irregularities, but issued no sanctions against Chester
Community.
Frank
Schoeneman
Contributions
- $48,382
Gifts
- $1,406.80
Frank Schoeneman runs Empire
Education Group, the nation’s largest chain of cosmetology schools. Between
2008 and 2013, Schoeneman contributed $48,382 to Corbett’s campaigns. In
January of 2012, he made two separate contributions on the same day of $1,530 and
$3,416.85. In January of 2011, he provided free air transportation to Corbett
on his private plane with a value of $1,406.80.
In December of 2012,
Corbett signed legislation that lowered the requirements for obtaining a
cosmetology license.
The
Silvi Group Companies
Contributions
- $49,800
Gifts
- $918.11
The Silvi Group provides
stone, concrete, and other materials to road-building projects around the
state, including the Route 202 widening project. It also operates stone
quarries that are regulated by DEP. Between July of 2008 and April 2012, John
and Laurence Silvi donated a total of $49,800 to Corbett’s campaigns. On
February 21, 2009, the Silvi Group gave Corbett a day in New York City costing
$918.11 that included lunch, dinner, hotel and tickets to a Broadway show.
In December of 2010, Corbett
named John Silvi to the Economic Development Committee of his transition team.
In January
of 2014, Silvi Concrete received a grant from the Commonwealth
Financing Authority in the amount of $244,222 to construct a public compressed
natural gas fueling station at its concrete plant in Downingtown.
Buchanan
Ingersoll Rooney
Contributions
- $82,566.69
Gifts
- $1,162.13
Buchanan Ingersoll &
Rooney is one of the nation’s largest law and lobbying firms with offices in
Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia. Between 2008 and 2013, Buchanan
employees donated $82,566.69 to Corbett’s campaigns. In March of 2009, the firm
treated Corbett to two dinners with its CEO, Jack Barbour, with a value of
$837.15. In January 2011, Buchanan bought Corbett tickets to two NFL playoff
games with a value of $325.00.
Corbett administration
advisory boards and commissions are peppered with Buchanan personnel. There
were eight employees of the firm on Corbett’s transition team. Corbett named
Jack Barbour chair of the Advisory Council on Privatization and Innovation in
September 2011. The firm represents clients with myriad contracts, proposals, permits,
and business with the Commonwealth, including the gas drilling industry.
Buchanan lobbies for a range of legislation that would benefit both the firm
itself and its clients.
GIFT
DONORS WITH SUBSTANTIAL BUSINESS BEFORE STATE GOVERNMENT OR REGULATED BY THE
STATE
The following gift-givers
received no government benefit.
Martin
Lane
Contributions
- $88,488
Gifts
- $1,800
Martin Lane is Chief
Operating Officer, General Manager, and President of Aegis Security Insurance
Company in Harrisburg. Between 2008 and 2010 he donated $88,488 to Corbett’s
campaigns. In January, he contributed $1,800 to the cost of First Lady Susan
Corbett’s inaugural gown.
Lane’s insurance business is
regulated by the state.
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC)/ Robert Kennedy
Contributions - $334,014.32
Gifts - $472.00
Between 2008 and 2013, UPMC employees donated $334,014.32 to Corbett’s
campaigns. On New Year’s Day 2011, Robert Kennedy, UPMC’s vice president of
government relations, treated Corbett to the Pittsburgh Penguins Winter Classic
Brunch and hockey game with a value of $472.00.
UPMC is regulated by the state and has been embroiled in disputes with its
union employees and Highmark Insurance.
GIFT
DONOR NOT REGULATED BY STATE GOVERNMENT, NOT RECEIVING ANY BENEFIT
Andries
Couture
Gifts
- $9766.00
Andries donated a ball gown
valued at $8,276.00 to Susan Corbett for the inauguration and gave her a jacket
worth $1,500 for her birthday in 2011.
Conclusion
For generations, access, influence, and power
in the halls of Pennsylvania state government have flowed to those who make
large campaign donations to politicians.
During the Corbett administration, the
cash-corrupted culture of state government morphed into an even more venal
form. Now even huge political donations are not enough -- state government has
entered the age of the big personal gift. Lavish and expensive gifts have
become the icing on the campaign donation cake, and in some instances, the
gifts are so significant that they may be the cake itself.
The man most responsible for
creating the culture of giving and taking big gifts by government officials is
Governor Corbett. The taking of the major gifts by Gov. Corbett and the
benefits flowing to some of those who provided the major gift is scandalous. It
may also be illegal.
The actions of the governor raise
substantial legal issues that should be fully investigated. At this point,
public confidence in state government cannot be restored without such an
inquiry as well as the banning of all gifts to legislators and those working in
state government.
1 filed by Governor Corbett available online at http://www.ethicsrulings.state.pa.us/weblink8/CustomSearch.aspx?SearchName=SearchforStatementsofFinancialInterestsforms
and Campaign Finance Reports available online at https://www.campaignfinanceonline.state.pa.us/pages/CFReportSearch.aspx
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