Gene Stilp, government
reform activist and candidate for the state House of Representative, has sent a
letter to Governor Corbett asking him if he paid fair market rent for an
apartment he lived in while he was Attorney General. The apartment is owned by
Martin Lane, who has donated at least $88,000 to Corbett’s political campaigns
and gave $1800 toward the cost of Mrs. Corbett’s inaugural gown. The governor
must quickly provide an answer to this and several other questions Stilp posed
in his letter and in a complaint filed at the Ethics Commission involving the
appointment of Sheri Phillips as Secretary of the Department of General
Services. The letter from Stilp to the governor, his ethics complaint and supporting
documentation can be seen at http://www.scribd.com/doc/236816076/Gene-Stilp-s-letter-to-Gov-Corbett-Ethics-Complaint-Reference-Documents/
Stilp has
asked serious questions that deserve prompt answers. To understand the basis
for these questions, readers need to understand the context and the
relationships among Corbett, Martin and Phillips.
Martin G.
Lane, Jr. is a Harrisburg businessman who owns several insurance agencies and
property management companies, including Aegis Security, JGS Holdings and JGS
Management. He also owns unit 402 in a high-end condominium property at 2837
North Front Street in Harrisburg, one of several units in the building he has
owned over the years, including unit 302. Martin contributed at least $88,000
to Corbett’s political campaigns and donated $1,800 toward the cost of Susan
Corbett’s $10,076 inaugural gown.
Sheri L.
Phillips is currently Secretary of the Department of General Services. Prior to
holding the secretary position, she was Director of Management Services in the
Attorney General’s office while Corbett was the Attorney General. As of
February of 2011, she resided in unit 302 at 2837 North Front Street in
Harrisburg. She also owns a 10% interest in Lane’s JGS Holdings and JGS
Management and has listed she received direct or indirect income from Aegis
Security. In subsequent financial disclosure filings, Phillips lists her
address as 401 North Street in Harrisburg, which is her work address.
While he was
Attorney General, Corbett lived in unit 402 of 2837 North Front Street. From
2008 to 2013, Corbett accepted
$18,000 in gifts from political contributors, all of whom do business with
the state. The gifts include a luxury yacht vacation, an all-expenses paid trip
to New York City that included hotel, dinner and a Broadway show and
transportation on private planes and helicopters. Some of the gift-givers
received state benefits in the form of appointments to influential boards and
commissions, favorable government agency decisions and the passage of
legislation favorable to their financial interests. Other than the donation
toward the gown, Corbett did not disclose receiving other gifts from Lane.
Given his
history of accepting gifts from political donors, Corbett must quickly confront
any appearance of impropriety regarding his residence in a Martin Lane owned
property. He can easily do that by providing rent receipts or other proof that
he paid fair market value rent for Apartment 402 at 2837 North Front Street, Harrisburg.
