Bonus accusations against son test political family
Contract was cover for son's dealings, prosecutors say

Sunday, July 20, 2008
BY CHARLES THOMPSON AND JAN MURPHY
Of The Patriot-News

Eric Buxton, with an assist from his father, state Rep. Ronald Buxton, D-Harrisburg, started working at the state Capitol in 1999 as an intern.

Within six years, he secured a lucrative contract for information technology services with the House Democrats, far surpassing his father's pay. The House Democrats paid Eric Buxton's company $420,000 over 26 months.

Now prosecutors say that contract was a cover for blatant political work on the taxpayers' dime. The accusations put one of Harrisburg's top political families in the middle of a corruption scandal that has rocked the Capitol.

The state attorney general's office filed charges this month against 12 people associated with the House Democratic caucus, accusing them of illegally using taxpayer money, staff and resources for political campaigns.

Eric Buxton, 29, of Harrisburg, was granted immunity by Attorney General Tom Corbett's office for offering testimony before an investigating grand jury about his work for the House Democrats.

His testimony is one of several prongs that connect some of the House Democrats' top players: former Rep. Mike Veon; Mike Manzo, a former chief of staff to House Democratic Leader William DeWeese, D-Greene; and Brett Cott, a Veon staffer.

Last week, Eric Buxton referred requests for an interview to Ed Spreha, a Harrisburg lawyer. Spreha said that Buxton's immunity is limited to his grand jury testimony. If other evidence of wrongdoing emerges, Eric Buxton could still face charges. Spreha would not comment further.

There's no indication that Rep. Buxton, the chairman of the House Ethics Committee, faces problems from his son's dealings. Rep. Buxton has not been charged.

DeWeese and other top staffers would not comment on Eric Buxton's contract, saying it is still part of the secret grand jury investigation.

'For campaign purposes':

Eric Buxton told the grand jury he was hired in 2001 to work in the Democratic caucus's information and technology office. In 2003, he was appointed to the newly formed Leader's Communications Office. The office's stated purpose was to use new technology to tout the Democrats' message and achievements.

"Buxton testified that it was very clear from the beginning that [Veon and others] intended to use this operation for campaign purposes," the grand jury report states.

The office accumulated e-mail addresses and demographic information, enabling it to target messages to Democratic audiences. According to Eric Buxton, the system was adapted for campaign purposes by 2005 and used to send campaign e-mails in a special election in the Lehigh Valley from a computer in the Capitol.

Later that year, Eric Buxton began negotiations with Manzo and Steve Keefer, the director of the Democrats' information technology office and another of those charged last week, about starting his own company, now called Govercom. He wanted to take on the House Democrats' office as a client.

That deal was signed in 2005, with Eric Buxton making $10,000 a month. That grew to $16,875 a month by 2006. Rep. Buxton, for comparison, makes $76,163 a year, or about $6,400 a month.

Evidence uncovered by the attorney general suggests well over 300 campaign mass e-mails were created within the Capitol by House Democratic staffers and then sent to Eric Buxton's company for distribution.

"The terms of the contract appeared to be for legitimate legislative work that would be performed by Govercom," the grand jury's report states. "However as [Eric] Buxton testified, the contract was for services completely unnecessary to the caucus."

Caucus relations:

Rep. Buxton said he had no role in his son's hiring as a caucus employee in 2001. He also said, "I had no direct contact with what his superiors were assigning him."

Rep. Buxton has refused to discuss what his son might have told him about his work.

"This is still a continuing investigation, and at this point, I'm not prepared to comment on the specifics or try to determine certain people's actions," Rep. Buxton said.

Rep. Buxton, who was elected in 1992, has had hot and cold relations with his caucus leaders.

Democratic leaders have counted on Buxton for many key votes, including the 2005 pay raise for legislators, which was later repealed.

But Rep. Buxton has bucked his caucus leadership. Last year, he led an effort to end a government shutdown due to a budget impasse.

Despite his occasional independence that might have given DeWeese reason to make a peace offering to keep him in the caucus's fold, Rep. Buxton said he was never given any indication that was why his son's company was given the contract by the caucus.

"DeWeese didn't hire him," Rep. Buxton said.

Caucus staff also gave him no notice when his son's contract was abruptly terminated last fall because of "ethical" concerns, Rep. Buxton said. That move came just before House Democratic lawyers turned over a huge trove of records to Corbett's agents.

A caucus source said the ethical issue arose out of a review of contracts with former legislators or staffers and added that it was unclear what services Eric Buxton's company was providing.

Rep. Buxton said his son told him about getting subpoenaed by the attorney general's office. He advised his son to get a lawyer and suggested one to call. Rep. Buxton said he had no input in his son's decision to cut a deal with Corbett's office.

John Contino, the executive director of the State Ethics Commission, said absent any direct involvement in his son's hiring, Rep. Buxton would not be liable under an ethics provision dealing with conflict of interest.

Charges or not, his son's place in the center of the corruption scandal has made Buxton heartsick.

"The whole thing is just a mess, a political mess," Buxton said.

CHARLES THOMPSON: 705-5724 or cthompson@patriot-news.com JAN MURPHY: 232-0668 or jmurphy@patriot-news.com

Source: The Patriot-News