HARRISBURG — In an October 2004 e-mail, former House Democratic Whip Mike Veon chided his legislative assistant Sean Ramaley for not knocking on enough doors to win over voters, during Ramaley's race for an adjacent House district.
"Why not any doors yesterday, Sean? A very nice day. The pace on the doors seems to be slowing down. Is it going to get any better?" Veon asked in the e-mail that was displayed on a large video screen yesterday in Dauphin County Court, where Ramaley is on trial.
Ramaley responded in an e-mail: "After picking up some checks at a labor breakfast, I decided I needed to spend the rest of Friday preparing for Saturday's debate. I expect to be back on doors heavily this week."
Ramaley, 34, of Baden faces six felony counts for allegedly using the part-time job in Veon's Beaver Falls district office as income while he campaigned for the House seat he subsequently won. He served two two-year terms.
Prosecutors claim Ramaley conspired with Veon to hold the no-work job, and that taxpayers paid for Ramaley's campaign.
Veon, who faces trial Jan. 19 for allegedly using public resources for campaigns, maintains his innocence.
Ramaley's defense could begin today.
He is the first of 12 people with ties to the House Democratic Caucus to go on trial on charges of using taxpayer resources for campaigns. Ramaley's trial was severed from the other cases because the charges against him did not include payment of bonuses to staffers for political work, an accusation central to the other cases. Five defendants have agreed to plead guilty.
Last month, Attorney General Tom Corbett charged 10 Republicans with defrauding taxpayers of more than $10 million spent for sophisticated computer equipment and programs used to give Republicans an edge in elections.
A second prosecution witness testified yesterday he didn't see Ramaley do any state work while Ramaley was a taxpayer-paid legislative aide for Veon.
Eric Komendant, who functioned as Ramaley's 2004 campaign manager, answered "no" when asked by Senior Deputy Attorney General Anthony Krastek whether he saw Ramaley do any work in his assigned state workplace.
But Komendant spoke highly of Ramaley in an e-mail after the campaign, and on the witness stand, saying he took the job with Ramaley's campaign because he "made a good impression" and was a "hard and determined worker."
Stephen Webb, a House research aide, testified last week that Ramaley campaigned on state time and he never saw him do legislative work. Defense lawyers attacked Webb's credibility because he admitted lying to a grand jury investigating legislative corruption.
Webb was assigned to Ramaley's campaign in July 2004. He worked with him for almost a month before a dispute between them resulted in Webb's transfer to a Butler County race.
Michael Manzo, the former chief of staff for the House Democratic Caucus, testified that Veon was "very concerned" about the 2004 race for the 16th District House seat Ramaley sought.
Manzo, who has agreed to plead guilty to corruption charges, said Veon told him he "wanted someone good out there" to run the campaign and sent Webb. Manzo said Webb received a $2,000 legislative bonus in mid-2004 before going there, to cover campaign expenses.
Documents entered as evidence show Webb remained on state payroll after being assigned to Veon's office, allegedly to campaign for Ramaley.
Other e-mails presented as evidence showed Veon's intense interest in the race.
Veon told Komendant in a July 12, 2004, e-mail that Republicans would target the district with an aggressive campaign.
"Sean has to knock on more doors. ... I am going to stay on (him) about it. I will integrate my volunteers and staff in his effort. We have a long way to go."
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