Meehan ties Lentz to Bonusgate scandal

From the Meehan for Congress campaign:

Former U.S. Attorney Pat Meehan provided information Wednesday showing that his opponent, state Rep. Bryan Lentz, was a key beneficiary of the Bonusgate scandal and one of his key campaign staffers received nearly $10,000 in taxpayer funded bonuses after working on Lentz' 2006 campaign.

"From inside this capitol, a massive and illegal political operation was conducted on state time with taxpayer money," said Meehan, who held a press conference today in Harrisburg in Main Rotunda of the Capitol Building "Legislative employees performed campaign duties during work hours, and public money was used to pay bonuses to campaign workers. We now know that operation as "Bonusgate." The evidence and grand jury testimony made public in connection with the Bonusgate trial lead directly to the front door of the Lentz campaign offices."

Meehan highlighted the case of an employee of the House Democrat Communications Office named Ann Collis who received a taxpayer-funded bonus of $9,565. Collis performed significant work on the Lentz campaign in 2006 and was listed as the "point of contact" on more than forty-one Lentz press releases after he was elected to office. Meehan noted that she was not some anonymous campaign worker stuffing envelopes in some out-of-the-way cubicle. Collis was deployed to the Lentz campaign by the House Democratic Campaign Committee, run by Representative Mike Veon, who is scheduled to be sentenced for his role in Bonusgate on Friday. Many other state employees, some of whom worked on Lentz' campaign, also received healthy bonuses, including those given to so-called "rockstars" who performed extraordinary campaign work for the Democratic party.

"The Lentz campaign was one of the primary beneficiaries of the Democrats' taxpayer-funded campaign operation and, to date, Mr. Lentz has yet to provide any answers. I am challenging him to do so," said Meehan. "What did he know and when did he know it? What, if anything, did he share with investigators?"

Meehan also highlighted the fact that Lentz received more than $250,000 from the Mike Veon-led House Democratic Campaign Committee in 2006- from fundraising done inside the state capitol, on state time, using state employees. "Does Mr. Lentz plan on returning the money, or any portion of it, linked to Veon?" asked Meehan.

"These are not riddles," said Meehan. "They are "yes" or "no" questions that require direct responses. His silence speaks volumes about the old school corrupt, go along to get along politics practiced by Bryan Lentz."

Meehan noted that Lentz said he was the first to call on House Majority Leader Todd Eachus to resign, however he waited to challenge his party leadership when he no longer needed it to be re-elected. In contrast, when then House Majority Leader Bill DeWeese's chief of staff was arrested in 2008, many Democrats called on DeWeese to step down from his leadership position. Bryan Lentz, however, refused. "A genuine reformer doesn't wait until it is convenient to demonstrate he is serious," said Meehan.

"I can tell you from my experience as District Attorney and as U.S. Attorney that very often, doing the right thing is inconvenient," said Meehan. "It might even hurt you or damage you. But you do it anyway. Being a real reformer is difficult but you realize how strong a wind is only when you try to walk against it. Too often, Bryan Lentz turned his back on the challenge and, like so many others, allowed himself to be carried along, landing only where the ground was familiar, and soft."

Meehan said Lentz' failure to stand up and do the right thing on Bonusgate calls into question his fitness to serve in Congress: "We cannot change Washington with a man who refused to change Harrisburg," said Meehan

For more on the Meehan campaign, visit his Web site, http://www.meehanforcongress.com/