State recommends more than 3 years in prison for Veon co-defendant

Tribune-Review (Pittsburgh area) ^ | 20 May 2010 | Brad Bumstead

[Vigilanteman]

(More details on Corbett's subpoena of Twitter

HARRISBURG — The Attorney General's Office is recommending up to three years and eight months in prison for the first defendant in a legislative corruption scandal to face sentencing, and says his anonymous use of a website to criticize prosecutors shows lack of remorse.

Brett Cott, former legislative analyst for ex-Democratic Whip Mike Veon, is scheduled to be sentenced Friday by Dauphin County Judge Richard Lewis.

Cott was convicted with Veon and another aide, Annamarie Perretta-Rosepink, in March. Veon and Rosepink will be sentenced next month.

Cott was convicted of three felonies: theft, conspiracy and conflict of interest for running Veon's political operations on state time with state resources.

In a document filed with the court by Attorney General Tom Corbett, prosecutors claim Cott is a "remorseless, defiant, repeat offender."

He allegedly engaged in similar activities in Kansas and Wisconsin and has a "deep commitment to the illegal campaign culture," Corbett's memo states.

Corbett on Tuesday won the Republican nomination for governor. He will face Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato, a Democrat, in November's general election.

Bryan Walk, Cott's lawyer, said this week that Cott has no prior criminal record. He said these types of crimes for a first-time offender typically would result in probation or a prison term of months, not years.

Any prison terms on the three offenses should run concurrently, he said.

Corbett asked Lewis to impose the prison terms consecutively.

Walk said Cott was not convicted of doling out illegal bonuses, which was the heart of the prosecution's case against Veon.

But Corbett is recommending the "aggravated" sentencing range of 18 to 44 months, saying Cott's theft amounted to $50,000 to $100,000.

[Vigilanteman]

Veon and his staff have been a major thorn in the side to the state AG office. Not only didn't they blatantly misuse taxpayer money to oil their political machine, but they have sought to escape responsibility by claiming they are remorseful. Their use of Twitter postings is really no different from the murder boasting what he got away with in the local bar and they are trying to turn it into a first amendment issue.

FWIW, I think Corbett could have handled it better by not involving Twitter in a subpoena, but these slippery s.o.b.s have done it all including buying judges and I can understand Tom's frustration to bring this lengthy case to a close.

[Vigilanteman]

The rest of the story . . .

[Notary Sojac]

Well, honest citizens should have the right to express their opinions freely and anonymously on the web.

Corrupt bottom feeding douchebags should have the same right.

[Vigilanteman]

I suppose you may be right, except in this case the corrupt bottom feeding douchebag was claiming he should get a reduced sentence because he is genuinely remorseful.

This case has been going on since at least 2006. Veon and his minions were fleecing the taxpayers for at least a quarter century before it came to light.

It is common in court cases and pending cases for involved parties to be told not to discuss the content of their cases (until finalized) with anyone outside the court or their lawyers. Such orders include anonymous postings on the web.

A favorite mafia tactic used to be to deliver newspapers or magazines to sequestered jurors in order to get a mistrial declared. Since Veon's boys are close cousins of the mafia, this may be their version of the same tactic.

[brityank]

Sentencing:

Former Veon aide gets prison for political work

HARRISBURG - Citing a "clear violation of the public trust," a Dauphin County judge today sentenced a former aide of ex-Democratic Whip Mike Veon to 21 months to five years in a state prison for stealing taxpayer resources for political campaigns.

Brett Cott, 37, now of New York City, is the first defendant sentenced in a legislative corruption scandal that led to charges against 26 former legislators and staffers of both political parties in a three-year investigation by the attorney general's office. A jury in March convicted Cott of theft, conspiracy and conflict of interest.

One down, two to go.