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Harrisburg, Pa. - It's been a thousand days since the Bonusgate allegations first surfaced, and many wonder why only 12 Democrats have thus far been charged. The state's top prosecutor, who's running for the state's top job, is being accused of playing politics with the issue.
Some say Attorney General Tom Corbett is guilty of doing the very thing he's trying to clean up, and those political activists met at the Capitol on Tuesday afternoon. Where are the additional charges, they wonder, and is Corbett the beneficiary of his own drawn-out prosecution?
"You can't do both; Monday be Attorney General, Tuesday be a candidate, Wednesday be Attorney General, Thursday be a candidate. That's one of the problems that led to the slippery slope of Bonusgate," political activist Eric Epstein said.
Also slippery: one of the most political guys in Harrisburg - a Republican running for Governor - has thus far only prosecuted Democrats. It's a recipe for criticism and he's getting it.
One of the Bonusgate defendants supplied abc27 with Corbett's cell phone records paid for by his campaign. They show numerous calls to staffers in the attorney general's office.
Corbett says his campaign cell is his primary phone. "It's easier to keep it on one that the taxpayers are not paying for. That's the most important thing: taxpayers aren't paying for this. Either the campaign or myself are paying for this," Corbett said.
But what about the person taking the call on a state phone, in a state office, on state time? "There has to be a giant line between state work and campaign work and that seems to be being clouded in the attorney general's office at this point," said political activist Gene Stilp.
Also troubling: attorney general employees that taxpayers pay have taken leaves of absence to work on Corbett's campaign. When the election is over, they'll return to their state jobs.
It's a common practice at the Capitol and Corbett defends it. "The campaign pays for them the whole time. Their salary paid by the campaign, health care paid by the campaign," Corbett said.
But Stilp disagrees. "If you're working on a campaign, fine, work on campaign. If you're working in the Office of the Attorney General, work there. Let's not do both at the same time because it looks like Attorney General Corbett is doing the same thing the legislature did in Bonusgate, simple as that."
Corbett's spokesman says the Bonusgate charges are far more serious than cell phone use and staffers going on and off state time.
Perhaps the biggest crime: Stilp estimates the state has now spent nearly $15 million for defense lawyers, prosecution lawyers, and lost productivity to prosecute what was a misappropriation of $3.5 million in bonuses.
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