Keystone Corruption: A Pennsylvania Insider's View of a State Gone Wrong - Softcover

Brad Bumsted

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1933822805 ISBN 13: 9781933822808

Publisher: Camino Books, Inc., 2013

Synopsis

Keystone Corruption: A Pennsylvania Insider s View of a State Gone Wrong traces the cyclical nature of misconduct in Pennsylvania government over the course of the last hundred years. Most of the book focuses on corruption since the 1970s, when the author had a front-row seat during the unprecedented scandals of 2007 through 2012.

Bumsted witnessed the prosecutions of current and former lawmakers for the theft of some $14 million in taxes, and he provides an insightful analysis of the rise and fall of several of Pennsylvania s most colorful political characters, including Boies Penrose, Matt Quay, R. Budd Dwyer, John Perzel, William DeWeese, Al Benedict, Ernie Preate, Jeffrey Habay, Vincent Fumo, Mike Veon, Michael Manzo and state Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin.

When it came to crimes from Bonusgate to Computergate and the Big caper Bumsted tracked the case at every turn.

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

In the years 2007 through 2012, prosecutors have charged 37 public officials with ties to the Capitol with public corruption. These included ex-lawmakers, sitting legislators, legislative aides and a Supreme Court Justice. The common theme was using state money as if it were their own.

Corruption: A Pennsylvania Insider's View of a State Gone Wrong traces the cyclical nature of political corruption in Pennsylvania over the last decade. The author, Brad Bumsted, had a front-row seat during the unprecedented scandals of 2007-2012 when he was a reporter at the Gannett News Service and the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

In this intriguing saga of power and scandal, Bumsted profiles some of Pennsylvania's most famous political thieves with first-hand accounts, interviews, and public testimony.

He watched the prosecutions of various lawmakers for the theft of $14 million in tax money, and he provides insightful analysis of cases involving Pennsylvania's most colorful characters, including Al Benedict, Ernie Preate, Frank Gigliotti, and the three Orie sisters Jane, Janine and state Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin.

The author also does not Keystone ignore the sometimes unfortunate consequences caused by such widespread political corruption. In one case, prosecutors went too far and wrongly charged a Republican staffer and ruined his life.

There's no simple solution to stopping it. The crimes against the taxpayers will continue as long people turn their heads to abuse, legal graft and thievery.

And the taxpayers keep losing.

About the Author:

BRAD BUMSTED is an award-winning Harrisburg reporter for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review He is a well-known political analyst who regularly appears on radio and television news programs focusing on state politics. He is the co-author, with William C. Costopoulos, of Murder Is the Charge: The True Story of Mayor Charlie Robertson and the York, Pennsylvania, Riots (2004). He lives with his wife, Gail, and daughter Lindsey, in New Cumberland

About this edition

• Publisher: Camino Books, Inc.
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1933822805
• ISBN 13: 9781933822808
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256