Veon jury hears details of a legislative love life
HARRISBURG – The intimate details of the sex life of a former legislative aide became fodder for the jury in a public corruption trial yesterday.
The former aide, Mike Manzo, at one point explained to the jury that an affair he had with an aide ended prematurely because he struggled to perform sexually.
The revelation came as a defense attorney confronted Manzo with e-mails to and from then-girlfriend Angela Bertugli that appeared to contradict his earlier testimony by showing their relationship continued well after his June 2005 marriage.
Manzo and his wife, Rachel Manzo, both pleaded guilty last month and are cooperating with prosecutors in the case of former House Democratic Whip Mike Veon and three aides, all of whom are charged with diverting state government money for political gain.
“I had some inability to perform, so I was being treated for it,” testified Manzo, the former House Democratic chief of staff. “So it was inappropriate but nothing additional happened.”
Under questioning by defense lawyer Dan Raynak, Manzo told the jury about e-mails he and Bertugli exchanged that showed them making plans to get together behind his wife’s back. He admitted driving a state-owned car to meet with her and sending what Raynak called “love letters on the taxpayers’ dime.”
“It was intimate and it was inappropriate,” said Manzo, who also offered that he did not consider oral sex to meet the definition of intimate. He told Raynak that he continued to deceive his wife long after their marriage, even though he said she is the person with whom he is most truthful.
Leaving the courthouse, Manzo said he was comfortable with his testimony but declined to comment about when his affair ended.
“The issue he has been called to testify on is not his marital affairs,” Senior Deputy Attorney General E. Marc Costanzo said at the end of the day. “The issue is: What criminal activity was he involved in?”
Raynak said Manzo changed his story twice, giving jurors something to consider in weighing his credibility.
“The relevance is whether or not you’re willing to be candid with the person you’re closest to in the world, and second of all – and more importantly – whether you’re willing to be candid and honest with a jury about when it ended,” Raynak said after the court session.
Veon, Brett Cott, Annamarie Perretta-Rosepink, and Stephen Keefer are on trial on theft, conspiracy and conflict of interest charges. Prosecutors say they took part in a scheme to divert public resources for political campaigns and other purposes.
Also yesterday, former Veon chief of staff Jeff Foreman, a lawyer whose license was suspended by the state Supreme Court in November as a result of his involvement in the case, described for jurors what he knew about the range of election activities that legislative workers did on state time.
He said these included, among other things, raising money, collecting nominating signatures, researching opponents, and doling out state-paid bonuses to reward campaign work.
“Foreman’s testimony was a highlight reel of exactly what we say has been going on over there and exactly what we’re required to prove,” Costanzo said.
Foreman, who also pleaded guilty last month, said fellow legislative employees tried to cover their tracks after news broke in January 2007 that millions of dollars in bonuses had been quietly handed out to employees of the General Assembly.
“Most people were deleting things,” Foreman said. “I certainly deleted e-mails.”
In all, 25 people with ties to the state House have been charged in the investigation into the legislature’s campaign and financial practices – 15 connected to the Democratic caucus, and 10 tied to the Republican caucus.
Four are on trial, seven have pleaded guilty, one was acquitted in December, and 13 await trial.
- Eight policemen dead in Pakistan suicide attack
- URUGUAY: New President Aims for Leap in Development
- Venezuela asks Interpol to arrest critical TV station owner
- Gaines hits buzzer-beating trey
- Google threatens China over massive cyber attack
- BCS likely to force USC to give up '04 title
- DEVELOPMENT: Grassroots Aid Groups Struggle to Stay Afloat
- UAE, Saudi Arabia to block BlackBerry
- Wyclef Jean predicts OK for Haiti campaign
- IMF warns on global economic recovery
More source:
Veon and 2 aides guilty in scheme to fund campaignMike Veon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
TWC-July08-220x147 - Press: The Attorney General's Press Office ...
'Mistakes' cost former lawmaker Veon 6-14 years - Pittsburgh ...
Random News
- Roy leads banged-up Portland over Lakers
- Karzai criticized over Afghan poll watchdog move
- Clinton, Netanyahu clash on Jerusalem
- PUNCH: Obama at All-Time Lows for Handling of Economy, Health Care in Gallup Poll
- McNabb says he'll start
- Pro Bowl WR Austin signs $3.2M tender with Cowboys
- Ice tour denies Weir's snub was over sexual orientation
- Sting: FBI Nabs Firearms Execs in Vegas
- MS pills show promise and risk, studies say
- Oscars: The odds are on Mo'Nique
Submited at Wednesday, February 10th, 2010 at 11:01 am on Politics by Demoli
Comment RSS 2.0 - leave a comment - trackback