FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 2014

CONTACT: GENE STILP
717-829-5600
genestilp@comcast.net

SECOND “ETHICS GATE” SCANDAL SUIT FILED

CITIZEN ACTIVIST GENE STILP FILES SUPPLEMENTAL SUIT AGAINST PA STATE ETHICS COMMISSION, SENATE REPUBLICAN AND DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS AND THE HOUSE REPUBLICAN AND DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS OVER ILLEGAL SPENDING OF TAXPAYER FUNDS ON CAMPAIGNS

In a suit filed Tuesday, April 2, 2014, citizen activist Gene Stilp asked the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court to overturn the Pennsylvania State Ethics Commission OPINIONS which have allowed legislators to utilized taxpayer funds for political purposes. Stilp also asked the Commonwealth Court to also stop the same practice in the Senate which incidentally never even asked the Ethics Commission for an Opinion and only relied on an internal memo.

This suit which is attached, asks the court to stop all mailings, emailings, birthday cards, robocalls, invitations to incumbent events, etc. and all other hidden use of taxpayer funds, in new areas of the new districts where the incumbent is not currently the elected representative or senator. The new districts take effect later this year. Stilp said, “It is necessary to sue all four caucuses, both Rs and Ds.”

The OPINIONS called into question in this case are Ethics Commission OPINION 13-0006, 13-0007, OPINION 14-003 and 13-002. These are attached Exhibits A through D. The Senate Memo, Exhibit E, is also attached.

Mr. Stilp said, “This is organized theft by the legislators of taxpayer funds for political purposes with the PA Ethics Commission acting as co-conspirator. Ths is the Bonusgate scandal and the Pay Raise Scandal rolled into one. In the Bonusgaet Scandal taxpayers’ funds were illegally used for election purposes and in the Pay Raise Scandal the legislators personal income benefited from the taxpayers’ funds. Here the legislators received in-kind income through from taxpayer funds.”

Mr. Stilp has a long history with the PA Ethics Commission including a recent ful Ethics Complaint against the six current appointed ethics commissioners concerning their misuse of the opinion process in allowing 146 legislative incumbents to utilize taxpayer funds for election purposes in their OPINIONS numbered 13-002, 13-006, 13-007 and 14-003.

Mr. Stilp said, “I wonder what the PA Ethics Commission staff does when they receive a complaint against themselves which asks for an investigation of the unethical behavior of the ethics commissioners. In the meantime they also now have a Commonwealth Court suit on theirs hands.”

“It must remembered that the PA State Ethics Commission has a recent history of some very unethical behavior,” said Mr. Stilp. Mr. Stilp won a major U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals case in 2010 against the PA Ethics Commission when they acted in a completely unconstitutional fashion. No. 09-3016 of 7-22-10. He has also won the earlier Federal Middle District of Pennsylvania case.

Download Petition (PDF)

 

Photo by Kurt Komoda