2008 Call for PA Government Reform and Guilty Plea from Frank LaGrotta

• January 14, 2008: A coalition of government reform groups urged Gov. Ed Rendell today to call a special session of the Legislature to act on "integrity issues," a wide-ranging list of topics such as campaign finance limits, reducing the size of the legislature, term limits for legislators, a ban on lobbyists taking lawmakers to dinner and giving them gifts, ending "lame duck" sessions in November, letting independents vote in party primaries, and many other issues.

Democracy Rising, Common Cause, the League of Women Voters PA, the Commonwealth Foundation, PA Clean Sweep, and Rock the Capital urged Mr. Rendell to call the special session to give people more confidence in state government, which has been rocked in the past three years by controversy over legislative pay raises, an investigation into large bonuses for campaign work, the indictment of state Sen. Vincent Fumo on 139 public corruption charges, and the arrest of former Rep. Frank LaGrotta for hiring relatives as ghost employees. (“Pittsburgh Post Gazette,” Tom Barnes, January 14, 2008.)

• February 14, 2008: The Pennsylvania Office of Open Records (OOR) was officially created on February 14, 2008, as part of the state's Right-to-Know Law (RTKL). This law, also known as Act 3 of 2008, significantly changed public access to government records in Pennsylvania by establishing a presumption that all records are public and requiring agencies to justify withholding them. The OOR plays a crucial role in enforcing the Right To Know Law and ensuring transparency in government operations.

• February 27, 2008. “Ghost workers appear; Despite guilty plea, ex-Rep. LaGrotta to get full pension.”

Former state Rep. Frank LaGrotta is eligible for an estimated pension of $48,000 despite his guilty plea earlier this month for hiring ghost employees for his legislative office. Mr. Lagrotta is eligible for his full pension beginning in November, when he turns 50.

Mr. LaGrotta admitted putting his sister and niece on the state payroll, authorizing them to be paid $27,000 for work they never did.

The charges he pleaded to -- two counts of conflict of interest -- do not fall under the State Employees' Retirement System's list of 23 crimes that require pension forfeiture. (“Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,” Tracie Mauriello, February 27, 2008.)

Mr. LaGrotta pled guilty to two counts of conflict of interest for hiring relatives as "ghost employees," stopped repayment of the illegal pay raise, and was refunded the amount that he had previously returned. (Please refer to Ron Tomalis.)