DA John Morganelli Demands AG Corbett to Return Tainted Money

District Attorney John Morganelli, likely Democratic nominee for state attorney general, is demanding incumbent AG Tom Corbett to return all monies contributed to him by casino owner, landfill owner, banker, auto and body parts dealer, and "businessman" Louis A. DeNaples. Oh yeah, he's a convicted felon, too. DeNaples, you might recall, has been charged with perjury for lying about his connection to the mob. He probably just forgot. Corbett is letting a county DA handle this major prosecution while he spends a few more months mulling over minor charges against political consultant Severson Scissorhands for disrupting a funeral mass.

"It is completely unacceptable to have the state's chief law enforcement officer financially tied to a person who is under indictment by a Pennsylvania grand jury for perjury, allegedly for lying about his ties to the mob and organized crime in order to obtain a gaming license. Mr. Corbett's recalcitrance compromises the integrity of the Office of Attorney General."

Although acknowledging that DeNaples is presumed innocent and entitled to due process, Morganelli is "astonished that our Attorney General sees no problem with the chief law enforcement officer of the state keeping large amounts of money given to him by a person who is now indicted for perjury, allegedly for lying about his ties to the mob and organized crime in order to obtain a gaming license which Mr. Corbett oversees as Attorney General."

In 2004 and 2005, Corbett received $40,000 in separate campaign contributions from D&L Realty, listed as an unincorporated association. Unfortunately for DeNaples and Corbett, blogger and journalist Dave Ralis made that connection. Kinda makes you wonder what Corbett's seven-lawyer corruption unit is doing, other than picking up a check every two weeks.

According to the Inky, DeNaples has greased Corbett with at least $55,000, although no one is certain. Morganelli questions the timing.

"The largest single contribution received by Mr. Corbett on April 15, 2004, was less than 3 months BEFORE the slots law was passed on July 5, 2004. The contribution to Mr. Corbett on January 20, 2005 was just 2 days after the day Mr. Corbett was sworn in as Attorney General and well after the slots law had passed giving oversight of gaming law to the Attorney General. Once Mr. DeNaples applied for a casino license, Mr. DeNaples was barred by law from making campaign contributions. But DeNaples was smart enough to make all the contributions BEFORE applying, gaining favor with Mr. Corbett, the chief law enforcement officer of Pennsylvania specifically charged with gaming enforcement."

Larry Sabato, political science professor at the University of Virginia, claims "There's only one good rule. Return the money by certified mail, immediately." But a Corbett spokesperson, Kevin Feeley, claims there was "nothing hidden" or illegal about these contributions when they were made.

Really? D&L Realty is an unincorporated association. But everyone knows that's Louis DeNaples. Nothing hidden there, eh? As Morganelli makes clear, it's bizarre that the state's top law enforcement officer would even think twice before returning money that just may be tainted by the mob.

"Clearly, the financial ties between Mr. Corbett and Mr. DeNaples has been and will continue to be troublesome for the integrity and independence of the OAG. It has in effect handicapped the Attorney General in his legal duty to oversee gaming. For example, Attorney General Corbett had authority to investigate Mr. DeNaples for perjury, but chose to permit Dauphin County DA Ed Marsico to pursue the matter. Mr. Corbett's spokesman has said that the large amounts of money Mr. Cobett received from Mr. DeNaples played no role in Mr. Corbett's deferral to DA Marsico. But how can the public be so assured? There is an appearance that the Corbett/DeNaples connection hampered the Attorney General. There is an appearance of impropriety. The public deserves to hear in detail, directly from Mr. Corbett, and NOT his spokesperson, on why he passed on the DeNaples alleged perjury matter. Was it the money he got from Mr. DeNaples? A friendship? Some other reason?

"Another question that needs to be answered is why the state police brought the DeNaples case to the DA instead of the AG. WHY? Or did, perhaps, the state police bring the case to the AG and he declined? The DA of Dauphin County Ed Marsico appears to be doing the heavy lifting on DeNaples and other gambling related matters. It has been reported that DA Marsico was asked to handle prosecutions of several individuals who ran afoul of the gambling act's provisions regulating political campaign contributions. Mr. Marsico reportedly said that these "minor" cases were settled with regulatory fines and without criminal charges. If this is so, why is DA Marsico handling these matters when AG Corbett is primarily charged with gaming enforcement and has a specific unit in the OAG to do so?

"The Corbett/DeNaples financial tie also hampers the OAG going forward. On Sunday March 9, 2008, the Pittburgh Tribune Review rightly called for an investigation into the clearly inconsistent testimony between state police officials and others regarding the issuing of the license to Mr. DeNaples. Unfortunately, the Tribune-Review's call for the Attorney General to investigate cannot occur until Mr. Corbett gives back the DeNaples money. Mr. Corbett cannot ignore the clear conflict of interest he has relative to any investigations related to the DeNaples license.

"It is perplexing why AG Corbett continues to fail to recognize conflicts of interest. Just like the BonusGate investigation where he is also severely conflicted and continues to jeopardize the ultimate outcome of any prosecutions, here again Mr. Corbett is allowing campaign cash to affect his duties. Mr. Corbett cannot have it both ways. He cannot continue to scoop up large campaign contributions from people he has an obligation to investigate. Mr. Corbett's non-recognition of the cloud that now hangs over the OAG is incomprehensible. If Mr. DeNaples is truly connected to organized crime figures as alleged, should the Attorney General also be so connected by a $55,000 campaign contribution? Again, I am not questioning Mr. Corbett's integrity. But I do again question his judgement in failing to recognize that he should give back all the money he received from Mr. DeNaples.

"Lastly, Mr. Corbett may argue that Mr. DeNaples gave money to many officials of both political parties and that all contributions were, at the time, legal. Such an argument fails to appreciate the unique nature of the Office of Attorney General. Unlike other recipients of campaign funds from Mr. DeNaples, the Attorney General is the state's chief law enforcement officer. Also unlike the other recipients, the AG is uniquely and specifically charged with gaming oversight. Clearly, Mr. Corbett, as the chief law enforcement officer of Pennsylvania, must immediately give back all money received from Mr. DeNaples. He must disconnect the OAG from any relationship with a person who now stands indicted as associated with organized crime. And, Mr. Corbett must answer why he has declined to date to investigate the circumstances surrounding the issuing of the gaming license to Mr. DeNaples and the apparent conflicting testimony that has surfaced regarding same."

Is There a DeNaples-Corbett Connection?

Is there some sort of connection between casino/landfill/banker/auto parts/body parts/convicted felon "businessman" Louis A. DeNaples and Attorney General Tom Corbett?

Here are the facts:

1. Our Pennsylvania Gaming Law specifically provides that the Attorney General (AG) is the dude with PRIMARY responsibility for investigating and instituting criminal proceedings. It even goes so far as to authorize creation of a separate gaming unit under the AG. Although county DAs clearly have authority to look at what goes on under their noses, the legislature obviously wants its varsity squad to have first crack on these matters.

2. Attorney General Tom Corbett is nevertheless letting the second string handle the prosecution of Poconos casino owner Louis A. DeNaples. You see, some people think that the mafia has ties to the gambling industry. I'd never have guessed that. Screwy Louey - who's also in solid waste management just like the Sopranos - is charged with lying about his ties to Scranton crime bosses Russel Buffalino, Christopher Moltisanti and Corrado "Junior" Soprano. I guess the grand jury never believed that nun, Sister Mary Petunia, who claimed Louey has "great respect for the elderly and the poor."

If Louey can fool a nun, he's good.

3. So now we've got Dauphin County JVs doing the heavy lifting in a major prosecution. When the second team's authority was questioned before the state supremes, guess who rushed to their defense? That's right. AG Corbett actually filed a brief that amazingly supports Dauphin DA Marsico. The court relied heavily on the AG's abdication of his own authority.

4. Apparently, the state police brought the case to the DA instead of the AG. Why did the staties go to Dauphin County instead of directly to the AG? Why was the AG in such a hurry to dump this case?

5. That's elementary, my dear bippy. The answer is money, lots and lots. The garbage business is very profitable. Ask Tony Soprano. According to Dave Ralis, De Naples has contributed a whopping $1 million to prosecutors, judges and political parties. All perfectly legit, too. Legal bribery. Ralis claims at least $35 thousand of that sugar went to AG Corbett. According to the Inky, it's actually $55,000. Oh yeah, Ed Rendell picked up a cool $140 grand from Louey, too, and calls him "salt of the earth" right before he kisses his ring.

6. As you can see for yourself on Ralis' Daily Rant, Corbett was taking DeNaples' money just 2 months before the slots law was passed. Once DeNaples applied for a casino license, DeNaples was barred by law from making campaign contributions.

7. State police were reluctant to share information with the AG and instead went to a local prosecutor.

Here are some questions:

1. Why did Corbett take a pass on DeNaples? Money? Friendship? Some other reason?

2. If DeNaples is really connected to the mob, as one grand jury seems to think, then what the hell was Corbett thinking when he took $55,000 from him? For that matter, what the hell was Rendell thinking? Corbett should return this money now that DeNaples has been indicted for a gaming law- related crime, one that Corbett should have been prosecuting in the first place.

3. State police went to the JVs instead of the AG, even though he has the muscle for this kind of an investigation. We have AGs for precisely this reason - the prosecution of major organized crime. Why did staties go local? Were they following the money, too?

I smell a new HBO series.