Former Pa. legislator, aide ordered to stand trial on corruption charges

Former Pa. legislator, aide ordered to stand trial

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A judge has ruled that a former Pennsylvania legislative power broker and his one-time aide should stand trial on corruption charges.

Harrisburg District Judge William Wenner’s ruling Friday was a serious setback for Mike Veon, the former Democratic House whip, and co-defendant Annamarie Perretta-Rosepink. A previous judge had dismissed the charges but prosecutors refiled some of them.

In the current charges, prosecutors allege that Veon and Perretta-Rosepink illegally diverted millions of taxpayer dollars through a nonprofit that Veon controlled — the Beaver Initiative for Growth — to hire consultants who did little or no work, rented office space that the nonprofit hardly used and performed political and legislative tasks.