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Probe could impact Corbett's political career

He was the very picture of power and authority as he stood at the dais, his unruffled, silvery hair shining in the TV lights.

He was the very picture of power and authority as he stood at the dais, his unruffled, silvery hair shining in the TV lights.

Behind him, on dark-blue drapes, hung an oval plaque with his name, Tom Corbett, and seal of his office as Pennsylvania attorney general.

In announcing a lode of criminal charges yesterday against former House Speaker John M. Perzel and other Republicans, Corbett said he did not want to even discuss his political ambitions.

"I'm not here to talk about the governor's race," he said.

The 188-page grand jury presentment that Corbett made public at 1 p.m. in Harrisburg landed with an echoing thump in the middle of a 2010 gubernatorial campaign in which Corbett already was one of the favorites.

But taking on the party that has backed him throughout his political career, the Pittsburgh-area Republican might have boosted his chances of trading up next year to the governor's mansion.

No sooner had Corbett ended his news conference than his foes were saying it wasn't proper for him to mix prosecution and politics.

But by directing charges against fellow Republicans, Corbett muted allegations that he had targeted only Democrats in his investigations of political corruption.

"I was elected to go after people if they have done wrong, even if they have helped me," he said.

Even Neil Oxman, top adviser to Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dan Onorato, the Allegheny County executive, said the grand jury charges could boost Corbett's gubernatorial hopes.

"You have to ask yourself, 'Was it only Democrats doing this bad stuff, or were there other people?' " Oxman said Wednesday before Corbett's announcement.

"If he indicts Republicans," Oxman said, "it sort of says, 'OK, he took on people of his own party. He wasn't afraid to indict them. He is an evenhanded guy.' "

Berwood A. Yost, director of the Center for Opinion Research at Franklin and Marshall College, put it this way: "It gives him cover. It expands his resume to say that he is not bound by partisanship when it comes to corruption."

The flip side, of course, is that Republicans could be irked with Corbett for taking on one of their own.

However, that could be mitigated, a bit, by the fact that Perzel, a hard-charging, clenched-fist sort of personality, has enemies even in the House Republican caucus.

To be sure, some Republicans were grateful to Perzel for helping them win tough elections in their districts.

The kind of help that Perzel offered - the use of high-tech voting databases, allegedly paid for with taxpayer money - was what got him into legal trouble with Corbett yesterday.

Corbett, too, has benefited from Perzel's campaign help.

He said yesterday that Perzel and Perzel's then-chief of staff, Brian J. Preski - also charged yesterday with political corruption - had organized a 2007 fund-raising reception on behalf of Corbett's successful bid for a second term as attorney general last year. The event was held at the now-defunct law firm of Wolf Block.

Corbett's corruption prosecutions began 16 months ago with charges against a former Democratic House leader and several Democratic House employees in connection with staffers doing political work on state time.

In his 2008 attorney general's race, and now as a candidate for governor, Corbett stopped taking campaign donations from House members and employees.

He was asked yesterday what dealings he'd had with donors at the Wolf Block reception. "There has been very little contact with those individuals . . . once we understood where this investigation was going," he said.

Corbett's leading foe for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach of Chester County, has called for Corbett to quit as attorney general if he wants keep running for governor.

Gerlach, whose aides did not return calls yesterday from The Inquirer, has said it is wrong for Corbett to ask political people for campaign contributions and then stand in judgment of their conduct.

Democrat Tom Knox of Philadelphia, who is seeking to make political reform a centerpiece of his campaign for governor, said in a statement yesterday that "there is a perception that Corbett's actions as a prosecutor are calculated to benefit his campaign for governor."

"Unfortunately, Pennsylvanians will never know who was not charged or investigated as the attorney general seeks to solidify GOP support in his primary campaign for governor," Knox said.

Political reforms, such as limits on campaign contributions and reductions in the size of the legislature, have been issues in Pennsylvania elections for decades.

Voter anger over a pay raise that legislators voted themselves in the middle of the night led to a revolt that toppled numerous elected officials in 2006.

But Yost said that mood had waned. The big issue in the coming campaign, he said, will be the economy.

"If there was no real reform after the [earlier] scandals, what is it going to take?" he asked. "I don't see it happening. I don't mean to be too cynical."

Christopher J. Christie, a former federal prosecutor, made political corruption an issue in his winning campaign for New Jersey governor this year. But his Nov. 3 victory came down to which candidate could better handle high taxes and unemployment.

Clifford E. Haines, president of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and an advocate of constitutional changes, said he expected reform to be at least one issue in the Pennsylvania race.

"While I'm sure we're going to hear gubernatorial candidates talk about the importance of reform, the question has to be: 'How is it that you intend to do that? How is it that you intend to change this culture.' "

In his news conference yesterday, Corbett mentioned with frustration that some House Republicans had delayed the investigation and might have illegally obstructed it. He hinted broadly that more charges might be coming.

He has also said he will investigate all four caucuses of the legislature. He started with House Democrats. He is now on House Republicans. He hasn't said anything about the Senate.

Throughout next year, during the governor's race, the investigation and prosecutions will be running in the background. For Corbett, the constant noise could pose a risk as well as a reward.

"It will depend on how he handles it," Yost said.