Is there any chance taxpayers could get their money back? | Philly

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Saturday, November 14, 2009

Is there any chance taxpayers could get their money back?

Ten million dollars. That’s the amount Attorney General Tom Corbett says state Rep. John Perzel and his associates took in taxpayer money to fund political activities.

We got to wondering: if Perzel and the other defendants are found guilty, will taxpayers be able to get that money -- our money -- back?

The restitution process in a case like this would work the same way as it did in Vince Fumo's trial, according to Edward Ohlbaum, director of trial advocacy and clinical legal education at Temple Law School.

In the sentencing phase, the trial judge would probably "ask for … paperwork and documentary evidence so that he can calculate or determine what the loss was to taxpayers,” Ohlbaum explains. Both prosecutors and defendants would submit competing estimates of the damages, and the judge would decide on a number based on those calculations.

In Fumo’s case, prosecutors asked for more than $3.5 million in restitution to the state Senate and city nonprofits. In the end, Judge Ronald L. Buckwalter decided Fumo owed taxpayers about $2 million.

So there is an opportunity for redress here. But even if the defendants are found guilty, Pennsylvanians won't get their money back if the defendants simply don't have it.

“You can’t get blood from a rock,” Ohlbaum says, though he adds that the court could order the sale of defendants’ property or order that they turn over a portion of their future earnings. In his state Rep. job, Perzel made about $73,000 a year.

As for any corruption of democracy that might have happened here -- well, there's no undoing that.

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Posted by Anthony Campisi @ 10:09 AM Permalink | 7 comments

Comments

Posted 03:33 PM, 11/14/2009

Fernando08

Is it possible that elections can be overturned like tainted convictions because he used state resources in the pursuit of power through elected office, by passing legal contribution limits and augmenting campaign resources with those stolen from the state at the taxpayers expense?

Posted 04:32 PM, 11/14/2009

Tommy D

I want to remove his name from the Community Center in mayfair.

Posted 05:41 PM, 11/14/2009

pheonix

didnt perzel intoduce a bill that would require criminals do repay their victims? we should expect the same from him, no matter how long it takes.

Posted 07:14 PM, 11/14/2009

joeyfrom21st

i pray for justice to be served on this one i am sick and tired of these pigs bleading taxpayers dry they also need to arrest his friends at the p.p.a.

Posted 08:24 PM, 11/14/2009

TheGuyfromPhilly

I agree with Tommy D, take his name off the Mayfair community center, and also remove him from the Father Judge Alumni (he graduated from Lincoln) Hall of Fame, and also the Father Judge Board of Advisors. What is he going to advise students on... how to milk the taxpayer???

Posted 08:28 PM, 11/14/2009

TheGuyfromPhilly

As far as restitution, I believe he will forfeit his state pension except for what he put in. Thats great because he worked 30 plus years and will have to rely on social security. Fumo forfeited his pension but had plenty of money. Maybe he can get his job back as a waiter.

Posted 08:08 PM, 11/15/2009

creighton

Bottom line this punk is a thug look at him he looks like he is going to wet his pants. Sadly the people who voted for him are fools. He should pay it back just as anyone of us would. We can stop these people every single incumbent should be voted out of office they will begin to get the message. Wake up where is the outrage?

7 comments

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Ben Waxman reports and blogs for “It's Our Money.” Before joining “It's Our Money,” he was a regular contributor to the Philadelphia Daily News op-ed page and former contributor to the blog Young Philly Politics. He studied political science at Juniata College in Huntingdon, PA.

Doron Taussig is the Project Manager for “It's Our Money.” He is also a graduate student in communications at Temple University. Previously he worked as a Staff Writer and News Editor for the Philadelphia City Paper.

Dave Merrell is the Web Editor for "It's Our Money." He comes to the project from Philly.com, where he is a web producer. Originally from upstate New York, he moved to Philadelphia after graduating from Haverford College with a degree in math and economics.

Anthony Campisi reports and blogs for "It's Our Money." Originally hailing from Central Jersey, he came to Philadelphia while a student at the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied intellectual history. He also writes about transportation for PlanPhilly, an innovative urban planning website started by PennPraxis, the consulting arm of the Penn School of Design.