Brash and bombastic, serious and thoughtful, DeWeese testifies

HARRISBURG - He conjured the American political system begun by the likes of James Madison and Alexander Hamilton. He discussed the influence of Henry David Thoreau.

And, in more than three hours on the witness stand Wednesday, state Rep. Bill DeWeese told jurors in his corruption trial that he had worked within the great traditions begun by those men and had not done anything illegal.

By turns brash and bombastic, serious and contemplative, DeWeese testified that he knew some of his legislative aides enjoyed politics, but that he always directed them to keep their campaign work separate from their legislative responsibilities.

"I didn't do anything wrong . . . and I still feel that way," the onetime top House Democrat told the seven women and five men.

DeWeese, 61, is charged by the state Attorney General's Office with directing, condoning, and even insisting - on pain of being fired - that legislative staff work on political campaigns while taxpayers picked up the tab.

Later Wednesday, Senior Deputy Attorney General Ken Brown in his closing statement likened DeWeese to the statuette in The Maltese Falcon, the 1940s film about a quest for a priceless, jewel-encrusted falcon - which turns out to be made of lead.

The prosecutor contended that the slew of character witnesses who came to testify on DeWeese's behalf knew only his "public face."

But "the sick and sad dirty truth about Bill DeWeese," argued Brown, is that he is merely a "common thief" who forced his staff to do campaign work so that he could hang onto elective office.

" 'I'm entitled to do it, and I'm going to do it' - that's Bill DeWeese," Brown said.

While on the stand - as his 91-year-old mother, Dotty, and other supporters looked on - DeWeese mostly kept his famous temper in check, only at the end of cross-examination raising his voice and declaring: "Holy mackerel!"

Earlier, under questioning from his lawyer, Bill Costopoulos, DeWeese told jurors that the system Madison and Hamilton had helped craft required him and others to "go to the people" at regular intervals to seek reelection.

Saying "God bless America," he depicted an environment in which politics and legislative work sometimes blended - but said he always reminded people to do campaign work responsibly.

He also said that when he was House Democratic leader, he delegated many day-to-day responsibilities to aides - and trusted them to do the right thing. He said he didn't learn that House Democratic staffers were improperly working on politics during the legislative day until after prosecutors launched their investigation in 2007.

Just before wrapping up his questioning of DeWeese, defense lawyer Costopoulos showed the jury a handwritten note from a DeWeese aide in 2004. At the time, another House member was under scrutiny for politicking on state time, and DeWeese wanted a state Ethics Commission report distributed to staff in his district office.

The note said, "He [DeWeese] wants to make sure that staff activities remain within legal limits."

Costopoulos described DeWeese this way in his closing statement: "He's got a big heart. He trusts too much. He might delegate too much. But he did not commit these felonious crimes that he's been charged with."

The jury is expected to begin deliberations Thursday.