Pa. authorities will charge LaGrotta as part of corruption probe

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The Pennsylvania attorney general’s office said this morning that it will charge a former state legislator as part of a public corruption investigation.

Frank LaGrotta hired his sister and niece onto his taxpayer-paid payroll as “ghost employees,” said Kevin Harley, a spokesman for Attorney General Tom Corbett. Corbett scheduled a press conference at 11 a.m. to announce the charges.

LaGrotta, a Beaver County Democrat, served 10 terms before he lost the Democratic nomination in the May 2006 primary amid voter outrage over a 2005 legislative pay raise that was later rescinded.

LaGrotta later was hired as a consultant to the House Democratic caucus, but let go July 31 after an internal review “uncovered information” about LaGrotta, House Democratic leader Bill DeWeese said last month.

DeWeese said he provided the information to Corbett’s office, but would not elaborate on what it was.

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