Pa. government corruption trial enters second week

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — It’s the beginning of Week Two in Pennsylvania’s government corruption trial.

Prosecutors are expected to call more witnesses today in an effort to prove that three people formerly connected to the state House Republican caucus joined in a conspiracy to spend millions of taxpayer dollars on technology to illegally help GOP candidates in election campaigns.

Last week, a string of witnesses testified that state employees from the GOP caucus worked closely with tax-paid contractors on political projects important to then-House Speaker John Perzel, who has pleaded guilty and is expected to testify in the trial.

Defendants in the case are Brian Preski, Perzel’s longtime chief of staff; former Rep. Brett Feese, an ex-House GOP; and ex-Feese aide Jill Seaman. They face multiple counts of theft, conspiracy and conflict of interest.