Corbett (Gov-PA), wife accepted thousands in gifts from biz execs, lobbyists

[onehandle]

Source: Philadelphia Inquirer



IT WAS THE hottest ticket in town when the Pittsburgh Penguins dropped the puck for hockey's outdoor Winter Classic at Pittsburgh's Heinz Field on New Year's Day 2011. And Tom Corbett was among the spectators.

But the incoming governor didn't pay a dime for his seat at the game, or for a Winter Classic brunch - together worth $472, according to state records. Instead, the tab was picked up by lobbyist Robert Kennedy, vice president for governmental affairs at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

The next time Corbett found himself talking with UPMC officials was 10 months later, and he was wearing his governor's hat, not hockey-game garb. Pennsylvania's chief executive threw his considerable political weight into resolving a costly, high-profile dispute between Pittsburgh's largest hospital chain and that region's top insurer, Highmark.

The governor-elect's casual acceptance of the coveted hockey tickets was not an isolated instance, but part of a larger pattern of Corbett's taking gifts from lobbyists or businesses with substantial interests before the commonwealth - a pattern that some good-government groups say not only looks bad but also arguably violates the 33-year-old Code of Conduct that governs ethics in the executive branch.


Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/state/20130305_Corbett__wife_accepted_thousands_in_gifts_from_biz_execs__lobbyists.html

[Sheldon Cooper]

1. He's so crooked.

He has GOT to go next year.

[noel711]

8. You mean: "He's so COOKED..."

He is toast.
Specially with that investigation from the new attorney general-
he's implicated in covering up the Jerry Sandusky skata.

Count down begin...

(Love your handle..)

[Sheldon Cooper]

10. Let us join hands and beseech a deity!

I can only hope that he's cooked - PA voters are so flaky, hence Senator Pat Toomey, that I won't rest easy until he's well and truly gone. I really hope Kane nails him on the Sandusky scandal.

[RobinA]

2. Another Revelation

from the "water is wet" file. Politicians get perks, who knew.

[Stuart G]

3. K and R nt. thanks for posting

[Dustlawyer]

4. I don't see any difference to campaign donations!

The tickets got him into the game, and large donations got him into THE game!!! He knows who his big donors are. Put this way, if the donations were secret and the politician could not find out who donated what, DO YOU THINK THEY WOULD DONATE?

[rhett o rick]

5. I agree. nm

[Mnemosyne]

6. Gasshole. Hope Kane nails him on this too. nt

[mountain grammy]

7. The 1% loves politicians and politicians love them back, especially Republicans.

[Javaman]

9. Corporate Welfare King. nt

[mpcamb]

11. Get him in court; bring charges

while he's still in office.

[Tempest]

12. I bet Kane is licking her chops at this news

It'll go along well with her investigation into Corbett's role in covering up the Sandusky scandal.

[Divernan]

13. Big Insurance paid for Susan Corbett's inaugural gown/coat!

* In January 2011, when Corbett was becoming governor and his hometown Steelers were deep into a playoff run, his longtime friend Jack Barbour - head of the powerhouse Pittsburgh law firm Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney - bought him tickets to two of the games, worth $325. Buchanan Ingersoll is also one of the state's most powerful lobbying firms, representing UPMC, as well as energy companies EQT and the Williams Cos. and numerous medical and pharmaceutical outfits.

* When Corbett was sworn in that month, insurance executive Marty Lane, then-chief executivef of Aegis Security Insurance, donated $1,800 to defray the cost of Susan Corbett's inaugural gown and coat. At the time, Aegis was regulated by the Pennsylvania Insurance Department. (Designers Richard and Theresa Andries, of Andries Couture, also donated $8,276 in inaugural clothing for Pennsylvania's first lady, as well as a $1,500 birthday jacket.)

* As the Daily News reported in January, business executive John Moran of Moran Industries was running a fracking-well waste-recycling business in Sunbury, Pa., that was under scrutiny by the state Department of Environmental Protection at the same time he paid $1,422 for the Corbetts to fly to Rhode Island for a yachting vacation with Moran over July Fourth weekend in 2011. Moran paid an additional $902 to fly the governor to events in Williamsport and Pittsburgh on Sept. 30, 2011.

None of the gift-givers seems particularly eager to talk. The most expansive comment came from UPMC spokesman Paul Wood, who said: "The NHL Winter Classic was a major international event showcasing Pittsburgh and western Pennsylvania, and UPMC was more than happy to host the governor-elect and his wife."