House deputy speaker urges DeWeese to resign

HARRISBURG -- House Majority Leader Bill DeWeese should step down from his Democratic leadership post, Deputy House Speaker Josh Shapiro said today.

Shaprio, who chaired a legislative reform panel last year, said DeWeese needs to give up his position in the wake of corruption charges filed in July against a sitting lawmaker, a former Democratic leader and 10 current and former staffers.

"We need a cultural change in the Capitol. We need leaders who are committed to transformational reform. We need a monumental shift and we need it now," Shapiro said.

DeWeese, D-Greene County, maintains he knew nothing of the massive political operation allegedly run at taxpayers' expense by his former chief of staff, Mike Manzo, and former Democratic Whip Mike Veon.

Manzo, Veon and the staffers face charges of theft, criminal conspiracy and conflict of interest.

On July 10, Attorney General Tom Corbett announced the charges against the Democrats, including Rep. Sean Ramaley of Economy who last week bowed out of a state Senate race but continued to maintain his innocence.

Shapiro said the abuses alleged by the grand jury occurred on DeWeese's watch, and DeWeese appears incapable of reforming it. He warned Democrats could lose control of the House with DeWeese as the "face of our caucus."

Shapiro, D-Montgomery County, was instrumental in putting together a deal that vaulted Republican Rep. Dennis O'Brien to speaker in January 2007 because DeWeese could not garner enough votes to be speaker.

Instead, DeWeese was elected as majority leader, the top official in the Democratic Caucus.

Five other House Democrats have urged DeWeese to step aside as leader -- four since the charges were announced.

"Once the public trust is shattered it can never be put back together," Shapiro said.