HARRISBURG Rep. Jeffrey Habay's felony conviction for forcing his legislative staff to do campaign work on state time should send a collective shiver up the spines of other state lawmakers. There is no doubt in my mind that some other state lawmakers routinely have used their staff workers to do political work. Not that it in any way excuses the Shaler Republican's actions. But it strains credulity to believe that the way Habay ran his office was a single case. It might, instead, have been the extreme. Treated like dirt The difference, most likely, is that Habay apparently treated his staff like dirt. According to testimony, he threatened to take away the health-care benefits of one former employee who refused to do little, insignificant things like investigate people at Habay's behest. That worker, Grant Stapleton, said one of every five hours he worked for Habay was campaign-related. Others felt wronged by Habay's treatment. Therein may be the difference. Other state lawmakers may have had staffers do some campaign work on state time. But if they treated their employees well and commanded loyalty, perhaps the state-paid campaign work was overlooked. If they didn't force employees to do political work, there's less chance it would blow up. Also it should be stated that there's little question that plenty of conscientious lawmakers carefully attempt to avoid any on-the-job politics. It's easy to see, though, how it would creep in. The 39-year-old Habay was convicted last week for conflict of interest. He was acquitted of theft of services. He is the senior House Republican from Allegheny County. It's unclear how long he will remain in office. Every legislator today may be thinking -- should be thinking -- about the potential penalty Habay is facing, from probation to 15 months in prison. That's just on the one charge on which he was convicted. He faces 21 charges at a second trial next year. Yo, guys, we're talking jail time. It wouldn't necessarily take blatant mistreatment of staff to produce a witness. One disgruntled ex-staffer might have enough to trigger an investigation. OK, OK. This is a worst-case scenario. Shred the documents• Ensure the silence of former aides• All crimes and very bad options. Lawmakers wary But they've got to be thinking about whether any disgruntled ex-workers could take them down. A complaint from an employee or former staffer with a grudge doesn't negate the validity of the testimony. It is either provable or not. Documents and other workers might confirm or refute it. I really hope I am wrong about all of this -- that Habay's case was a rare instance and that the vast majority of legislators are meticulous about separating staff from campaign work. You can bet that most have been careful over the past year or so as the allegations against Habay played out. There is also the issue of whether Habay can be flipped. Even the most hardcore defendants are often ready to make a deal -- to sing -- as they face the prospect of a lengthy sentence. Does Habay know anything about other legislators crossing the line, and would he talk? That alone should give them pause.

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