Bill DeWeese was re-elected in 2010 despite the charges, but was convicted of five of the six felony charges on February 6,2012.
25 Facts About Bill DeWeese
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Bill DeWeese maintains that the prosecution was politically motivated, and part of an ongoing feud with Corbett, who became Governor in 2011.
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Bill DeWeese was born April 18,1950, in Pittsburgh and raised in rural Greene County.
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Bill DeWeese went on to serve as Minority Leader from 1994 until 2006.
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Bill DeWeese supported a legislative and judicial pay raise in 2005.
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Republicans and a small number of fellow Democrats, including Governor Ed Rendell, criticized Bill DeWeese's move; but he stood by his decision, explaining that those who opposed the pay-raise legislation knew the realignment would be a consequence.
7.
Rosita Youngblood of Philadelphia, whom Bill DeWeese accused of being "owned lock, stock and barrel" by Perzel Incorporated.
8.
Bill DeWeese initially attempted to block Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett's investigation into whether the House Democratic caucus made illegal payments to staffers, with motions to quash subpoenas and exclude evidence seized.
9.
Bill DeWeese negotiated an agreement with the Office of Attorney General to turn over evidence, but the terms of the negotiation have not been made public.
10.
Documents Bill DeWeese turned over to the Attorney General revealed that Bill DeWeese acknowledged awarding bonuses for campaign work and used a state-paid consultant to perform political tasks.
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Alternatively, Bill DeWeese has argued that the response did not come from him.
12.
Bill DeWeese's driver was asked to arrange items in the trunk of his car according to a diagram on a card.
13.
Bill DeWeese was not charged in connection with the use of his state-paid staff for personal errands.
14.
On December 15,2009, Bill DeWeese was indicted on one count of conflict of interest, four counts of theft and one count of criminal conspiracy.
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Bill DeWeese was accused of paying a full-time political operative with state funds and directing his district office staff to do political work on state time.
16.
Bill DeWeese survived calls for his resignation from reform activists and his fellow state representatives.
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Bill DeWeese did not step down and was re-elected in 2008 over Republican Greg Hopkins.
18.
Bill DeWeese resigned from his leadership role after he was indicted on charges unrelated to the issues at the center of the Bonusgate case.
19.
Bill DeWeese was the only Democrat to file for election to his House seat, and a Commonwealth Court judge ruled that his name could remain on the April 2012 primary ballot.
20.
Bill DeWeese was sentenced to 30 to 60 months in state prison on April 24,2012, the same day in which he resigned his House seat.
21.
Bill DeWeese maintained that his charges were part of a political vendetta by Republican Attorney General Tom Corbett, who indicted Bill DeWeese while running for Governor.
22.
Greene County, home of Bill DeWeese, has attracted companies as large as Haliburton.
23.
Bill DeWeese received more than $1 million in campaign contributions from the natural gas industry.
24.
In January 2012, Bill DeWeese lambasted Corbett for spending tens of millions of state dollars pursuing political enemies but ignoring the child abuse allegations against Jerry Sandusky; Corbett had received $201,783.64 in campaign contributions from past and present board members of Sandusky's charity, according to media reports.
25.
Bill DeWeese is well known for his idiosyncratic style of speaking and writing, which incorporates an extensive vocabulary, anachronistic usages, and attenuated metaphors.