For Sean Ramaley, a lawyer and legislator who had sworn to uphold the law, the charges against him by Attorney General Tom Corbett came suddenly.
“I was stunned quite honestly that these charges were filed,” Ramaley told KDKA Political Editor Jon Delano in an exclusive interview.
Just hours before Corbett’s press conference, Ramaley learned he was accused of campaigning for himself while working part-time out of former Rep. Mike Veon’s Beaver Falls office.
It’s a charge Ramaley thought was ridiculous.
“I knew every night when I went to bed I could lay my head on the pillow knowing I had done nothing wrong,” he said.
Delano: “Did you ever campaign on government time or the government dime?”
Ramaley: “No,no. I knew that I was there to go to work and that I was to campaign in the afternoon, and I did that.”
Steffie Ramaley, a former Allegheny County prosecutor, said Corbett’s charges against her husband opened her eyes.
“It was a rude awakening as to parts of the criminal justice system that I didn’t know existed,” the former prosecutor said.
Ramaley said his witnesses testified that he did do legislative work out of Veon’s office, while the government’s witnesses were weak.
“The main witness had not only lied to the grand jury, he had committed crimes himself and based on the testimony he gave it was clear that he had lied in front of the jury during my trial,” he said.
Ramaley admits he was anxious when the case went to the jury and came back with a verdict in just three hours.
Tags: Bonusgate
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