Pennsylvania has long been known for shady politics, but this year promises to be particularly ugly as series of corruption trials unfold, all stemming from a sweeping probe known as “Bonusgate.” Prosecutors charge that leaders of both parties in the state House of Representatives flagrantly ignored the law, using taxpayer money to wage political warfare and to lavish perks on aides and party loyalists. The price tag is likely in the tens of millions, and prosecutors warn there could be more indictments, possibly targeting leaders of the State Senate. “There was an unbelievable sense of entitlement in Harrisburg that they could do this with a high degree of immunity,” said Chris Borick, political science professor at Muhlenberg College.

On Tuesday a state court will begin picking a jury in the trial of former House Majority Whip Mike Veon, a Democrat from western Pennsylvania, and three former party staffers, who are accused of running a secret campaign office in the Capitol building. The defendants are among 25 people from both parties indicted by state Attorney General Tom Corbett, who started the investigation three years ago, initially focusing on taxpayer money used to give bonuses to Democratic staffers working on campaign projects on official time.

The scandal has since spread across the legislature, involving not just Democrats but also Republican efforts to use expensive computer programs, bought with state funds ostensibly to help legislators improve their constituent service, to instead help loyal candidates perform detailed data-mining operations for their campaigns.

Although the parties ran their schemes separately, according to the indictments, “the goal was the same: power and using public resources for campaign purposes,” Corbett’s spokesman Kevin Harley said. So far, the probe has indicted some big names in addition to Veon, including two former House Speakers, Democrat Bill DeWeese and Republican John Perzel, and the former chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, Brett Feese, a Republican from Williamsport. The scandal forced the resignation of state Revenue Secretary Stephen Stetler, who was indicted in December for his role in the scheme while a legislator and head of the House Democratic Campaign Committee.