By Dick Miller
WE.CONNECT.DOTS: Frank LaGrotta is a real anomaly in Harrisburg’s seedy political world.
Of the 40 or so elected Pennsylvania public officials who have pleaded or been convicted of public corruption in the past quarter century, none were as popular.
Always considered “one of the good guys,” LaGrotta continued to get “good press,” even after he had fallen from grace. He was a ten-term Democratic state lawmaker hailing from Ellwood City and representing southern Lawrence County and northern Beaver Country.
He was an early victim of the pay raise scandal of 2005, losing the Democrat primary in 2006 to current rep Jaret Gibbons in Frank’s bid for an 11th term. Providing a key vote in the midnight legislation granting pay and pension increases to elected officials was primarily out of loyalty to the Democrat House leader representing an adjoining district farther south in Beaver County, Mike Veon. LaGrotta lost to Gibbons by a mere 28 votes.
The loss at the polls nine years ago crushed LaGrotta, now still only 58 years old.
The handsome grandson of Italian immigrants with undergraduate and master degrees from Notre Dame, staff writer for USA Today, Frank would have been a catch for every eligible daughter in Ellwood City. He remains a bachelor and full-time caretaker of his ailing parents.
LaGrotta helped secure funds for 11 bridges in the Ellwood City region. The borough is surrounded by water.
Depressed over the loss, Frank soon discovered that his problems were not over.
He became an early victim of Attorney-General Tom Corbett’s march to the Governor’s mansion. Corbett, a one-term Governor fluke who eventually showed he knew nothing about running the government, was expert at winning elections by politicizing the criminal justice system. He began a series of political prosecutions, focusing on House members, mostly prominent Democrats and out-of-favor Republicans.
LaGrotta was an early victim.
“Two years later, in February 2008, LaGrotta pleaded guilty to felony conflict of interest charges for putting his sister and niece into what (Corbett claimed) as no-work jobs,” wrote John Micek, then political reporter for the Allentown Morning Call and now opinion editor at the Harrisburg Patriot News.
The plea was in exchange for safe harbor for his family members.
“He was sentenced to six months house arrest and community service and found that his life changed irrevocably,” Micek reported in an overall favorable story.
Briefly, LaGrotta toyed with a blog. “There is a serious lack of courage under the Pennsylvania state Capitol dome and there has been for quite a long time,” the ex-lawmaker penned. “The average rank-and-file legislator or senator is so afraid of ruffling anyone’s feathers that they don’t say – must less actually do – anything that is even modestly controversial. All they care about is getting re-elected.”
The above, understandably, reflects more of LaGrotta’s lack of time in Harrisburg since the end of 2006.
Gerrymandering in the re-apportionment following the 2010 census has made lawmakers more opinionated than ever. The battle is over their interpretation of even the basic functions of government. Too many Republicans believe the best government is “No Government,” would like to privatize more functions and reward their contributors with lucrative franchises. Not enough Democrats still battle for government to continue helping people.
The vast majority of Pennsylvania state and Federal lawmakers now run in districts that would not reject their re-election bids except for the most heinous or absurd reasons.
Bottom Line: The purpose of this column is to announce that Frank LaGrotta will be an occasional contributor, beginning with an article next week. We must decide if Frank’s contributions will spell off an elderly regular or allow for more frequency, but they will always make good reading.
