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CV: Green Party member Carl Romanelli believes Pennsylvania Democrats orchestrated a "Herculean" - and illegal - scheme to dispose of his 2006 U.S. Senate campaign so Sen. Bob Casey might more easily defeat incumbent Republican Rick Santorum, according to a federal lawsuit filed Monday.
Now Romanelli wants them to pay.
Romanelli asked the court to award him more than $300,000 in total damages after he alleged Democrats used public time and resources to challenge successfully his nomination petitions and strip Romanelli from the ballot.
You can read the lawsuit at this link.
Carl Romanelli Fights Pennsylvania Democrats with a Federal Lawsuit Related to “Bonus-gate” Convictions.
Romanelli filed a lawsuit, July 12, against the Pennsylvania Democratic Party and their House Democratic Caucus. The lawsuit, filed in US District Court, additionally names Rep. William DeWeese, former Rep. Michael Veon and a number of former and current House Democratic staff employees found to have worked on the petition challenge that removed Carl Romanelli from the 2006 ballot for US Senate. Romanelli alleges in the lawsuit that state employees were paid to do political work while using state resources and equipment in that effort to challenge his petitions.
Romanelli backs up his allegations by pointing to the recent convictions of several defendants in this lawsuit including former House Democratic Minority Whip, Rep. Michael Veon who received a 6 to 14 year sentence on June 18, 2010 and Brett Cott, a former policy analyst for Rep. Veon and Rep. DeWeese, who was sentenced from 21 months to 60 months in May 2010. Michael Manzo and Jeff Foreman were given deals to testify against Cott and have not been sentenced. Rep. William DeWeese faces trial in the coming months.
In 2006 Romanelli needed a ridiculous number of signatures just to get on the ballot and submitted over 90,000 but had about a third of them thrown out because of challenges by the Democrats. Then he got whacked with $80,000 in legal fees by the Commonwealth Court for having the audacity for even trying.
But he is not just an innocent victim of the system when you look at who was helping him and their motivations
A repost
Oh Blackwater keep on runnin' Green
In the Blackwater hearings today Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) quized Blackwater CEO Erik Prince about his political contributions trying to show that he and other company executives gave to candidates other than Republicans. Prince and other well connected contractors from companies such as Haliburton indeed funneled money to the Green Party or maybe just one particular Green Party candidate in Pennsylvania.
From TPMMuckraker:
...he (Prince) and his wife shelled out $10,000 in contributions for a Green.It was part of an effort by connected Republicans (lobbyists and millionaire CEOs among them) to recruit Green Party candidate Carl Romanelli to enter the 2006 Senate race. Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) was trailing Dem moderate Bob Casey in the polls -- and Romanelli, the scheme went, could take some of those liberal votes away from Casey...Ultimately Republicans raised more than $150,000 for Romanelli.
It's always good to find a local connection to a national story. Lehigh Valley Ramblings had all the details.
Pennsylvania's Green Congressional Candidates Were Funded by Republicans
Now Romanelli wants them to pay.
Romanelli asked the court to award him more than $300,000 in total damages after he alleged Democrats used public time and resources to challenge successfully his nomination petitions and strip Romanelli from the ballot.
You can read the lawsuit at this link.
Carl Romanelli Fights Pennsylvania Democrats with a Federal Lawsuit Related to “Bonus-gate” Convictions.
Romanelli filed a lawsuit, July 12, against the Pennsylvania Democratic Party and their House Democratic Caucus. The lawsuit, filed in US District Court, additionally names Rep. William DeWeese, former Rep. Michael Veon and a number of former and current House Democratic staff employees found to have worked on the petition challenge that removed Carl Romanelli from the 2006 ballot for US Senate. Romanelli alleges in the lawsuit that state employees were paid to do political work while using state resources and equipment in that effort to challenge his petitions.
Romanelli backs up his allegations by pointing to the recent convictions of several defendants in this lawsuit including former House Democratic Minority Whip, Rep. Michael Veon who received a 6 to 14 year sentence on June 18, 2010 and Brett Cott, a former policy analyst for Rep. Veon and Rep. DeWeese, who was sentenced from 21 months to 60 months in May 2010. Michael Manzo and Jeff Foreman were given deals to testify against Cott and have not been sentenced. Rep. William DeWeese faces trial in the coming months.
In 2006 Romanelli needed a ridiculous number of signatures just to get on the ballot and submitted over 90,000 but had about a third of them thrown out because of challenges by the Democrats. Then he got whacked with $80,000 in legal fees by the Commonwealth Court for having the audacity for even trying.
But he is not just an innocent victim of the system when you look at who was helping him and their motivations
A repost
Oh Blackwater keep on runnin' Green
In the Blackwater hearings today Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) quized Blackwater CEO Erik Prince about his political contributions trying to show that he and other company executives gave to candidates other than Republicans. Prince and other well connected contractors from companies such as Haliburton indeed funneled money to the Green Party or maybe just one particular Green Party candidate in Pennsylvania.
From TPMMuckraker:
...he (Prince) and his wife shelled out $10,000 in contributions for a Green.It was part of an effort by connected Republicans (lobbyists and millionaire CEOs among them) to recruit Green Party candidate Carl Romanelli to enter the 2006 Senate race. Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) was trailing Dem moderate Bob Casey in the polls -- and Romanelli, the scheme went, could take some of those liberal votes away from Casey...Ultimately Republicans raised more than $150,000 for Romanelli.
It's always good to find a local connection to a national story. Lehigh Valley Ramblings had all the details.
Pennsylvania's Green Congressional Candidates Were Funded by Republicans
Carl Romanelli was screwed by the PA Democratic Party and the Courts but he was hardly an innocent victim.
5 comments:
Oh I see, if there is rich republicans backing him that means he was not an innocent victim. It appears the Dems tried to cut him off at the knees. If they violated the law or his rights doing it he is a victim. It doesn't matter where the campaign money is coming from as long as it's legal.
Of course that is not how libs think. With libs the ends justify the means
I am more lib. than conserv. and I believe that Romanelli got screwed big time. BUT, I also believe that this effort by Romanelli was being used to keep Santorum in the Senate and that in itself is a disgrace. Prince is a piece of shit and I have no simpler term to use, "shit" is most appropriate to describe him and his fellow Conservatives. They are the biggest self interest group to ever hit the American scene and they use God to justify their every selfish, self serving action. I hate what happened to Romanelli but it was the best thing that could have happened to this country. There is no place for Santorum in national politics. There are more than enough hate mongers now so we do not need another homophobic, gay marriage basher in Washington.
Anon 3:59...
I guess you missed the whole point of this story. Santorum tried to get a shill candidiate (trying to get him on the ballot under the Green Party no less) to help him win an election. Never mind that Romanelli probably stood for everything the real Green party stands against, and had it funded by Republicans and other various parties that would make any real Green party member puke. Isn't that textbook "ends justifying the means"?
Welcome back PJ!
Thanks Gort. Good to be back! Things are getting better. And never better time than a midterm election to jump back in.
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