Join us as we take a stroll through the annals of Pennsylvania political corruption – in a five Six-episode podcast.
Produced and hosted by veteran GOP political consultant Christopher Nicholas, and featuring:
Brad Bumsted
former Capitol correspondent for Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Lancaster Newspaper Group, among others.
John Baer
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A disgraced Attorney General whose twin sister also worked there, who went down for lying to the court.
Two former House speakers shared the same prison cell for a time.
Congressman taking bribes from fake Arab sheiks.
Not one, not two, but three Republican sisters taken down, two of whom were elected officials and one was their campaign manager.
An entire Philadelphia court system eliminated due to pervasive fraud and corruption.
A powerful Philadelphia state senator with a vacuum fixation. Yes, a vacuum fixation funded by OPM other people’s money, not his.
A GOP Attorney General went down by what he did in his previous job, who still managed to finish second in the 1994 Republican primary for governor.
Multiple state treasurers were indicted, and one who very tragically and publicly killed himself during a press conference on live TV.
Even the Capitol building itself was christened with corruption during a scandal when it was built in the early 1900’s that in today’s dollars would equal nearly half a billion dollars.
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So, as you can see, we have lots to talk about on the Pennsylvania Political Digest podcast: A stroll through through the annals of Pennsylvania political corruption.
Each 35-45 minute episode will include a Primary and Secondary focus…
Episode 1: Meteoric Rise & Fall of PA's first Democratic Attorney General
Plus, our beautiful state Capitol building itself was christened with a huge construction scandal that in today’s money would equal nearly half a billion dollars. Could that be part of the reason why the Keystone State has suffered through so much political corruption over the years?
Episode 2: Bonus-gate and Computer-gate roil the Legislature and two ex-House Speakers end up as cell mates for two weeks
Plus, it’s the Ories vs. the Zappalas in a western PA grudge match; Porn-gate takes down 2 Supreme Court justices and Philly’s Traffic Court gets expunged.
Episode 3: South Philly St. Sen. Vince Fumo, his vacuum fixation & OPM (Other People's Money) + ABSCAM
Episode 3 first focuses on former S. Philly state Sen. Vince Fumo, dubbed the “Vince of Darkness,” who had a penchant for using OPM (Other People’s Money) — his mantra for how to acquire, steal or confiscate money from someplace else to pay for all his eccentricities and luxuries. That’s the main focus; our secondary focus is the trials and tribulations of so many Democratic congressmen from Phiily — from ABSCAM to Chaka Fattah.
Episode 4: Pa Treasurer Budd Dwyer commits public suicide so family gets his pension + more troubles for other PA Row Officers
Pa. Treasurer Budd Dwyer committed public suicide during a press conference the day before he was to be sentenced on his bribery conviction. That way his wife, his widow, could still get his $1 million+ state pension.
Plus three other state “Row Officers” got in trouble for what they did in office and out: Treasurer Rob McCord, who went from Harvard to teaching yoga, and Barbara “The Hafe” Hafer who lied to the Feds, plus Auditor General Al Benedict.
Lost in all the controversy about Dwyer’s guilt was the fact that he was quite an accomplished politician. Hailing from tiny Crawford County in the “great NW” part of the state, voters elected him to state-wide office when he was just 41. And he had already served 3 terms in the state House and was in his third term in the state Senate.
Ep. 5 examines the horrific Cash for Kids scandal in Luzerne Co., a GOP Att. Gen. goes down + oddities
In the final episode of the PA Political Digest’s pod, A Stroll through the annals of Pa. Political Corruption, we re-visit the horrific Cash for Kids scandal that rocked Luzerne County, look at a Republican Attorney General who had to resign — and run through some oddities concerning a witch in the PA House, prostitutes and a serial per diem abuser.
Thanks to Feedspot.com for ranking us as the #4 political pod in Pa. And thanks to all of our listeners for their support throughout our 5-episode jaunt through Pa political corruption. Enjoy our final episode!
BONUS: Ep. 6 Behind the scenes stories of top PA political corruption cases from the U.S. Attorneys who prosecuted them on
Pa Political Digest bonus Episode 6 brings you behind the scenes of three top PA political corruption cases — those involving Sen. Vince Fumo, Treasurer Rob McCord & Attorney General Ernie Preate — from the U.S. Attorneys who prosecuted them.
Veteran political journalists John Baer and Brad Bumsted were given the day off, and GOP political consultant and producer/host Christopher Nicholas sat down with 3 former U.S. Attorneys with first-hand knowledge and experience prosecuting political corruption cases: Pat Meehan, former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern DIstrict (Bush 43), Dave Freed, former U.S. Attorney for the Middle District (Trump), and David Barasch, another former U.S. Attorney for the Middle DIstrict (Clinton).