Pa. Politicians Visit With Lobbyist After Misdemeanor Guilty Plea

Posted: November 05, 1999

WASHINGTON — Three days after she pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of accepting illegal cash from a lobbyist, former Capitol Hill staffer Ann Eppard was given a hero's welcome yesterday at a reception attended by leading Pennsylvania politicians, some of whom denounced the Justice Department case against her.

Rep. John P. Murtha, the powerful Democrat from Johnstown, who organized the reception at his office in the Rayburn building, said the Justice Department had conducted a "fishing expedition" against her, and contended that her guilty plea amounted to an exoneration.

"As far as I'm concerned, she's been exonerated," Murtha said as Eppard mingled inside his office with more than a dozen House members and staff. "They spent millions to prosecute her. She's always been aboveboard."

Eppard, 56, a longtime companion of Rep. Bud Shuster (R., Pa.), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, who faces a House ethics investigation into influence-peddling questions, was indicted in connection with her work as a top aide to Shuster.

Murtha, who described the guilty plea as equivalent to a "traffic violation," said he felt the case against Eppard was so unfair that he would seek enactment of legislation ensuring that government officials such as Eppard are reimbursed for their legal costs when corruption allegations against them result in nothing more than a misdemeanor conviction. Currently, government officials are entitled to be reimbursed only when acquitted.

While members attacked the Justice Department, defended the reception, or disputed that it even was a reception, the event was sharply criticized by a group that has filed a House ethics complaint against Shuster alleging "unseemly" and questionable personal and financial ties to Eppard, who built a powerhouse lobbying firm representing transportation interests before Shuster's committee.

Gary Ruskin, executive director of the Congressional Accountability Project, said that members' attendance at a reception for Eppard after her guilty plea showed that ethical conduct was not a priority for some lawmakers.

"It is a perfect example of how low our Congress has sunk," Ruskin said in an interview. "Powerful lobbyists lock arms with powerful members of Congress, and the public be damned. They thumb their noses at the public every day."

Eppard pleaded guilty to charges that she accepted an interest-free $30,000 loan and $12,000 in food, entertainment and travel from Washington lobbyist Vernon Clark, who represented firms in the huge Big Dig tunnel project in Boston before Shuster's committee.

As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors dismissed charges against her, including allegations that she had embezzled $24,000 when she worked as Shuster's assistant campaign treasurer. Eppard was fined $5,000 by U.S. District Judge Joseph L. Tauro.

Eppard declined to comment as she exited the reception yesterday with a small entourage, and headed straight for the elevators. Shuster also declined to comment, saying only "have a nice day" as he left Murtha's offices.

The reception was attended by some of the most visible figures in Pennsylvania politics, including Rep. Robert A. Brady, the Philadelphia Democratic chairman; Republican Rep. George W. Gekas, a House manager during President Clinton's impeachment trial; and Rep. Robert A. Borski, a Philadelphia Democrat and one of the most senior members of Shuster's Transportation Committee.

Brady said he attended because Murtha had asked him. He said he was unaware that Eppard had pleaded guilty, adding that he had been under the impression that she had been exonerated.

Gekas said he had not known that the purpose of the event was to honor Eppard. He said he was simply following his daily schedule, and attended because he heard Shuster would be there.

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