"John," the letter states in bold letters, "will you accept my personal invitation to join the 'Tom Corbett for Governor' team, and make an investment in my campaign of $1,500, $1,750 or $2,000?"
The letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Inquirer, asks Perzel to check a box entitled "I'm with you, Tom!" to help elect a person who will "cut spending, stop tax increases, create jobs, fight corruption, restore honesty and integrity to public service."
An attached reply card enables the recipient to sign up as a Corbett campaign volunteer, display a Corbett yard sign, "Friend Tom on Facebook," or "Follow Tom on Twitter."
Kevin Harley, Corbett's campaign spokesman, said the letter should never have been sent to Perzel or to any government office. Harley added that since the start of the Bonusgate investigation in 2007, Corbett has had a policy of not accepting campaign donations from legislators.
Harley said that the fund-raising letter was part of a mass mailing, and that the list of recipients should have been "scrubbed" for any government addresses.
"In a campaign of this size, hundreds of thousands of appeals and letters are sent out, and our campaign does the best it can to ensure that only the appropriate people get them," he said. "If it [the Perzel letter] happened, it shouldn't have happened."
Reached for comment Tuesday, Perzel said that he didn't recall seeing the solicitation letter but that "under the circumstances, I think it's ironic."
Needless to say, said Perzel, who has repeatedly denied all the charges against him, "I don't think I will be contributing to Tom Corbett for governor at this time."
