Honoring a campaign pledge the Republican controlled Congress wasted no time in repealing the outrageous healthcare bill railroaded through Congress by the Democrats last year.
I listened to Congressmen/women speak yesterday for and against the bill. One central theme emerged from the opposition. The Democrats stated the bill would create jobs. They failed to mention it would be 16,000 IRS agent jobs. More government jobs means more taxation, plain and simple.
In a somewhat shocking revelation to the political community the Times Shamrock is reporting that State Senator Ray Musto has been indicted by a federal grand jury.
State Sen. Raphael Musto was indicted by a federal grand jury today on charges that he accepted tens of thousands of dollars in bribes and kickbacks from an unnamed company after supporting the company's efforts to secure state grants.
The company performed nearly $48,0000 in renovations on a building Mr. Musto owned in 2006 and billed him $25,000, according to the indictment. Mr. Musto issued a $25,000 check to the company, but representatives of the company then paid him $25,000 in cash, the grand jury alleged.
The company did an additional $10,000 worth of work on the building, but never billed Mr. Musto, according to the grand jury, and provided Mr. Musto with annual holiday gifts in 2005-2008 that Mr. Musto did not report on state financial disclosure forms, the indictment said.
The indictment identifies the company only as "Company A," but federal agents are known to have examined records in Pittston Twp. detailing renovations on a building Mr. Musto owned there. The company performing the renovations was Mericle Construction, owned by Robert K. Mericle. Mr. Mericle has already pleaded guilty in connection with illegal payments made to two county judges who lodged juveniles in two detention centers built by his company.
On April 22,2010 Michael Sisak, staff writer for Times Shamrock, wrote this piece about the link between Mericle and Musto.
The mystery surrounding a recent federal raid on state Sen. Raphael J. Musto's home and the subsequent seizure of Pittston Township building permits twisted toward clarity Wednesday as the township released documents tying the lawmaker to $40,000 worth of home renovations conducted by the construction wing of Luzerne County corruption figure Robert K. Mericle's real estate empire.
Mericle's firm, Mericle Construction, obtained building permits in February and May 2006 to perform $5,200 worth of roof repairs and $34,800 remodeling work on a Bryden Street house that has been in Musto's family for more than a half century. Musto, who inherited the property from his father in 1970, transferred ownership to his son, Raphael J. Musto Jr., in August 2006.
The property, which was rezoned from residential to commercial following the construction work, now serves as an office for Musto Jr.'s physical therapy practice, Physical Therapy Center Unlimited.
Ray Musto(real name Raphael John Musto) ended his 40 year political career by not seeking re-election this year. Musto started his ascent by winning a special election for the unexpired term of his father, James Musto, House of Representative's seat in 1971. In 1980 he won a special election to become Congressman of the 11th Congressional district. In 1982 he was elected to the Senate representing the 14th District of Pennsylvania.
On October 7, 2005 Congressman Paul Kanjorski honored Senator Musto on the floor of the United States House of Representatives for his Lifetime Achievement Award bestowed upon him by the Italian American Asssociation of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.
Let's see. So far there are no comments but we know the Feds raided his home and senatorial office, the home of his aide, and now request documents related to the renting of his office.
It reminds me of a situation that occurred in 1989. Midway through his 1989 trial, Judge Arthur Dalessandro plead guilty to attempted tax evasion and was later sentenced to one year in federal prison. He was getting divorced at the time and there were rumors his wife, Florence, had something to do with contacting the feds.
Mr. Kulick, 60, of Bear Creek Twp, is a former aide to the late U.S. Rep. Daniel J. Flood. In 1988, he was sentenced to two years in prison in an income tax evasion investigation that also resulted in a one-year prison sentence for then-Luzerne County Judge Arthur D. Dalessandro. Judge Dalessandro failed to report income from a car dealership where Mr. Kulick was general manager, federal prosecutors charged.
Oddly enough it was former Judge Mark Ciavarella who defended Dalessandro in a federal lawsuit brought by the Internal Revenue Service in 1993 to collect $186,899.17 in unpaid taxes plus interest and penalties.
What a small community of misfits if you ask me. Disclaimer- Mellow denies any wrong doing. Advice- Never piss off a woman who wants to become your ex.
It was reported about an hour ago that the FBI and the IRS conducted an announced raid on Senator Mellow's house and office. The Times Leader notified the public about the raid in this story this afternoon.
HARRISBURG -- Lisa Scullin, a spokesman for Sen. Robert J. Mellow, D-Peckville, said that the Federal Bureau of Investigation contacted Mellow this morning prior to their visits to his home and district office informing him of their intentions.
The FBI and Internal Revenue Service arrived at his Peckville office and Blakely home just after 9 a.m. with search warrants. They did not show up at Mellow's Mount Pocono or Harrisburg offices.
"We don't know what their inquiry is in relation to," Scullin said, noting that Mellow was already scheduled to be in the district for the day. "The senator is cooperating fully with all their requests and is willing to provide any information to help them with their inquiry." She said she was unaware if agents had taken anything.
"Sen. Mellow is confident that in his 40 years serving Northeast Pennsylvania, he's done nothing wrong," Scullin said.
In Pennsylvania there is a question whether undocumented maximum per diem payments our legislators draft to themselves qualify for automatic non taxable treatment by the IRS. House Rule 14 of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives allows the payment scheme but it does not supercede IRS rules?
Rule 14
Members' and Employees' Expenses
A member who attends a duly called meeting of a standing or special committee of which he or she is a member when the House is not in session or who is summoned to the State Capitol or elsewhere by the Speaker, or the Majority or Minority Leader of the House, to perform legislative services when the House is not in session shall be reimbursed per day for each day of service, plus mileage to and from the member's residence, at such rates as are established from time to time by the Committee on Rules but not in excess of the applicable maximum mileage rate authorized by the Federal Government. For travel to any location for committee meetings or for travel to the State Capitol for any reason, members cannot receive reimbursement in excess of the applicable maximum per diem rate authorized by the Federal Government. These expenses shall be paid by the Chief Clerk from appropriation accounts under the Chief Clerk's exclusive control and jurisdiction, upon a written request approved by the Speaker of the House, or the Majority or the Minority Leader of the House.
Do I include per diem payments in my employee’s wages?
Per diem payments are not part of the employee’s wages if the payment is equal to or less than the federal per diem rate and the employer receives an expense report from the employee.
What does an expense report need to include?
The report must include:
· The business purpose of the trip,
· The date and place of the trip, and
· Receipts for lodging (if using the meals-only per diem rate).
The employee must file the expense report with the employer within a reasonable period of time (60 days).
If any of these requirements are not met, the payment is taxable to the employee.
When are per diem payments taxable?
Payments will be taxable to the employee when any of these situations are true:
· No expense report is filed with the employer,
· The expense report filed does not include the date, time, place, amount and business purpose of the expense,
· A flat amount is given to the employee and no expense report is required, or
· Per diem is paid in excess of the allowable standard federal rate.
These per diem payments listed above would be treated as wages and employment taxes are due from the employer.
It would appear that the media and the Legal Counsel for the legislators need to explore this matter further. It is incumbent(just how many do you think will survive this) upon them to provide answers in light of what happened in Massachusetts between its legislature and the IRS.
