John Perzel - Aristotle Scandal

Aristotle Scandal

On September 10, 2008 the office of then-State Attorney General Tom Corbett announced that Perzel was under investigation for deals he made with the data firm Aristotle, Inc. during his tenure as Speaker of the House. Perzel contracted the firm to provide the Republican Caucus with its constituency service program in deals worth over $1,870,000. Corbett's agents were investigating whether the sophisticated data collection software was used for reelection campaigns in violation of Pennsylvania's strict laws against the use of public funds for campaign purposes. On September 11, 2008 the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that the contract contained specific references for gathering information related to election purposes and the distribution of yard signs.

The Republican Attorney General's office stated that it would issue indictments either before October 1, 2009 or after the election to avoid having "undue influence" on the November election. After indictment, Perzel turned himself into local police on November 13, 2009 and with fellow co-defendants stood before a Harrisburg District Judge. Perzel was released from custody on $100,000 bond that same day after surrendering his passport. Some feel it was mainly because of that scandal that he lost his 2010 re-election bid to Democrat Kevin Boyle.

Perzel pleaded guilty on August 31, 2011 to eight criminal charges, including two counts of conflict of interest, two counts of theft, and four counts of conspiracy. On March 21, 2012, District Judge Richard Lewis sentenced Perzel to 30 months in prison and to pay one million dollars restitution to the state.