By Eric Boehm   PA Independent

HARRISBURG, Pa. — The state's Republican Attorney General who is also campaigning for governor has moved to join the upcoming trials of two Democratic lawmakers accused of similar yet totally separate crimes.

Meanwhile, a Republican state lawmaker facing similar corruption charges will have his own, separate trial.

The lawyer for one of the Democratic defendants said the move is unusual given the circumstances of the case, but the office of Attorney General Tom Corbett maintains the decision was made for the sake of efficiency.

The two lawmakers — state Rep. Bill DeWeese (D-Greene) and former state Rep. Stephen Stetler (D-York) — are charged with crimes uncovered during Corbett's wide-ranging investigation of political corruption in Harrisburg. The investigation has focused on elected official's use of public personnel and resources for political efforts.

DeWeese is charged with the use of taxpayer money to pay staffers to conduct political fund raising activities and do general campaign work. Stetler is accused of doing the same thing, but his charges are entirely separate from the charges against his former colleague.

In other words, according to the separate grand jury presentments against them, DeWeese was not involved in the alleged criminal behavior of Stetler, and Stetler was not involved in the alleged criminal activity of DeWeese.

William Costopoulos, DeWeese's defense attorney, said joining defendants together when they are charged with the same crime is common, but in this instance he was surprised to see the government ask for such action.

"This case in particular was generated by different grand juries and different witnesses and there is really no commonality in the charges," said Costopoulos. "This is an unusual effort by the Attorney General's office in light of the fact that these cases are not the same."

Nils Frederiksen, a spokesperson for Corbett, defended the decision to join the cases, saying the two trials were similar enough to be tried at the same time.

"They are similar matters and similar types of conduct and it is most appropriate and more efficient to deal with those matters at the same time," said Frederiksen.

However, the opinions of legal experts appear to point to a case of politics at play.

John Burkoff, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, said the prosecution typically needs a very good reason to put trials together, and usually it is only done when the same list of witnesses will be used against both defendants.

Frederiksen declined to comment on witness lists or prosecution strategy prior to the trial.

Bruce Ledewitz, a professor of law at Duquesne University, said trials can be combined in situations when multiple defendants are involved in the same crime, such as when a team of criminals carries out a bank robbery.

In this case, there is not even a single mention of DeWeese in the presentment against Stetler, nor is there a single mention of Stetler in the presentment against DeWeese.

Ledewitz noted the charges of conspiracy against both defendants made it easier for the prosecution to combine the trials despite differences in the alleged crimes.

Another public official — state Rep. John Perzel (R-Philadelphia) — is also awaiting trial on similar charges of using taxpayer money to conduct political activity out of his Harrisburg office. Yet Burkett's office is not moving to combine his trial with that of  DeWeese and Stetler.

Frederiksen said there is a difference in how the corruption was conducted.

"The Republican case is about the misuse of technology, while the Democrat case is about the misuse of personnel. They functioned in different ways," said Frederiksen.

Since the request has been made to join the trials, it now falls to the defense to prove the cases should be separated, Frederiksen said.

Costopoulos declined to comment on whether his client would challenge the government's request.

The next step for both DeWeese, Stetler and their co-defendants is a pre-trial hearing on Sept. 23, at which time the case will be scheduled for trial.

Perzel and other Republican co-defendants will have a scheduling hearing on Sept. 10 to establish a timetable for proceeding with that case.

DeWeese has been a member of the state House of Representatives since 1976, and has served as both Democrat Leader and Speaker of the House during his tenure. He is charged with theft, conspiracy, and conflict of interest.

Stetler served as a state representative from 1991 until 2006. He was appointed by Gov. Ed Rendell as Secretary of Revenue in 2009, but resigned in December of the same year when charges were filed against him. He has been charged with a six counts of public corruption.

Corbett will face Democrat Dan Onorato for the governor's office in the November election.