Attorney general files lawsuit over appointment to gambling board

Martha Raffaele

Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2004 | 9:08 a.m.

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- The state attorney general's office filed a lawsuit Tuesday asking a court to stop the appointment of a Democratic state lawmaker to Pennsylvania's new gambling commission.

Rep. Jeffrey W. Coy should not have been tapped for the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board because the state constitution prohibits lawmakers from being appointed to paid state government jobs during the terms for which they were elected, Attorney General Jerry Pappert said in the lawsuit, filed in Commonwealth Court.

"Mr. Coy's appointment directly contravenes a clear and unambiguous constitutional provision. Allowing this appointment to stand would render that provision meaningless, something that is unacceptable and cannot be condoned," Pappert said in a statement.

The seven-member state gambling board, whose members earn $145,000 per year, is authorized to grant licenses to operate slot machine parlors, which were legalized this summer by the state Legislature.

The lawsuit seeks an immediate ouster of Coy and a court order barring him from serving on the board.

Coy, 53, served 11 terms in the House, and decided not to run for re-election this year. Appointed to the gambling commission by House Minority Leader H. William DeWeese, he resigned from the Legislature on Thursday -- less than three months before his term would have expired -- and joined the commission Friday.

Coy, who represented parts of Franklin and Cumberland counties, had been the secretary for the House Democrats, the caucus' fourth-highest position. He did not return telephone messages left at his home and former legislative office in Shippensburg.

The lawsuit contends that Coy's resignation doesn't make his appointment valid because the constitution bars the appointment of a lawmaker to a civil office at any time during his term, "rather than merely while he holds office."

Pappert also noted that an official attorney general's office opinion rendered in 1953 prohibited the appointment of a state lawmaker to the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission for the same reason.

Mike Manzo, DeWeese's chief of staff, said Pappert's office had contacted DeWeese to inform him of the pending lawsuit. He said the lawsuit by Pappert, a Republican, likely stems from political opposition to slot-machine gambling.

"It's hard for us to fathom why the attorney general would have such a problem. They're not objecting to his qualifications. Why would you go the extra mile to delay things?" Manzo said. "Everything has been systematically attacked by Republicans who are not in favor of gaming."

Appointments to the board were completed Saturday, when Gov. Ed Rendell named Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge Mary DiGiacomo Colins to the final spot. The board will not set a meeting schedule until criminal background checks required within 30 days of each member's appointment are completed, Rendell spokesman Abe Amoros said.