by KYW's Tony Hanson
Pennsylvania state senator Vincent Fumo is charged with misusing his staff and senate resources and obstruction of justice.
And a former trusted aide has testified that he destroyed information on the senator's computers after news of the federal investigation of the senator became public (see related story).
Witness Daniel Coyne says Fumo (in file photo) ordered the security steps. The defense contends that they were standard procedure.
During earlier questioning by prosecutor John Pease, Coyne was asked about the use of staff for political tasks, which is prohibited on state time and money:
Pease: Did you ever observe others working on political campaigns?
Coyne: Everybody at one point or another has done campaign work.
Pease: And let's, for example, talk about Senator Fumo's re-election campaign in 2004, were you in the office at that time?
Coyne: Yeah, that was one of those 'all hands on deck' kinds of situations.
And Coyne says he and others were ordered to work on the campaigns of the senator's allies.
The defense contends the political stuff was was extra, voluntary work, and the senate got its money's worth.
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