It seems like a week does not pass without some politician at the local, state or national level that does not get caught with his hand in the cookie jar. From Wall Street to Washington DC, thieves abound.

The latest is one of Pennsylvania's longest-serving and most influential lawmakers, State Representative H. William DeWeese, who was found guilty on of theft and criminal conspiracy stemming from his use of state employees to campaign for him for free.

Reuters reports 61-year-old DeWeese faces the possibility of 38 years in. His case stems from a larger scandal in 2006 called "Bonusgate" that has led to 20 convictions or guilty pleas of Republican and Democratic lawmakers and staff who paid and received taxpayer-funded bonuses for campaign work.

DeWeese was found guilty of criminal conspiracy, conflict of interest and three counts of theft.

The 18-term Democrat vowed to appeal and said he intends to run for reelection. He is allowed to continue in public service while his case is under appeal.

Doing any campaigning while on the public clock is against the law in Pennsylvania.

DeWeese testified in his own defense that he did nothing wrong and had trusted the hundreds of people who worked in the Democratic Caucus because he was rarely around to supervise. Prosecutors contended DeWeese, who has been House majority whip and speaker during his long career, had a sense of entitlement about forcing state employees to campaign for him.

DeWeese won handily in 2000, ran unopposed in 2002 and 2004 but faced a tight race in 2006 when, a former top aide testified, he relied heavily on unpaid campaign work by state employees. Since the scandal broke, DeWeese has faced tighter races and won most recently in 2010 by slightly more than 800 votes, according to official state election returns.

It is time to get corrupt politicians out of office. Depending on who you speak with that might include the majority of our US Congress. Does DeWeese need a theft class? Apparently so if he thinks he still has done nothing wrong by using tax-payer dollars to fund workers for his campaign for re-election. What a turkey!