Northern Blair County residents were shocked in late September when a Letter to the Editor graced the pages of The Daily Herald noting that a staff member of Ninth District Congressman Bill Shuster was spying on a Tipton candidate.
Weeks later, Joshua Juda, a part-timer on Shuster’s staff, came forward stating he was directed by the congressman and Shuster’s chief of staff to spy on Michael DelGrosso on more than one occasion.
“There are certain levels of intimidation when you work for a U.S. Congressman,” said Juda during an interview with The Daily Herald. “They asked me to do things that I didn’t feel comfortable with and I felt, given the nature of my involvement, that I should come forward and clarify the record as to what happened.”
Days after Juda’s public statements, Shuster held a press conference and explained that Juda was an employee of his; however, if Juda did “spy” on DelGrosso, it was on Juda’s own time and in no way was directed by him or any on his staff.
“The statement released by Joshua Juda on Nov. 4, as well as those he has made to the media, are simply not accurate or correct,” said Shuster.
Shuster said he believes Juda overheard a conversation questioning if DelGrosso actually lived in the Ninth District, then took it upon himself to investigate for himself.
“I regret that he took this initiative,” said Shuster.
The first public sings of the alleged unethical practices occurred in mid-September when neighbors of DelGrosso noticed a suspicious man in a red Volkswagen Jetta parked in their neighborhood. The residents feared for their safety.
Shuster admitted the person in the Jetta (Juda) was an employee of his, but denied giving the man any orders to conduct any spying tactics.
Juda claims he was the operator of the red Jetta, and said he was directed by Shuster to travel to DelGrosso’s neighborhood and report back on his daily duties.
“It was Alex (Mistri, Shuster’s chief of staff) who told me to go down and watch his house,” said Juda. “He told me that they thought he wasn’t living there. I thought okay, he’s the boss.”
However, the incident did raise some suspicions with Juda.
Three months earlier, on June 6, Juda said he was directed by Congressman Shuster to monitor a DelGrosso fundraiser at DelGrosso Amusement Park in Tipton. He said he was asked to find out who attended the event and report back to the Shuster Camp.
“I really didn’t think much of it,” said Juda. “An order came directly from the Congressman and I felt that he’s involved in government, he’s a U.S. Congressman, and he would know what was ethical and what you can do and what you can’t in a political office. They just wanted me to go down there and find out what was happening.”
According to Juda, the congressman and his staff again approached him about “spying” on DelGrosso on Sept. 12. Juda said they wanted him to go to DelGrosso’s neighborhood and report back on his daily activities.
“That’s when I kind of thought to myself that there was an odd pattern developing here,” said Juda. “Why do they keep asking me to do this? When they asked me to do these things, they would always say ‘don’t tell anyone about it’ or ‘If anyone sees you, don’t mention anything’.
“They just kept saying things like that, and I thought that was kind of odd. I only worked part-time there and I am by no means familiar with election campaign regulations.”
Juda said after the Sept. 12 incident is when he realized that it was something he didn’t want to be a part of.
“When the media got a hold of the story, both Alex and the Congressman, sent me note saying not to talk about it and not to call anyone about it from the phone lines in the office because of Caller ID,” he said. “They didn’t even want me to mention it in my own office. The Congressman even suggested, the day before I gave my letter of resignation, for me to travel to Harrisburg and get a new vanity plate so people in the community and in DelGrosso’s camp would not recognize my vehicle.”
Juda said each of the three requests of unethical practices were made by both Congressman Shuster and Mistri.
“If this is true, then the implications are very serious,” said DelGrosso. “It is a direct violation of House ethics rules and it could have serious legal consequences. Mr. Shuster and his staff have some serious explaining to do. Congressional staffers – people on the public payroll – should not be engaged in political activities like surveillance.”
Shuster, during his press conference, told reporters that after questioning members of his staff, including his Chief of Staff Alex Mistri, he was satisfied that no member of his staff ordered or directed Juda to undertake any of the activities indicated in his statement.
“At no time did I ever order, direct or ask Joshua to attend any fundraiser for Michael DelGrosso or to monitor Mr. DelGrosso,” said Shuster. “After these events became public, I never had a conversation with Joshua where he was asked to lie or to avoid talking to members of law enforcement. Any statement to the contrary is wrong.”
Shuster said the conversations he did have with Juda focused around his concern about Juda’s actions and to urge him to avoid engaging in these types of activities in the future. He said he was also concerned about Juda’s state of well-being and later told him the “damage was done” and “there was no use dwelling on the past as long as something like this would never happen again.”
“I was willing, and still am willing, to forgive Joshua for his mistakes,” said Shuster. “He had been with me as a campaign aide since I was first elected to Congress, and I came to appreciate his loyalty, hard work and friendship.”
In a letter e-mailed to The Daily Herald, Juda writes: “At each occasion, it was my understanding that I was functioning in my capacity as a congressional staff member for which I was being paid through the Congressional payroll. I was not employed by any other outside organization or internal division of Congressman Shuster’s office. I never functioned as a volunteer for the 2004 Shuster Campaign. I was never therefore reprimanded or discouraged from such activity. I was never asked to serve in anyway without pay or as a volunteer outside of my part-time capacity and it was my understanding that all of my activities were covered within my allotted 25 hours per week.”
Shuster said that although he “categorically disputes” the allegations that Juda has made, he takes full responsibility for the actions of those working on his behalf, whether they are from his Congressional office or his campaign team.
“Our manual for staff members clearly states that no political activity is to take place on government time,” he said. “This is a policy that we have tried to enforce emphatically.”
Shuster said the activities and actions of DelGrosso are not secret and have naturally been a topic of discussion amongst his staff. He said this would happen in any congressional office.
“The folks in Pennsylvania’s Ninth Congressional District have elected me to be their representative for Congress,” Shuster said. “That is a privilege that I value to the highest degree. The voters expect me to devote my attention to the issues that concern them, not the petty politics of a primary election campaign. That is what I have been doing and will continue to do.”
Speculation has come up concerning a probe into the Shuster’s alleged ethnic violations; however, there isn’t any solid evidence of it.
During a recent conference call, the question was raised by a reporter and Shuster simply stated that “all the paperwork is turned in” and “it’s in their hands now.”
