As he announced criminal charges against 12 people last week in what's been called the Bonusgate scandal, Attorney General Tom Corbett said, "It's a sad day for Pennsylvania."

It's true that charges of theft, criminal conspiracy and conflict of interest against former House Democratic Minority Whip Mike Veon, D-Beaver; a current House Democrat from Beaver; and 10 staffers for involvement in illegally using taxpayer money for political campaign work is a black eye for the Pennsylvania legislature. But if these arrests lead to further reforms in Harrisburg, then last week's day of indictments can be seen, in a different way, as a good day for Pennsylvania.

The truly sad days for Pennsylvania occurred when Veon and others decided they could use taxpayer money for their own political purposes. Another sad day occurred in July 2005, when state lawmakers took an innocuous bill and completely rewrote it to authorize generous pay raises for legislators, judges and others — and then passed it at 2 a.m.

There have been other sad days in Pennsylvania, including the day in 2001 when state lawmakers voted to boost their own pensions by 50 percent, without giving the public a chance to comment on the idea.

More sad days occurred after the notorious 2005 pay-raise vote, when most state lawmakers turned in unvouchered expense reports reflecting their new, higher pay rate, despite the clear prohibition in the state constitution against accepting a pay raise in the same legislative session in which it was approved. The fact that their higher monthly expenses were clearly bogus did not bother many state lawmakers.

Pennsylvania's state legislature has had a starring role in many sad days in recent years. But if public outrage over the expanding Bonusgate affair can match the outrage over the pay-raise vote, then another group of incumbents can be voted out of office in the fall.

Some observers believe that last week's indictments represent just the first shoe dropping, and Corbett has indicated that the investigation is continuing, saying, "This is not the conclusion."

As with so many sad and disturbing episodes in Harrisburg, the Bonusgate scandal reveals an attitude of arrogance and entitlement on the part of some state lawmakers who treat taxpayers' money as if it were their own.

Those charged last week are accused of using taxpayer funds to pay for legislative staffers to do partisan, campaign and election-related work, which is illegal.

Speaking about the former state lawmaker from Beaver who was defeated in 2006, Corbett said Veon, who worked as a lobbyist after his defeat, "ran an illegal campaign organization from his offices, which included fundraising, opposition research, the preparation and distribution of campaign mailings, blast e-mail messages and nomination petition challenges."

Again, the attitude of some in Harrisburg appears to be, "Why spend our own campaign money getting re-elected when we can use taxpayers' money instead."

Evidence reveals that Veon's staff worked across the state in 2005 and 2006 on various Democratic campaigns, while being paid by state taxpayers. And election gains in 2006 allowed Democrats to regain control of the state House after 12 years in the minority.

Corbett's 18-month investigation found that staffers who were most involved in campaign efforts received the largest year-end bonuses, some over $20,000.

When the bonuses first were revealed, they were called "meritorious or bonus pay" and House Democratic Leader Bill DeWeese described the whole affair, first exposed by a Pittsburgh newspaper's investigation, as "an internal personnel matter."

Leaders from both parties in the House and the Senate allegedly played a role in doling out nearly $4 million in taxpayer funds for campaign-related work. House Demo-crats appear to have been the worst offenders, paying $1.8 million in bonuses for campaign work.

Corbett has said that more indictments will be handed down, and in the interest of "Housecleaning," that's a good thing. But it is also sad.

As the Bonusgate scandal receives further publicity, there should be a determination by voters to defeat any incumbents touched by the scandal. The voter outrage and ousted incumbents should match that generated by the 2005 pay raise scandal.

Also, rank-and-file Democrats in the House, should assert themselves and make changes to party leadership. If they fail to do so, they risk being unfairly painted with the same brush as those under indictment now or those to be charged with crimes in the coming weeks and months.