Report: Corbett, wife, accepted $11,000 in gifts

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Tickets to professional sporting events, a vacation on a businessman’s yacht and private jet travel are among the gifts that a newspaper says Gov. Tom Corbett and his wife Susan accepted over a two-year period.

The Philadelphia Daily News reported Tuesday the Corbetts disclosed gifts worth more than $11,000 from lobbyists and business executives in 2010, while Corbett was campaigning for governor, and in 2011, his first year in office.

Corbett spokeswoman Kelli Roberts says he complied with state disclosure requirements and bases his official decisions on what’s best for the state.

Critics tell the paper Corbett may have violated a rule barring governors from soliciting or accepting gifts from anyone doing business with the state government, but that it contains a loophole allowing gifts from friends.

Following the Philadelphia Daily News report, the Pennsylvania Democratic Party filed an ethics complaint Tuesday against Corbett.

“The facts clearly warrant an investigation by the Ethics Commission into whether gifts Governor Corbett influenced his policy decisions,” the Democratic Party said in its release.

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Information from: Philadelphia Daily News, http://www.philly.com