HARRISBURG - The propriety of having the official portrait of imprisoned ex-Sen. Robert J. Mellow remain on public display at the state Capitol is under review by the Senate's presiding officer.
At the request of some senators, President Pro Tempore Joseph Scarnati, R-25, Jefferson County, has agreed to look into the issue, top aide Drew Crompton said Wednesday.
Mr. Mellow's portrait hangs on the ground floor in the Senate wing. It is the only visible reminder of his four decades representing the 22nd District in the Senate. Mr. Mellow became a subject of portraiture because of his brief tenure as president pro tempore in the early 1990s.
Mr. Mellow's portrait has remained in its spot since he entered a federal prison two months ago to serve a 16-month sentence on federal charges of mail fraud and filing a false tax return.
It has attracted new interest in the wake of state corruption charges filed last week against Mr. Mellow and seven others in connection with a pay-to-play scandal at the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission.
Two Republican senators said reviewing the status of the Mellow portrait is warranted.
"Portraits celebrate history," said Sen. Jake Corman, R-34, Bellefonte. "This type of issue is certainly worthy of review."
"It is concerning," said Sen. Mike Folmer, R-48, Lebanon. "You are trying to present a good accountable open government."
But Mr. Mellow's successor, Sen. John Blake, D-22, Archbald, said removing the portrait would smack of revisionist history.
"I don't think you can rewrite the service of 40 years," he said.
The portraits of former House Speakers John Perzel and William DeWeese, both now serving sentences in state correctional institutions for convictions related to the Bonusgate scandal, are hanging down the hall in the House wing. So is the portrait of former 1970s era Speaker Herb Fineman, who spent time in a federal prison for a bribery conviction.
A precedent may have been set when the Capitol was built more than a century ago. The bronze bust of Capitol architect John M. Huston adorns the massive bronze entrance doors. Mr. Huston served time in a state prison for his conviction in the Capitol graft scandal.
Contact the writer: rswift@timesshamrock.com