Ex-Harrisburg mayor being held for trial on corruption case

    Former Harrisburg Mayor Stephen Reed is being bound over for trial on charges that he illegally spent public money to buy thousands of artifacts for museums that were never built.

    PennLive.com says Senior District Judge Richard Cashman ruled Tuesday that the state attorney general’s office had presented enough evidence to hold Reed.

    Reed has vowed to fight the nearly 500 criminal counts, which include theft, misapplication of government property, criminal solicitation and bribery.

    In court on Monday, prosecutors showed slides of many artifacts that they say Reed purchased with money from various agencies in the cash-strapped city government.

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    They said the items were seized from his home and a separate storage facility. Defense lawyer Henry Hockeimer says Reed did not steal the artifacts, but rather bought them for himself.

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