Former Pa. House speaker paroled from prison

    Former Pennsylvania House Speaker John Perzel has been paroled from prison after serving nearly two years on a corruption conviction.

    Officials say the 64-year-old Philadelphia Republican was discharged around 9:30 a.m. Thursday from Laurel Highlands Prison in western Pennsylvania.

    Perzel, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy, conflict of interest and theft, also was ordered to pay $1 million in restitution. He’ll remain on parole, subject to special restrictions and monitoring, through April 2017.

    Prosecutors say Perzel was the architect of a scheme to illegally pay millions of taxpayer dollars to out-of-state consultants who helped develop voter databases and special software to give Republican legislative candidates the electoral edge.

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    He was one of 25 Republicans and Democrats connected to the House of Representatives who were arrested in a state corruption investigation.

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