Professor David O. Friedrichs cannot say with certainty what motivates a public official with the power and prestige of former state Sen. Robert J. Mellow to risk it all by breaking the law.
But the white-collar crime expert knows what he will title the paper if he ever writes about the phenomenon: "Five Fireplaces."
He traces the genesis of the name to last year's public corruption trial of former Lackawanna County Commissioner Robert C. Cordaro and a witness description of the palatial home purchased by the cash-flush commissioner who is now serving an 11-year prison sentence for extorting bribes and kickbacks from vendors.
Along with stunning views, heated floors, a home theater and a hot tub, the 7,000-square-foot home's amenities included five fireplaces.
Where does a public official draw the line, Friedrichs asked, between the desire for a house with five fireplaces and the possibility of time behind bars?
When Mellow, 69, of Archbald, pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court a single count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud by using Senate staffers to do political work and to defraud the United States by filing a false tax return - a crime that could send him to prison for five years - the unanswered question was why.
The former Senate Democratic leader was one of the most powerful figures in Pennsylvania government and politics, respected both in Harrisburg and at home. By the time he retired in 2010 after 40 years in the Senate, he was earning an annual salary of $113,467. He is now pulling down a state pension of $138,958 a year.
"At the end of the day, it is a bit of a mystery what the thought processes are of a person like Mellow, like Cordaro, to make this tradeoff where they will risk everything to enhance a standard of living which on the basis of their legitimate income is a very good standard by the standards of most people in Northeastern Pennsylvania," said Friedrichs, who works at the University of Scranton.
When he served as the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, U.S. Rep. Patrick Meehan, R-7, Drexel Hill, spearheaded the prosecutions of some of the top names in Philadelphia's pay-to-play political culture, including one of Mellow's old colleagues, state Sen. Vincent Fumo.
Meehan said last week he has never understood what makes people in such positions "lose their sense of balance" and expose themselves to criminal penalties up to and including prison.
"Certainly, when you are in a position of power like that, you become accustomed to people coming to you, and the power that is associated with that can become intoxicating to some extent," he said. "I think the original concept of service to the people almost becomes reversed in the day-to-day experience. People just get sloppy, and they lose perspective."
Friedrichs said public officials who engage in wrongdoing obviously have an expectation they will not be caught or held accountable.
"A sense of invulnerability does sometimes develop, particularly in the case of people who achieve powerful positions as Mellow with his seniority eventually did and who are surrounded by people, aides and others, who are eager to kowtow to them," he said.
In addition, almost all white-collar criminals, whether in the public or the private realm, think of themselves as "respectable, mainstream members of society," which can provide a sense of entitlement, Friedrichs said.
"So when they engage in activity that they clearly know on some level is illegal or unethical or both, they rationalize it," he said. "'Everybody does it' - that has always been one rationalization. 'I'm really not harming anyone' - that's another. Then there is, 'I'm entitled to it because I have done so much of a worthy nature.' "
Meehan said one thing that struck him about Mellow's case is how little the former senator appears to have gained from his crimes.
In the mail fraud scheme, Mellow admitted conspiring to have Senate employees perform political campaign work while on the public payroll, resulting in a loss to taxpayers of between $0 and $120,000. On the tax matter, he filed a false return for 2008 that led to a $16,000 underpayment to the Internal Revenue Service.
Meehan said while there may have been other acts for which the senator could have been prosecuted, all anyone can speak to is the single count for which Mr. Mellow now stands convicted. Monetarily, that charge involves "what many would consider not that startling a sum," Meehan said.
"My experience as a prosecutor was seeing people who had so much on the line - they had reputations - and in the end, they really didn't benefit all that much by their activity," he said.
U.S. Attorney Peter J. Smith declined to comment when asked after Wednesday's plea hearing whether his office is pursuing other action as a result of its investigation of Mellow.
However, he acknowledged the ex-senator's case is not the end of public corruption investigations in Northeast Pennsylvania.
"Oh, absolutely not," Smith said. "There are ongoing public corruption concerns all the time."