Republican House Minority Leader Sam Smith (R-Jefferson) called the allegations unveiled Thursday against former leader John Perzel and nine other people connected to the caucus “alarming and shocking,” but he said the onset of the investigation nearly three years ago has been a catalyst for change among the current leadership team and rank-and-file members.

“They are alarming in that if they are found to be substantiated by a judge and jury, it would represent an unacceptable breach of the public’s trust,” Smith said in a statement. “They are shocking because our caucus has been committed to keeping the legislative activities apart from campaign activities.”

Attorney General Tom Corbett on Thursday filed a sweeping set of charges against Republican and former Speaker of the House John Perzel, Republican and former House Appropriations Chairman Brett Feese, and eight of their former or current staffers, alleging they illegally used millions of taxpayer dollars for campaigns and then obstructed the attorney general’s investigation into the practice.

Also charged were former Perzel Chief of Staff Brian Preski, current Chief of Staff Paul Towhey, Perzel’s brother-in-law Samuel Stokes, Perzel legislative aide John Zimmerman, Perzel campaign aide Don McClintock, Feese aides Jill Seaman and Elmer Bowman, and former House Republican Information Technology Deputy Director Eric Ruth. Corbett identified Preski, Perzel and Feese as the three principal culprits.

In all, the attorney general made 456 criminal charges against the 10 Republicans, which could carry a maximum sentence of 2,948 years. The charges are two-tiered – one set focuses on the alleged illegal use of taxpayer money and resources, the other on what the attorney general said was deliberate obstruction of his office’s investigation.