Senate Panel Says PA Sportsmen Have Too Much Money, Fails to Question PGC on Harassment of Female Employees

April 2, 2026

HARRISBURG - On March 17 the state Senate had a golden opportunity to stand up for the sportsmen of Pennsylvania, but instead they stood up for their own interests, said Rep. David Maloney (R-Berks).

The event was the Senate Game and Fisheries Committee annual review of the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC), which was poorly attended with only five members present.
"I had challenged that panel's senators to inquire about the PGC's systematic abuse of employees, particularly women, and getting to the heart of what truly is destroying the PGC - corruption," Maloney said.

"At the time of my challenge, media reports of women employees and game wardens being abused, threatened and fired indiscriminately had already been published, so senators should have been keenly aware of the dark workings inside the PGC's management."

Since then, more damning evidence of PGC corruption has been documented as it appears the floodgates of PGC victims willing to speak out are opening whereas they were previously reluctant to do so because of PGC management's history of retaliation. Here are some excerpts from that story:

"If a particular warden would key up on the radio before Hudson would answer the warden, he would say, 'Oh, I hope you get shot in the f***ing face,' Just that kind of stuff."

"He literally would say things about certain [people], 'Oh, I'd like to f*** that. I'd like to hit that.' Or, it would be the opposite, like, 'Oh, could you imagine ***king that?"

The state's Labor Relations Board found grievances about the PGC's toxic and illegal behavior to be valid in at least two separate cases, here and here.

"These judgements reveal in detail a complex organization of more than 700 dedicated employees and volunteers ruled with an iron fist of harassment and retaliation by a handful of people at the top of the food chain who quash any utterance they view as dissent," Maloney said.

Given that the Senate panel seemed to be uninterested in proper oversight of a rogue state commission, many of the questions and statements that were made were uniquely focused on how to steal the sportsmen's money and put it in the General Fund.

One line of questioning involved the PGC using its own money for its payment in lieu of taxes (PILT) instead of taking it from the Gaming Fund, an issue I uncovered a year ago.

"Another line of questioning that was completely out of line by senators was insinuating that moneys in the Game fund should be diverted to the General Fund because the people of Pennsylvania are suffering," Maloney said. "Well, the last time the Senate tried to steal $150 million from the sportsmen it was for Clean Stream Fund grants. How does senators giving out Clean Stream grants to their friends help anyone struggling to make ends meet?"

During a capitol press conference with then-Auditor General Eugene DePasquale in 2019 examining PGC funds, a reporter asked, "with regards to oversight, can that be done without the threat of the (PGC) funds being taken for the general fund and being taken from sportsmen"?

"It is a fair concern we have people who want to dig themselves in and not have discussions," Depasquale said. "I believe proper oversight without co-mingling funds, is critical.

"I do not believe (PGC money) should be tied into the General Fund. I think when people pay these hunting licenses, they are anticipating paying for the privilege to hunt and manage game lands and manage the herd and all that. And not be used for name some pet project in another part of the state."

Representative David Maloney
130th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives