0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski, who is running for a fourth term leading Pennsylvania’s third-largest city, has been charged in federal court in a pay-to-play scheme, his lawyer said.The charges were filed Tuesday but sealed, said Jack McMahon, Pawlowski’s attorney, adding that they will be made public Wednesday morning. It is the culmination of a lengthy investigation that came to light with an FBI raid on Allentown City Hall on July 2, 2015 and has since cast a pall over the city at a critical time in its revitalization.“With this indictment, a new day is coming for the city and its residents,” Allentown Council President Ray O’Connell said. “The cloud is beginning to disappear. We’re finally going to get some answers.”O’Connell called on Pawlowski to resign immediately, though the mayor is under no obligation to do so, despite the charges.Nine have pleaded guilty in the case, including several contractors, the mayor’s former campaign manager and several high-ranking city officials — all of whom pointed a finger at a public official who is unnamed in court documents but matches only Pawlowski’s description.Pawlowski is the highest-level official in Allentown to be charged in the probe, which alleges city work was promised to contractors in exchange for campaign donations. McMahon said he did not know specifically what Pawlowski has been charged with.Acting U.S. Attorney Louis Lappen said he “can’t confirm or deny” that Pawlowski has been charged and offered no comment about it. The U.S. Attorney’s Office has scheduled a press conferences for Wednesday, McMahon said.Along with Pawlowski’s charges, four other sealed indictments were filed in federal court in Philadelphia Tuesday, though it’s not clear if they are related to the Allentown case.The Allentown case has been going on for about four years and is connected to a grand jury in Philadelphia, sources have said. Using subpoenas, federal agents raided City Hall two years ago, seeking information about more than two dozen people and businesses connected to the city and seizing thousands of documents related to the city’s contracting process, as well as computers, cellphones and other devices.Within months, the first guilty plea was recorded when developer Ramzi Haddad admitted to attempting to bribing a man known as "Public Official No. 3" with drinks, meals and campaign donations in exchange for official actions from the city.Former Controller Mary Ellen Koval — the only other elected official charged — pleaded guilty in 2016 to conspiracy to commit honest services fraud for her attempts to steer city and Allentown Parking Authority contracts to donors who contributed to Pawlowski and herself.FULL COVERAGE: Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski charged in FBI investigationFormer Managing Director Fran Dougherty — the highest ranking city employee — pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy to commit mail or wire fraud for his role in a scheme to award the city’s streetlight upgrade contract to a preferred campaign donor of the mayor.Former finance director Garret "Gary" Strathearn and former assistant solicitor Dale Wiles each pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud for their roles in a scheme to steer the city’s delinquent tax collection contract to a campaign donor of Pawlowski’s.And Mike Fleck, the mayor’s former campaign manager and best friend, pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to commit extortion and bribery offenses and tax evasion. Sources have told The Morning Call that Fleck recorded conversations with Pawlowski for the FBI and that the mayor confronted his friend about it hours before the FBI raided City Hall.Court documents state that Fleck, under direction from “Public Official No. 3,” browbeat unnamed lawyers and others to contribute to the official’s campaign, even threatening to "beat the crap" out of a lawyer who was hesitant to donate.Before Pawlowski was charged, three city contractors also pleaded guilty to bribery or wire fraud offenses. All those charged in the Allentown case agreed to testify against the mayor, court documents indicate. All are awaiting sentencing.The charges against Pawlowski mark the culmination of the investigation into Allentown’s contracting practices and put to rest a growing suspicion among some that the mayor could avoid indictment. Growing frustrated with the snail’s pace of the investigation, Allentown City Council last week called on federal prosecutors to act or close the case, saying the delay has robbed “residents of any possibility of respectful governance.”
Corruption in PA politics. Who'dathunkit.
Usually it's in Phithy. This is the first time it has been addressed in Allentown, even though this sort of corruption has been going on since the Liberty Bell was stashed here.
I guess he is a democrat, too.
