sweeping federal corruption investigation in Philadelphia ensnared top city officials and one of its most powerful union bosses
sweeping federal corruption investigation in Philadelphia ensnared top city officials and one of its most powerful union bosses, accusing them of carrying out a boatload of schemes that included blocking the city’s renowned children’s hospital from installing new MRI machines.
The indictment charged union boss John “Doc” Dougherty with more than 100 counts, and implicated city councilman Robert “Bobby” Henon, several other officials from Dougherty’s union and the owner of a local construction company.
Over 160 pages long, the indictment features a five-page table of contents laying out schemes that include bribery, embezzlement and wire fraud.
Dougherty and his seven cronies are accused of embezzling more than $600,000 dollars in union funds to sponsor family members’ trips, to further his personal and political interests and maintain his bar. They allegedly spent thousands of dollars at the nicest steakhouse at the Borgata Hotel in Atlantic City, N.J., according to the indictment.
The alleged schemes included coercing and threatening Philadelphia’s children’s hospital and NBCUniversal’s parent company Comcast, in an effort to obtain contracts for Dougherty’s union.
Dougherty oversaw Philadelphia’s IBEW Local 98 and allegedly “used Local 98 as his personal bank account and as a means to obtain employment for himself, his family, and his friends,” the indictment says.
Henon, the city councilman, also held a paid position with the union, the indictment says. The indictment alleges that in exchange for a salary and items of value from Dougherty, Henon used his political position to serve Dougherty’s interests. In one notable case, the two men allegedly conspired to shut down the installation of an MRI machine at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to pressure it into using union labor, according to the indictment.