Feds subpoena records of mayor’s campaign finances
The Philadelphia Inquirer
PHILADELPHIA — Federal authorities have subpoenaed finance records and receipts from Mayor Jim Kenney’s campaign committee as part of their investigation into the electricians’ union and its leader John Dougherty, the mayor said Friday.
In an interview, Mr. Kenney said the committee intended to comply with the documents request, which was received earlier this month. He said he had no reason to suspect that he or any member of his campaign or administration was a target of the probe.
“I think the federal government is doing their job and we’re going to accommodate their requests for information every step of the way,” he said. “What will come out will come out.”
The subpoena came, the mayor said, shortly after a series of coordinated FBI raids this month on the union hall of Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and several houses and offices tied to Mr. Dougherty and his close allies, including Philadelphia Councilman Bobby Henon, a former political director for the union who remains on its payroll.
In each instance, the warrants sought evidence of possible crimes, including embezzlement of union funds, intimidation of contractors, and extortion by an unnamed government official.
Sources familiar with the investigation have said it also is focused on the union’s substantial financial support of political candidates, including its giving to the political campaigns of Mr. Kenney and state Supreme Court Justice Kevin Dougherty, who is Mr. Dougherty’s brother.
Mr. Kenney said Friday that agents had not approached him or any member of his administration as far as he was aware. He has not retained a lawyer independent from the one representing his campaign committee, he said.
Asked specifically what the subpoena had requested, Mr. Kenney said he had not personally seen it but was told by the campaign’s lawyer that it was focused on campaign finance filings and receipts, many of which were already publicly available online.
Jessie Bradley, a political adviser to the campaign, declined to discuss the specifics of the request, saying that the subpoena advised the campaign not to publicly discuss the material it requested.
Mr. Dougherty has led the electricians union since 1993, helping to build it into a major statewide political force through political donations and its expansive get-out-the-vote efforts on behalf of favored candidates.
As one of the city’s most powerful Democrats, he played a key role in last year’s elections, helping put Mr. Kenney in the mayor’s office and Kevin Dougherty, his brother, on the state Supreme Court.
Mr. Kenney’s campaign raised $2.6 million for last year’s primary and general elections with Local 98 and its various political action committees as one of its biggest contributors.
Also Friday, sources close to the investigation confirmed that FBI agents had searched the South Philadelphia home of Michael Mazzucca, 55, a plumber and a Democratic committee member from the city’s First Ward.
Mr. Dougherty had served as leader of the ward until earlier this year, when he stepped down saying he intended to be less politically active.
Mr. Mazzucca, who did not respond to requests for comment Friday, was a repeated contributor to a political action committee that was also heavily supported by Mr. Dougherty’s Local 98.
The search conducted at his home was one of several this week, including those conducted at the state Attorney General’s Philadelphia office seeking information on Joseph Ralson, a narcotics investigator. Agents on Tuesday also raided the Pennsport home and offices of James Moylan, Mr. Kenney’s appointee to lead the city’s Zoning Board of Adjustment, which plays a vital role in shaping city development.
Mr. Kenney on Friday defended his selection of Mr. Moylan, who is Mr. Dougherty’s chiropractor and has previously worked as a political consultant for Local 98.
“I don’t know about the warrants,” the mayor said. Mr. Moylan “was selected because he had a long-standing reputation as a civic leader within the community . . . He seemed to be appropriate.”
Mr. Dougherty has denied any wrongdoing related to the matters at the heart of the federal probe and vowed to fight off what he has characterized as the FBI’s “comprehensive attack on multiple aspects of Local 98.”