Convicted Philly council member won’t immediately step down

PHILADELPHIA » A Philadelphia council member convicted along with a prominent labor leader in a federal public corruption case says he plans to wait until his scheduled sentencing in February before resigning from his office.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Council member Bobby Henon said in an interview Tuesday that he intended to continue to serve “until I see that there is a transition plan in place that I can feel comfortable with.”

Henon and co-defendant John Dougherty, longtime business manof ager of Local 98 of the Inof ternational Brotherhood Electrical Workers, were convicted Monday of conspiracy and honest services wire fraud. Henon was also convicted of bribery. Both were acquitted of some charges.

Dougherty resigned from his position Tuesday, ending his nearly three-decade tenure at the union’s helm, and said he also planned to resign as business manager of the Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council, an umbrella organization of the city’s trade unions that he has led since 2015, the newspaper reported.

Prosecutors said Dougherty gave Henon, a union electricianturned-Philadelphia City Council member, a union-paid no-show job to ensure Henon did the union’s bidding. Dougherty’s lawyers contended that he exerted no undue influence and that the city allows council members to hold outside jobs.

Henon’s defense said the case amounted to criminalizing the legislative process and treating the union differently than other groups that lobby lawmakers. Henon was elected in 2011 and has represented his district covering parts of northeast Philadelphia for three terms.

Dougherty — known widely by his nickname “Johnny Doc” — has been a major force in Pennsylvania politics, steering millions in union campaign contributions to candidates for political office, including his brother, who was elected as a state Supreme Court justice in 2015.

Dougherty still faces at least one more federal trial based on charges in the sweeping 2019 indictment.

MATT ROURKE - THE AP Philadelphia City Council member Bobby Henon walks to the federal courthouse in Philadelphia, Wednesday, A federal court jury must now decide on the corruption case against a powerful Philadelphia labor leader and a city council member. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Schmehl gave instructions to jurors Wednesday and released them to begin deliberations in the case against union boss Johnny “Doc” Dougherty and Bobby Henon, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.