The U.S.
Attorney’s Office Eastern District of Pennsylvania released the below
information regarding the indictment charging Philadelphia labor leader John
Dougherty (seen in the above photo) and others with numerous federal crimes:
PHILADELPHIA – First Assistant United States
Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams announced today that a grand jury returned
a 116-count Indictment, charging Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of
Electrical Workers (“Local 98”) Business Manager John Dougherty, Philadelphia
City Councilman Robert Henon, Local 98 employees Brian Burrows, Michael Neill,
Marita Crawford, Niko Rodriguez, Brian Fiocca, and local business owner Anthony
Massa with a multitude of federal crimes, including embezzlement, wire fraud,
and public corruption offenses.
John Dougherty,
58, of Philadelphia, has been charged with one count of conspiracy to embezzle
from a labor union and employee benefit plan; 34 counts of embezzlement and
theft of labor union assets; 23 counts of wire fraud thefts from Local 98; two
counts of wire fraud thefts from a political action committee; two counts of
falsification of annual financial reports filed by a labor union; two counts of
falsification of financial records required to be kept by a labor union; five
counts of filing false federal income tax returns; one count of conspiracy to
accept unlawful payments from an employer; eight counts of accepting unlawful
payments from a union contractor; one count of conspiracy to commit honest
services fraud and federal program bribery; 11 counts of honest services wire
fraud; and one count of honest services mail fraud.
Philadelphia City
Councilman Robert Henon, 50, of
Philadelphia, has been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit honest
services fraud and federal program bribery; 14 counts of honest services wire
fraud; one count of honest services mail fraud; and four counts of federal
program bribery.
Brian Burrows, 58,
of Mount Laurel, NJ, served as the President of Local 98. He has been charged
with one count of conspiracy to embezzle from a labor union and employee
benefit plan; 14 counts of embezzlement and theft of labor union assets; two
counts of falsification of annual financial reports filed by a labor union; two
counts of falsification of financial records required to be kept by a labor
union; and five counts of filing false federal income tax returns.
Michael Neill, 52,
of Philadelphia, served as the Training Director of Local 98’s Apprentice
Training Fund. He has been charged with one count of conspiracy to embezzle
from a labor union and employee benefit plan; four counts of embezzlement and
theft of labor union assets; one count of theft from an employee benefit plan;
and four counts of filing false federal income tax returns.
Marita Crawford,
49, of Philadelphia, served as a Local 98 business agent and Political
Director. She has been charged with one count of conspiracy to embezzle from a
labor union and employee benefit plan; four counts of embezzlement and theft of
labor union assets; three counts of wire fraud thefts from Local 98; two counts
of wire fraud thefts from a political action committee; one count of
falsification of an annual financial report filed by a labor union; and one
count of falsification of financial records required to be kept by a labor
union.
Niko Rodriguez,
27, of Philadelphia, was a Local 98 employee and Apprentice Training Fund
employee. He has been charged with one count of conspiracy to embezzle from a
labor union and employee benefit plan; six counts of embezzlement and theft of
labor union assets; and six counts of wire fraud thefts from Local 98.
Brian Fiocca, 27,
of Philadelphia, was a Local 98 employee. He has been charged with one count of
conspiracy to embezzle from a labor union and employee benefit plan; five
counts of embezzlement and theft of labor union assets; and five counts of wire
fraud thefts from Local 98.
Anthony Massa, 65,
of Philadelphia, was the owner and operator of Massa Construction. He has been
charged with one count of conspiracy to embezzle from a labor union and
employee benefit plan; 14 counts of embezzlement and theft of labor union
assets; one count of theft from an employee benefit plan; and one count of
making false statements to the FBI.
From April 2010 through
August 2016, in Philadelphia, the Indictment alleges that Dougherty, Burrows,
Neill, Crawford, Rodriguez, Fiocca, and Massa conspired and agreed to embezzle
Local 98 funds for their own personal use and the use of their family members,
friends, and commercial businesses.
The Indictment charges
that the defendants used union funds for personal and other unauthorized
expenses, contrary to the provisions of the IBEW constitution, the by-laws of
Local 98, and the beneficial interests of the members of Local 98. They also
used these funds in violation of federal law. The Indictment continues that
they used funds and assets of the Apprentice Training Fund for personal and
other unauthorized expenses, contrary to the provisions of the Apprentice
Training Fund’s trust agreement and ERISA. Additionally, the Indictment states
that the defendants concealed the unlawful use of the funds and assets of Local
98 and the Apprentice Training Fund by falsely representing that the funds were
being used for legitimate, business-related expenses.
The Indictment further
charges Dougherty and Henon with multiple public corruption charges. The
Indictment alleges that Dougherty and Henon defrauded the City of Philadelphia
and its citizens of the right to Henon’s honest services as a member of City
Council. According to the Indictment, Henon received a salary and other things
of value from Dougherty and, in exchange, Henon used his position as a member
of City Council to serve Dougherty’s interests.
“Union leaders and
public officials have similar duties in our society,” said First Assistant U.S.
Attorney Williams. “Whether it is a fiduciary duty to the union’s membership to
spend union funds on union business, or a public official’s duty to provide
honest services to his constituents, leaders in these kinds of roles must act
in the best interests of others. They cannot use their public positions and
influence to enrich themselves. If they do, it is a violation of their duties
and of federal law.”
“When union leaders
misdirect the organization’s money for personal gain, they’re breaching their
obligation to members – and breaking the law,” said Michael T. Harpster,
Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division. “Such corruption
must not go unchecked. No matter how long it takes, the FBI and our partners
will investigate and work to hold accountable unscrupulous union and public
officials.”
“Union officials who
are elected to positions of trust have a responsibility to their members and
organizations,” stated IRS Special Agent in Charge Guy Ficco. “That trust is
broken when these officials serve to enrich themselves at the expense of their
members. No public official gets a free pass to ignore the tax laws, and IRS CI
will continue to ensure that everyone pays their fair share.”
“An important mission
of the Office of Inspector General is to investigate allegations relating to
labor racketeering and corruption in employee benefit plans,” stated Richard
Deer, Special Agent in Charge, Philadelphia Region, U.S. Department of Labor
Office of Inspector General. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement
partners and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security
Administration to investigate these types of allegations.”
The case was
investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service –
Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security
Administration, the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Labor Management
Standards, the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, and the
Pennsylvania State Police, with assistance from the Pennsylvania Attorney
General’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys
Richard P. Barrett, Chief of the Corruption, Tax and Labor Racketeering Unit,
Frank Costello, John Gallagher, and Paul Gray.
An Indictment, Information,
or Criminal Complaint is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless
and until proven guilty.
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