The U.S. Justice Department released the below
information:
A Wyncote, Pennsylvania man was sentenced to
121 months in prison for participating in a bribery conspiracy involving the
former Sheriff of Philadelphia.
Assistant Attorney General Brian
A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney
William M. McSwain of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Special Agent in
Charge Michael T. Harpster of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division and Special Agent
in Charge Guy Ficco of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Philadelphia
Field Office made the announcement.
James Davis, 68, the owner of
multiple advertising and title firms, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge
Wendy Beetlestone of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, who also ordered
Davis to pay $ 872,395.83 in restitution and to forfeit $1,718,540. On
April 3, 2018, after a six-week jury trial, Davis was convicted of conspiracy,
honest services fraud, and tax offenses.
“James Davis used his wealth to
line the pockets of the former Sheriff of Philadelphia in a corrupt exchange
for contracts and business,” said Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski.
“Today’s sentence should deter both public officials and would-be bribe payers
from engaging in corruption of any kind.”
“The citizens of Philadelphia are
entitled to the honest services of their public servants, and James Davis’s
actions deprived them of that from the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office,” said
U.S. Attorney McSwain. “Davis received millions of dollars of business
from the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office, having obtained nearly exclusive
control over the operation of the Sheriff sales and receiving over $7 million
in advertising fees for those sales. The sentence imposed today sends a
powerful message to public servants and vendors who choose to do business by
their own set of rules.”
“There’s an old saying that you
have to spend money to make money,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge
Harpster. “Certainly, this is not the way to do it. James Davis
brazenly bought off then-Sheriff Green in order to boost his businesses. This
illicit quid pro quo deprived Philadelphians of the honest services they expect
and deserve from those who hold elected office. The FBI is committed to
fighting such corruption, which does real and lasting damage to the public
trust.”
“James Davis willfully and intentionally
violated his legal duty to file his tax returns and pay the correct amount of
tax,” said IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge Ficco. “The courts have
overwhelmingly and consistently shown that people who engage in such criminal
behavior will be held accountable; as evidenced by the sentence handed down
today.”
According to the evidence
presented at trial, Davis, in exchange for receiving, maintaining and
increasing business with the Sheriff’s office, gave former Sheriff John Green
bribes and personal benefits totaling over $675,000, including purchasing and
renovating a home and selling the home at a loss to Green, hiring Green’s wife
as a sub-contractor, facilitating over $65,000 in hidden campaign contributions
to Green’s 2007 re-election campaign, paying $148,000 in campaign advertising
for Green’s 2007 re-election campaign, and paying Green over $300,000 in gifts
and interest-free loans. In exchange, the evidence presented at trial
showed that Green helped Davis maintain and increase his business with the
Sheriff’s Office, specifically, business involving sheriff’s sales of
foreclosed property. From approximately 2002 through 2010, Davis’
companies received over $35 million from the Philadelphia Sheriff’s office from
the sheriff’s sales business.
Additionally, the evidence
presented at trial revealed that Davis also filed false 2007 business and
personal tax returns, and failed to file personal tax returns for 2008, 2009,
and 2010.
The FBI and IRS-CI investigated
this case. Trial Attorney Jennifer A. Clarke of the Criminal Division’s
Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah L. Grieb and
Christopher Diviny of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania are prosecuting the
case.
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