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| Mayor Jim Kenney, Pa Supreme Court Justice Kevin Dougherty, andCouncilman Bobby Henon |
The Philadelphia blog BILLYPENN reports today: The FBI raided at least seven locations across Philadelphia Friday in an investigation that has already ensnared John Dougherty, his politically powerful union, at least one councilman and reportedly touches the Philadelphia mayor’s office and the state Supreme Court.
Dougherty, the business manager of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 98, returned to his South Philly home in the morning hours to find it being searched by the FBI and state police. The feds also raided his South Philly bar, the headquarters of the union, and the South Jersey home of its president. The office of City Councilman Bobby Henon, a close ally and major beneficiary of Dougherty, was also searched by the feds. Henon is a board member of IBEW Local 98, and a lone FBI agent sat outside Henon’s office Friday morning and refused to comment, saying only “the office is closed today.”
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John Dougherty stands outside his South Philly home as it is raided by authorities.
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Federal agents left each location they raided with boxes of paperwork, including a truckload of documents from the IBEW headquarters on Spring Garden Street.
The Inquirer, citing an anonymous source, reported late Friday that the investigation “focused on the union’s finances and its involvement in the political campaigns of Mayor Kenney and state Supreme Court Justice Kevin Dougherty, who is Dougherty’s brother.” In 2015, IBEW Local 98 donated nearly a million dollars to fund Dougherty’s successful run for state Supreme Court. It also dumped upwards of $200,000 into Kenney’s campaign for mayor.
At an unrelated event Friday, Kenney declined to comment.. Kenney’s spokeswoman Lauren Hitt said no member of the administration has been questioned by the FBI, and no requests have been made for documents. She added: “We have no reason to believe the investigation is in any way related to Mayor Kenney.”
Read the full story here
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