PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Prosecutors and defense attorneys offered starkly different pictures of the bribery and conspiracy case against Philadelphia City Councilmember Bobby Henon and electricians union leader John Dougherty, as they gave closing arguments in federal court.
The defense suggested they were two pro-labor activists fighting for jobs while the prosecution drew them as partners in a corrupt agreement.
“This case is about bribes in disguise,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank Costello.
“Simply put, Dougherty bought Henon so that Henon would do what he wanted."
Both Henon’s lawyer Brian McMonagle and Dougherty’s lawyer Henry Hockheimer called the argument, “ridiculous.”
“There was no bribe,” said Hockheimer, arguing that Henon’s salary from Dougherty’s union, Local 98 of the Electricians Union, is legal under Pennsylvania law.
Costello led off the arguments with a two-hour monologue revisiting the acts in the indictment, and concluding that the seized emails and wiretapped phone conversations the government intercepted showed Henon worked for Dougherty rather than his constituents.
“Mr. Henon was supposed to be accountable to the people of Philadelphia,” he said. “Now that you know what really happened, they’re accountable to you. You need to hold them accountable.
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“The scary part is if the government had not gotten authorization for wiretaps this would still be going on,” he added.
“This ends here. This ends now. The people of Philadelphia deserve better.”
Hockheimer began his one-hour argument by revisiting the gains Local 98 had made in both size and the wages members command.
“This case is not just about Mr. Dougherty and Mr. Henon,” he maintained, “it’s about labor and unions and their ability to keep a seat at the table. When you’re going up against Comcast and the soda industry, it’s important for labor to have a voice, to have power, to have a level playing field.”
He rejected the notion of a secret corrupt agreement, saying the relationship between Henon and Dougherty was “right in front.”
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“Mr. Dougherty is not some puppet master working behind the scenes.”
He urged jurors to use “common sense” in deliberations.
“Don’t fall for sleight of hand and conversations that don’t amount to anything,” he said.
Henon’s attorney Brian McMonagle gave a more emotional closing in his one hour before the jury, projecting an image of Rocky, suggesting his client was the same sort of underdog and attacking the government’s case as lacking the necessary legal underpinnings.
“A bribe,” he said, “is a benefit or payment he’s not entitled to,” arguing Henon earned his union salary performing a number of jobs for Local 98, and adding, “There’s not one shred of evidence that the acts he performed were in return for a bribe.”
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The defense arguments drew an unusually animated rebuttal from prosecutor Bea Witzleben. She said Henon could have supported labor and avoided the trial by turning down a union salary.
“But,” she added, ”two households are hard to support.”
That was a reference to Henon’s romantic relationship with his chief of staff, Courtney Voss, but it drew audible groans from observers in the courtroom.
The judge told the jury he would be charging them Tuesday morning and they could begin deliberations immediately.
