PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The verdict in the federal corruption trial of Philadelphia City Councilmember Bobby Henon and labor leader John Dougherty is a stunning defeat for one of the city’s most powerful and influential labor leaders.
Dougherty was found guilty of conspiracy as well as seven of nine counts of honest services fraud. Henon was found guilty of conspiracy, bribery and eight counts of honest services fraud. Both were acquitted of some counts.
Sentencing will be held for Henon on Feb. 22, 2022. Dougherty will be sentenced the following day.
Both remain free on bail until sentencing.
The 2019 indictment accused Dougherty of bribing Henon with campaign contributions and the union salary to do his bidding.
Prosecutors said Dougherty kept union electrician-turned-City Council member Henon on the payroll — in a $70,000-a-year, no-show job — to help his union keep a tight grip on construction jobs.
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Prosecutors tried to show that Dougherty used Henon to press Comcast Corp. to steer $2 million worth of electrical work to a friend during cable contract talks with the city; to shut down the non-union installation of MRI machines at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia; and to investigate a towing company that seized Dougherty’s car.
Defense lawyers insisted that there had been no undue influence and argued that the city allows council members to hold outside jobs. They also questioned how it was a crime for union supporter Henon to side with Dougherty and the building trades workers he was elected to represent.
Outside the federal courthouse, union spokesperson Frank Keel said Dougherty's conviction is a loss for not only the union but also the city as a whole.
“In every other major city, in every hall of power in America, what they got convicted of is called lobbying,” Keel said. “It’s legal.”
Keel said it was unclear whether Dougherty would have to give up his union post, but he said Dougherty was planning to appeal.
Henon and Dougherty had little reaction inside the courtroom Monday. Before the verdict, Dougherty seemed confident standing at the side of his attorney.
Henon left the courthouse without comment. Dougherty spoke briefly with reporters before being whisked away in a white SUV.
“I’m fine. I’m fine, OK? We’re good,” he assured. “Listen, I have been open to every one of you for all seven weeks and a better part of my life. I am very comfortable. You don’t see me blinking.”
Their convictions follow a lengthy FBI investigation of activities within the chapter of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers that Dougherty leads, but will not mark the end of Dougherty’s legal woes.
Dougherty, the business manager of the Philadelphia-area IBEW Local 98, and the business manager of the Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council, still faces at least one more federal trial based on charges in the sweeping 2019 indictment. He and others are accused of embezzling more than $600,000 from Local 98.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.