PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Prosecutors have pivoted to a new part of their case in the federal corruption trial of Philadelphia City Councilman Bobby Henon and electricians union leader John Dougherty.
Those prosecutors turned their attention to the charge that Henon did a favor for the glaziers union leader, in exchange for free windows for his chief of staff.
Prosecutors first wrapped up the portion of their case involving Comcast's 2015 franchise agreement with the city, in which they allege Henon improperly allowed Dougherty to play a role by calling Comcast vice president Mark Reilly to testify about a meeting with Dougherty in Henon’s office. During the meeting, Dougherty allegedly pressured the company to agree to use union labor for certain jobs.
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The government alleged Henon gave Dougherty an outsized role in the negotiations in exchange for the bribe of Henon’s union salary.
Reilly was from out of town and described the meeting in an email as “over an hour of (expletive) from John Dougherty. Either we agree that all (work in commercial buildings) goes to the union or he stops the (agreement). All this told me in the office of the Chairman of (City Council’s) Public Property Committee (which was Henon) and the Chairman sitting at the table barely uttering a word.” He ended with the comment, “I’m feeling the Brotherly Love.”
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He conceded on cross-examination no one told him the franchise would be in danger without the union labor agreement.
With that portion of the case over, prosecutors played a tape of a 2016 call between Henon and the then-head of the Parking Authority about a council resolution asking the city controller to audit the agency.
Prosecutors allege Henon agreed to vote against it because the chairman of the parking authority board had arranged for free windows for Henon’s chief of staff, Courtney Voss, whom prosecutors have also described as his mistress.
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