PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Jurors heard more recorded wiretaps Wednesday in the federal corruption trial of Philadelphia City Councilman Bobby Henon and labor leader John Dougherty.
The focus of Wednesday's court session centered on Henon and his relationship with another union, the one that represents Verizon workers.
This part of the prosecution's case goes back to the fall of 2015. Verizon employees, represented by the Communications Workers of America, were without a contract. Union leader Jim Gardler was trying to put pressure on Verizon.
He turned to Bobby Henon asking for a City Council hearing in April 2016 on a separate matter, Verizon’s franchise agreement with the city, hoping it would give him leverage in negotiations.
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"The purpose of this hearing today is to ensure that all Philadelphians are truly benefitting from the option to have their own cable provider," Henon said as he led the hearing.
But recordings of phone conversations between Henon and Gardler suggest it was a show hearing, months in the planning.
In the midst of a dozen calls in which Gardler repeatedly asks for the hearing, Henon makes a couple of requests of his own, for campaign contributions, which Gardler delivers to the level of $8,000.
This all unfolded in a series of phone conversations the government played for the jury on Wednesday, including two back-to-back calls.
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In the first, Henon asked for a donation then hanged up and called Gardler right back to talk about a conversation he had with Verizon’s lobbyist about the contract.
A few weeks later, Gardler called Henon and told him that he had to explain to a union board member from Pittsburgh why the union should donate to Henon and not to someone from Pittsburgh.
“What can the Pittsburgh guy do for us?” he said. “I know what I can ask Bobby to do for us.”
Prosecutors said they will play more of the calls on Thursday. Then the defense will get a chance to rebut them.
