A U.S. congressman has been convicted in a racketeering case that centred on efforts to repay an illegal $1m campaign loan.
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Democratic Rep. Chaka Fattah of Pennsylvania was found guilty on 23 charges in a corruption case over an illegal $1 million campaign loan Tuesday.
Fattah, who has served in Congress for over twenty years, lost the Democratic primary to state Representative Dwight Evans in late April. His current term ends January 2, 2017. He had little reaction to the verdict, except for the bemused smile he frequently sported during the trial. Sentencing is scheduled for October 4.
Fattah told reporters as he was leaving the courtroom: “Well, it’s a tough day, but I do want to thank the jurors for their service”. He said he would discuss his options with his lawyers. She was cited in the case over the sham sale of her Porsche, which prosecutors said was a bribe. He, too, was charged in the case and convicted of racketeering conspiracy. A jury also found he took part in a scheme as a subcontractor to defraud the Philadelphia school district.
Fattah was also convicted of misusing federal grant money and charitable funds.
The veteran congressman also lost a bid for the Philadelphia mayoral seat in 2007.
Democrat Ed Rendell, a former mayor and governor, was called to defend Vederman, his former deputy mayor.
Lawyers for Fattah and Vederman said the two men acted out of friendship, not as part of a bribery scheme. “Those were all overreaches by the prosecution”.
He blamed numerous criminal acts alleged against Fattah and his four codefendants, all longtime members of the congressman’s inner circle, on two former campaign aides who pleaded guilty to federal crimes and agreed to testify against him. They are Bonnie Bowser, 59, Fattah’s chief of staff; lobbyist Herbert Vederman, 69; consultant Robert Brand, 69; and Karen Nicholas, 57, the chief executive of a nonprofit educational alliance founded by Fattah. The former member of the House Appropriations Committee was routing federal grants and nonprofit funding to pay his debt.
Under the House’s code of conduct, a convicted lawmaker is not to vote if the punishment for his conviction may be two or more years’ imprisonment.
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White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest argued that Fattah’s conviction is evidence that the Justice Department can carry out unbiased investigations irrespective of political affiliations.
