More than three years after a federal jury found former union leader John “Johnny Doc” Dougherty and former City Councilmember Bobby Henon guilty of corruption, the legal repercussions of their illegal activities from nearly a decade ago are still playing out.
The union that Dougherty led and Henon worked for, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 98, has settled charges that the acts that led to their convictions also violated various city lobbying regulations.
“These efforts by Dougherty and Local 98 to influence Henon were direct communications to influence administrative action” under the city code, the settlement says, which meant the union should have registered as a lobbying organization and filed spending reports.
Local 98 has agreed to pay $24,600 in civil penalties, the city’s Board of Ethics said. Executive director Shane Creamer said it’s the largest lobbying fine the board has ever imposed. The settlement was reached with “the full cooperation” of the union’s current leadership and the union has now registered as a lobbying organization as required, he said.
“Going forward, we expect full compliance with that important city disclosure law,” Creamer said. “While this settlement is the board’s largest lobbying fine, we consider promoting future compliance by Local 98 and other groups to be the most valuable takeaway.”
The agreement was signed by Mark Lynch, the union business manager who succeeded Dougherty, and Creamer and board chair Michael Reed. A spokesperson for the union declined to comment.
Dougherty, who was long considered one of the state’s most powerful unelected officials, and his close associate Henon were charged in 2019 with a long list of crimes that took place in 2015 and 2016.
Prosecutors alleged Henon, who worked as the union’s political director while also serving on City Council, was essentially on retainer to the union leader, using his council position to help Dougherty attack rivals in other unions and pressure large companies to hire union electricians.
In November 2021, they were convicted on the majority of counts they faced. The jury found both men guilty of conspiracy and honest services fraud and Henon guilty of bribery.
Henon reported to prison in April 2023 to serve a 3½-year sentence, and Dougherty headed to jail last October to begin a six-year term.
Dougherty was convicted again in 2023 for embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from his union.
A string of unreported “illegal” activities
The settlement agreement largely echoes the indictment, listing off various schemes the two men undertook to influence city affairs and to benefit Local 98 generally and Dougherty personally. Dougherty was acting as an unregistered lobbyist and thus violating city law, the document says.
The settlement lists the following sets of activities:
Goldtex Apartments
In July 2014, Dougherty met with Carlton Williams, the commissioner of the city’s Department of Licenses & Inspections at the time, to ask him to crack down on alleged safety violations at a non-union construction site. Williams now serves in the Parker administration as the director of Clean and Green Initiatives.
Lincoln Financial Field Scoreboard
In 2014, Local 9 officials met with Williams and L&I staffers to ask them to prevent workers from another union, the Sheet Metal Workers, from installing a scoreboard at the Linc.
CHOP MRI Machines
In July and August 2015, Dougherty had Henon repeatedly push L&I to halt installation of an MRI machine at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia because it was being done by out-of-state, non-union workers.
Comcast Franchise Agreement Renewal
In November and December 2015, Dougherty and Henon worked together to hold up approval of Comcast’s new agreement to provide cable services in the city while they sought to extract concessions from the company. Dougherty gave Henon luxury box tickets to an Eagles game for use by other councilmembers.
Towing Legislation
In September 2015, Dougherty angrily called Henon about his car being towed and told him to hold hearings on the towing industry and draft legislation requiring training for tow truck drivers.
Beverage Tax Legislation
From February through May 2016, Dougherty strategized with Henon on how to introduce and pass legislation creating the city’s controversial soda tax. During the corruption trial, prosecutors said they supported the tax in part to retaliate against the Teamsters union, which includes beverage truck drivers, over an unrelated dispute related to the Pennsylvania Convention Center.
Parking Authority Resolution
In June 2016, Dougherty asked Henon to block a council resolution regarding the Philadelphia Parking Authority. (Henon was also separately charged with accepting a bribe — in the form of window glass for his mistress’s house — from a PPA official who headed a window installers union.)
Fines and training
As part of the settlement, Local 98 agreed that it had failed to register as a lobbying organization in 2014, 2015 and 2016, failed to file required expense reports, and failed to keep required records of its expenses.
Most of those violations come with $2,000 fines, with a few costing $100 each. There were a total of 18 violations.
Local 98 also agreed that its lobbying agents will complete lobbying trainings within 60 days and appoint a new political director through 2028.
Editor’s Note: WHYY employs members of the IBEW union.
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