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The Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office ran an undercover sting operation over three years that captured leading Philadelphia Democrats, including four members of the city's state House delegation, on tape accepting money, The Inquirer has learned. Yet no one was charged with a crime.
Prosecutors began the sting in 2010 when Republican Tom Corbett was attorney general. After Democrat Kathleen G. Kane took office in 2013, she shut it down.
In a statement to The Inquirer on Friday, Kane called the investigation poorly conceived, badly managed, and tainted by racism, saying it had targeted African Americans.
Those who favored the sting believe Kane killed a solid investigation, led by experienced prosecutor Frank G. Fina, that had ensnared several public officials and had the potential to capture more. They said they were outraged at Kane's
allegation that race had played a role in the case. Before Kane ended the investigation, sources familiar with the inquiry said, prosecutors amassed 400 hours of audio and videotape that documented at least four city Democrats taking payments in cash or money orders, and in one case a $2,000 Tiffany bracelet.
Typically, the payments made at any one time were relatively modest - ranging from $500 to $2,000 - but most of those involved accepted multiple payments, people familiar with the investigation said. In some cases, the payments were offered in exchange for votes or contracts, they said.
Sources with knowledge of the sting said the investigation made financial pitches to both Republicans and Democrats, but only Democrats accepted the payments.
The investigation's undercover operative was a little-known lobbyist, Tyron B. Ali, 40, who agreed to wear a wire and tape the officials to win favorable treatment after his arrest in a $430,000 fraud case, the newspaper has learned.
In an unusual move, the Attorney General's Office then dropped the fraud charges secretly, under seal, last fall. Robert J. Levant, a lawyer for Ali, said neither he nor his client would have any comment.
People with knowledge of the investigation said those caught on tape included former Traffic Court Judge Thomasine Tynes, who acknowledged that Ali gave her the bracelet. Four state lawmakers took money, the sources said. State Rep. Ronald G. Waters accepted multiple payments totaling $7,650; State Rep. Vanessa Brown took $4,000; State Rep. Michelle Brownlee received $3,500; and State Rep. Louise Bishop took $1,500, said people with knowledge of the investigation. Bishop denied receiving money. Brownlee said she couldn't recall taking a payment, and Brown declined to discuss the matter.
Sources say that as money changed hands, the conversations were often blunt.
In May 2011, Ali went to Brown's office and handed her an envelope with $2,000, according to people who have reviewed a transcript of a tape Ali made on that day. As Brown accepted the money, they said, she put it in her purse and said: "Yo, good looking and Ooowee. . . . Thank you twice." After he gave Brown the money, Ali urged her to vote against a bill that would require voters to show identification at the polls, the sources said.
Brown voted against the measure - as did every other Democrat in the House.
In an interview Saturday, Brown's lawyer, Wadud Ahmad, said she had done nothing wrong. He said he had not been contacted by law enforcement and knew little about the investigation.
Ahmad, a former prosecutor, said, "I have never seen a prosecutor or any federal agent give someone a pass when they have strong evidence that they did something wrong."
Waters, for his part, said he did not recall receiving any money from Ali, but later added: "I'm trying to remember if he gave me something for my birthday." In April 2011, to mark Waters' 61st birthday, Ali gave him $1,000, and the transaction was recorded on tape, according to people who read a transcript of the conversation. As Ali handed Waters an envelope, the sources said, Ali told him: "Hey, there's $1,000 in there, bro."
What the five allegedly on tape say
They didn't know him.
Or they knew him but had no memory of accepting his money.They dined with him, but he was just another lobbyist.
That is how five leading Philadelphia Democrats who sources say were caught on tape in a sting investigation described their relationship with Tyron B. Ali, who went undercover for the state Attorney General's Office.
After the recordings were made, prosecutors do not appear to have contacted the elected officials or interviewed them about the lobbyist.
None of the five reported receiving gifts or campaign money from him on official disclosure forms in recent years. While state law sets no limits on the dollar amount of gifts lawmakers may accept, annual disclosure is required.
http://articles.philly.com/2014-03-16/news/48269239_1_investigation-kane-ali
Now we know why we don't see more of them in jail, just stop the investigations.
Prosecutors began the sting in 2010 when Republican Tom Corbett was attorney general. After Democrat Kathleen G. Kane took office in 2013, she shut it down.
In a statement to The Inquirer on Friday, Kane called the investigation poorly conceived, badly managed, and tainted by racism, saying it had targeted African Americans.
Those who favored the sting believe Kane killed a solid investigation, led by experienced prosecutor Frank G. Fina, that had ensnared several public officials and had the potential to capture more. They said they were outraged at Kane's
allegation that race had played a role in the case. Before Kane ended the investigation, sources familiar with the inquiry said, prosecutors amassed 400 hours of audio and videotape that documented at least four city Democrats taking payments in cash or money orders, and in one case a $2,000 Tiffany bracelet.
Typically, the payments made at any one time were relatively modest - ranging from $500 to $2,000 - but most of those involved accepted multiple payments, people familiar with the investigation said. In some cases, the payments were offered in exchange for votes or contracts, they said.
Sources with knowledge of the sting said the investigation made financial pitches to both Republicans and Democrats, but only Democrats accepted the payments.
The investigation's undercover operative was a little-known lobbyist, Tyron B. Ali, 40, who agreed to wear a wire and tape the officials to win favorable treatment after his arrest in a $430,000 fraud case, the newspaper has learned.
In an unusual move, the Attorney General's Office then dropped the fraud charges secretly, under seal, last fall. Robert J. Levant, a lawyer for Ali, said neither he nor his client would have any comment.
People with knowledge of the investigation said those caught on tape included former Traffic Court Judge Thomasine Tynes, who acknowledged that Ali gave her the bracelet. Four state lawmakers took money, the sources said. State Rep. Ronald G. Waters accepted multiple payments totaling $7,650; State Rep. Vanessa Brown took $4,000; State Rep. Michelle Brownlee received $3,500; and State Rep. Louise Bishop took $1,500, said people with knowledge of the investigation. Bishop denied receiving money. Brownlee said she couldn't recall taking a payment, and Brown declined to discuss the matter.
Sources say that as money changed hands, the conversations were often blunt.
In May 2011, Ali went to Brown's office and handed her an envelope with $2,000, according to people who have reviewed a transcript of a tape Ali made on that day. As Brown accepted the money, they said, she put it in her purse and said: "Yo, good looking and Ooowee. . . . Thank you twice." After he gave Brown the money, Ali urged her to vote against a bill that would require voters to show identification at the polls, the sources said.
Brown voted against the measure - as did every other Democrat in the House.
In an interview Saturday, Brown's lawyer, Wadud Ahmad, said she had done nothing wrong. He said he had not been contacted by law enforcement and knew little about the investigation.
Ahmad, a former prosecutor, said, "I have never seen a prosecutor or any federal agent give someone a pass when they have strong evidence that they did something wrong."
Waters, for his part, said he did not recall receiving any money from Ali, but later added: "I'm trying to remember if he gave me something for my birthday." In April 2011, to mark Waters' 61st birthday, Ali gave him $1,000, and the transaction was recorded on tape, according to people who read a transcript of the conversation. As Ali handed Waters an envelope, the sources said, Ali told him: "Hey, there's $1,000 in there, bro."
What the five allegedly on tape say
They didn't know him.
Or they knew him but had no memory of accepting his money.They dined with him, but he was just another lobbyist.
That is how five leading Philadelphia Democrats who sources say were caught on tape in a sting investigation described their relationship with Tyron B. Ali, who went undercover for the state Attorney General's Office.
After the recordings were made, prosecutors do not appear to have contacted the elected officials or interviewed them about the lobbyist.
None of the five reported receiving gifts or campaign money from him on official disclosure forms in recent years. While state law sets no limits on the dollar amount of gifts lawmakers may accept, annual disclosure is required.
http://articles.philly.com/2014-03-16/news/48269239_1_investigation-kane-ali
Now we know why we don't see more of them in jail, just stop the investigations.
