Former Philadelphia Traffic Court Judge Michael Lowry has never been convicted of fixing traffic tickets. Yet, he will have to spend the next 20 months in federal prison for telling a grand jury that he granted no special favors to anyone in his own courtroom.
U.S. District Judge Lawrence F. Stengel handed down the sentence on Jan. 14. Lowry, 59, the former owner of a Mayfair appliance store and aide to longtime state Rep. Mike McGeehan, will also have to serve one year of probation and do 100 hours of community service upon his release.
A federal trial jury last July found Lowry and two other ex-judges guilty of perjury for lying to the grand jury that was investigating alleged ticket fixing in Traffic Court. The grand jury probe began amid allegations that numerous judges routinely dismissed cases involving relatives, friends and other associates who had been issued tickets for motor vehicle violations.
The trial jury also found former Judges Robert Mulgrew and Thomasine Tynes guilty of perjury for lying under oath to the grand jury, while finding another ex-judge, Willie Singletary, guilty of lying to the FBI.
All four were acquitted of fraud charges stemming from alleged ticket-fixing. Three other defendants — former judges Michael Sullivan and Mark A. Brun, along with Chinatown businessman Robert Moy — were found not guilty of all charges.
Previously, Stengel sentenced Tynes to two years in prison and Mulgrew to 18 months in prison. Singletary is awaiting sentencing.
Co-defendants H. Warren Hogeland, Kenneth Miller, Fortunato Perri, William Hird and Henry P. Alfano earlier pleaded guilty to fraud charges in the case.
While Lowry told the grand jury that he had treated everyone in his courtroom equally, he later admitted to an independent investigator that he had allowed others to request special “consideration” for defendants in his courtroom. Ronald Castille, the former chief justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, had appointed Chadwick Associates to conduct the independent investigation due to the political nature of the alleged ticket-fixing.
Lowry was facing up to five years in prison for his perjury conviction, although federal sentencing guidelines called for a prison term of between 15 and 21 months. He had no prior criminal record. His attorney asked the court for leniency because he had cooperated with the Chadwick investigation, but Stengel cited the need to deter other elected officials from engaging in corruption. ••
