U.S. Attorney Jacqueline Romero announced that John Dougherty, 64, was sentenced by District Court Judge Jeffrey Schmehl to 72 months imprisonment, three years of supervised release, forfeiture of $353,941.35, a $7,100 special assessment and $50,000 in restitution now, with full restitution to be determined later, for crimes arising from his embezzlement of funds belonging to International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 98 and multiple crimes involving his payment of bribes to codefendant Bobby Henon.
In January 2019, a federal grand jury issued an indictment against Dougherty, the longtime business manager of Local 98, then-City Councilman Henon and others employed by or affiliated with Local 98.
The indictment charged that from May 2015 to September 2016, Dougherty and Henon deprived the City of Philadelphia and its citizens of their right to Henon’s honest services as a member of City Council. It further alleged that Henon received a salary and other things of value from Dougherty and, in exchange, that Henon used his position as a member of City Council to serve Dougherty’s interests.
In addition, Dougherty, then-Local 98 President Brian Burrows and other union officers and employees were charged with conspiracy and embezzlement arising from their theft of about $600,000 in Local 98 funds from April 2010 through August 2016. The indictment also charged Dougherty and Burrows with concealing the embezzlement of Local 98 funds by causing false labor management reports to be filed with the U.S. Department of Labor and with filing false federal income tax returns by failing to report the funds they stole on their tax returns.
In November 2021, a federal jury convicted Dougherty on one count of conspiracy to commit honest services fraud and seven counts of honest services wire fraud. The jury convicted Henon on one count of conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, eight counts of honest services wire fraud and one count of federal program bribery.
The honest services wire fraud convictions against both defendants included official acts that Henon performed or promised to perform in connection with schemes involving the city Department of Licenses and Inspections and stopping the installation of MRI machines at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia; using the proposed Plumbing Code to assist the election of Dougherty as the business manager of the building trades; drafting towing legislation that Dougherty requested because a tow truck driver refused to accept payment by credit card after Dougherty had parked illegally; and allowing Dougherty to make demands on Comcast as a condition of the city’s renewal of the franchise agreement.
Last December, a federal jury convicted Dougherty and Burrows of conspiracy to embezzle the funds of Local 98. Dougherty was also convicted of 33 counts of embezzlement of funds from Local 98, 24 counts of wire fraud by participating in a scheme to defraud Local 98 of its money, two counts of causing false statements to be made on the form LM-2 that Local 98 was required to file annually with the Department of Labor for 2015 and 2016, two counts of causing false information to be reflected in the books and records of Local 98 for those years and three counts of filing false federal income tax returns.
“John Dougherty held himself out as Local 98’s biggest booster,” Romero said. “But while he was backslapping his electricians with one hand, he was ripping them off with the other. He cheated Philadelphians, too, through his corrupt quid pro quo with Bobby Henon. Our city and its workers deserve so much better than union bosses and politicians whose true priority is looking out for No. 1.”
“Today is a victory for justice and the thousands of members of Local 98’s electrical union, who trusted John Doughtery to represent their interests,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Philadelphia.
“Labor union officials occupy a position of trust and fidelity with respect to the faithful stewardship of the membership’s funds. John Dougherty betrayed the trust of the IBEW Local 98 membership by using union funds for his own benefit,” said U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards Acting District Director Nicole Spallino.
“John Dougherty, the former business manager of IBEW Local 98, conspired with other IBEW officials to embezzle funds from the union’s dues-paying members. He enriched himself at the expense of the IBEW Local 98 members whom he was elected to serve,” said Syreeta Scott, Special Agent in Charge, Mid-Atlantic Region, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General. ••
