Former Reading Mayor Vaughn Spencer, convicted of exchanging public works contracts for campaign contributions, arrives for his sentencing hearing at the federal courthouse in Philadelphia Wednesday.
Matt Rourke / Associated Press
Ex-mayor sentenced in pay-to-play scandal
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Emily Previti/PA Post
Matt Rourke / Associated Press
Former Reading Mayor Vaughn Spencer, convicted of exchanging public works contracts for campaign contributions, arrives for his sentencing hearing at the federal courthouse in Philadelphia Wednesday.
From The Context, PA Post’s weekday email newsletter:
WHYY’s Bobby Allyn and Ryan Briggs looked into the practice of investigators taking money, cars and other property from criminal defendants in drug cases — aka civil asset forfeiture. They found several Pa. counties have doubled their take of forfeited cash since 2012, despite the push to scale back at the state level and in some other counties. Berks County saw a sizable uptick, so Bobby and Ryan went to Reading for this story. -Emily Previti, Newsletter Producer/Reporter
City hall corruption cases conclude
Matt Rourke / Associated Press
Former Reading Mayor Vaughn Spencer, convicted of exchanging public works contracts for campaign contributions, arrives for his sentencing hearing at the federal courthouse in Philadelphia Wednesday.
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Vaughn Spencer, who was mayor of Reading for two terms, will serve eight years in prison for convictions on bribery and conspiracy charges stemming from the FBI investigation of city hall there and in Allentown, according to Associated Press coverage of the 71-year-old’s sentencing yesterday. Spencer’s prison sentence is shorter than the decade-plus sought by prosecutors, and shorter than the 15-year jail term handed down to Allentown’s ex-mayor Ed Pawlowski for his role in the corruption scandal.
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Spencer’s sentencing is but one of several scheduled this week for the players in a pay-to-play scandal that encompassed both Reading and Allentown. Campaign consultant Mike Fleck was working in both cities, and he is due to be sentenced Friday, as is Allentown engineer Matthew McTish. During hearings earlier this week, the court credited Allentown developer Ramzi Haddad’s candor during proceedings; Haddad avoided jail time because he cooperated with investigators. The Morning Call’s Emily Opilo has more details here.
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Eron Lloyd, previously an aide to Spencer, also got probation, WFMZ reports. Several ex-city officials from Allentown have avoided prison, too: former Managing Director Francis Dougherty, who’d faced five years in prison, and ex-Controller Mary Ellen Koval ended up with probation. Former Finance Director Garret Strathearn and ex-assistant solicitor Dale Wiles got house arrest, according to Emily’s story updating the status of each case — including a few where the defendants are serving time — in the investigation.
Best of the rest
Katie Meyer / WITF
House lawmakers celebrate passing a slate of bills that they say will give victims equal rights, including Marsy’s Law.
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As legislation meant to protect crime victims starts its journey through the state Senate, the latest episode of State of the State takes a closer look through conversations with supporters about its merits as well as opponents about weaknesses.
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Washington County doesn’t have a cancer cluster, after all. That was the determination of state health officials investigating a high rate of Ewing sarcoma cases among students in one elementary school district. Reid Frazier has this update for StateImpact Pennsylvania.
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It’s been nearly half a century since race riots erupted in the city of York, leaving two people dead: a white police officer and a 27-year-old black woman. Residents came together to talk about that history and the racial tension that still exists in the city. PA Post’s Ed Mahon was there and has this story.
