John Estey the Latest in PA's Corruption Chronicles

The Corruption Chronicles

Hey, at least our city and state excel at something, correct?

The Corruption Chronicles

Hey, at least our urban center and state excel at something, correct?

May. 25, 2016

Public corruption thrives equally bureaucracies expand, political rules go cabalistic, and political contest diminishes through rubber, gerrymandered districts and one party towns. No wonder Pennsylvania is among the almost corrupt states in the nation.

While nosotros are used to corruption probes and trials, the revelation that John Estey, former primary of staff to Governor Rendell, pleaded guilty this month to wire fraud in an FBI sting caught everyone by surprise.

Estey travelled in circles of political power: Non only did he serve at the highest levels of the Rendell administration in Philly and Harrisburg, but he was a fixture at the politically connected police firm Ballard Spahr, at regional port government, and at the Hershey Trust.

He too wore a wire and cooperated with the Feds for the past five years.

How often did he wear a wire? In what situations? In search of what or whom? Just Estey and the Feds know. Only a lot of people are checking phone logs and appointment books.

John Estey was a surprise grab to those who know him: A low-key guy without the political bluster of others who accept been caught with their hand in the cookie jar. He would have been absent from about people's corruption suspect list.

But this goes way across Estey. Prosecutors are obviously focused on a wider probe of political deal making in Harrisburg. To launch the probe they had to build the case within their own agency that the sting deserved to be capitalized.

The Estey case gets to the question of what is the line that exists between legitimate lobbying and campaign contributions, and  illegal action ? Subsequently all, every interest grouping—corporations, minor businesses, labor unions, civic causes, large nonprofits—lobbies. If a trade grouping didn't foyer information technology would be political malpractice. And every politico has to raise money. Members of Congress are elected for two-twelvemonth terms, which means that even in relatively safe districts, they spend an enormous corporeality of time on the telephone soliciting coin.

This would be a skillful time for political leaders—existing or aspiring—to take a much stronger stand up against public corruption. Speak upwardly even if information technology means speaking back to your ain political party.

Lobbying frequently runs on a parallel runway with legal fiscal commitments to campaigns or even favored candidate causes—The Clinton Foundation jumps to heed. The obvious issue is the explicit link between the human action of making contributions to the act of requesting legislation or consideration for a public contract. In one case that line is crossed, there is a case. If the line is not crossed, there are but isolated circumstances, fifty-fifty if the pattern seems obvious and the result is less than optimal when it comes to good public policy.

In the absence of explicit crusade and effect, we are free to give equally much coin as campaign finance laws permit. Large financial firms give generously to Congress to gain access and influence effectually regulatory issues. The teachers unions backed Governor Wolf in Pennsylvania with money and votes because he was going to support their issues and provide them with access.

None of this is illegal. Moreover, lobbying and contributions do not always have the desired upshot. Popular sentiment, alien interests, and practical political considerations may run counter to a well-funded campaign to go a law passed or an appropriation made. As legendary community organizer Saul Alinsky used to say: Organized people can shell organized money.

The imitation company that snared Estey— Textbook Bio Solutions —came prepared with $135,000 of lobbying money in commutation for legislation, and featured a few federal agents imitating investors. The Feds were able to rely not simply on the incentives of cash but also on the willful ignorance of their targets. Nobody—non Estey, nor the lobbying house, nor the politicians that sponsored the legislation—investigated the visitor's rail tape, investors, or business organization model.

That is the beauty of the sting. It was based on the assumption that nobody would actually care about the substance of a Florida visitor whose website could have been designed during a high school pupil'south detention.

How is this possible? In role, the sting got lucky when everyone followed what seemed like authoritative credentialing. A person who seems to be in the know legitimized the firm or client and then passed them off to the others—who did not check. Harrisburg is not a due diligence operation.

Companies hire guys like Estey because he knows how to get things done in a complex bureaucracy where even the best-intentioned organizations need someone to guide them through rules, personalities, and policy nuance.

The beauty of the Estey sting is that information technology was based on the assumption that nobody would really intendance about the substance of a visitor whose website could have been designed during a high school educatee's detention. Harrisburg is not a due diligence performance.

Merely nobody has been indicted equally withal for an explicit pay to play transaction in this instance. The charge was wire fraud by a non-pol moving money between a firm, lobbyists and politicians. This may have been a non-story without the wire fraud charge. Just another 24-hour interval at the dysfunctional function that is Harrisburg.

To pass special legislation for a company that waltzes in from Florida, unknown and without any clear industry rationale, is the really big story: It shows how broken the arrangement really is in the state capitol. Terminate everything: Legislators want to mandate textbook recycling, so they can get contributions and commune jobs. Just imagine if we could become this kind of concerted activeness on watersheds, instruction, or pension reform.

Where the Estey case gets most interesting is its path of collateral damage. It is assumed, for case, that Estey contributed in some way (although there may take been multiple roads) to the extortion case confronting one-time State Treasurer Rob McCord , who in turn besides wore a wire. McCord's cooperation with the Feds likely brought in political consultant, Mike Fleck , the onetime entrada manager for the mayors of Allentown and Reading, who recently pleaded guilty to blackmail and extortion charges.

Fleck's cooperation has led to ongoing milkshake-ups in Allentown and Reading. Only this month, Matthew McTish , who ran an engineering science firm that did business concern in those cities, pleaded guilty to conspiring to bribe officials.

If yous read documents associated with Fleck, McTish or other contractors already brought downward, it is likely that Ed Pawlowski, the Mayor of Allentown, and Vaughan Spencer, the onetime Mayor of Reading, might exist among the side by side to confront the music. Allentown has already had guilty pleas from its old finance chief , controller , and banana solicitor . Reading has already lost its caput of City Council , every bit well as his wife who was on the local school board.

But we are likely only at the tip of the iceberg, and information technology will accept several years to discover out where this is all headed. It is inconceivable that others in the legislature and other large entrada contributors are not also actively under investigation. Rumors are flying almost who has already gotten a target letter of the alphabet.

The Estey, McCord, and Fleck cases all happened as other unrelated instances of public corruption were emerging. There were the smaller cases brought against v Philadelphia legislators for accepting bribes; the example against a former Harrisburg mayor ; Pennsylvania's indicted Attorney General ; state supreme court justices forced to resign for distributing offensive emails; a Philadelphia judge tainted by political considerations in her courtroom; and the disbanded traffic court , which was a casino for petty graft.

And a few weeks ago in an almost comical corruption case, State Senator Larry Farnese of the commencement senatorial district was indicted on a charge stemming from an alleged bribe to a local ward leader. The supposed bribe went to Bard College to pay for expenses for a semester abroad for the Ward leader'south daughter.

In Pennsylvania you tin can use campaign funds for practically anything, so the Feds will have to testify the quid pro quo; the $6,000 donation to Bard College is not enough by itself. Farnese simply may have woken upwardly one day and decided that the college deserved his entrada funds, for no apparent reason.

Farnese claims he is innocent and will defend himself. He represents a district whose prior State Senator, Vince Fumo , went to jail on abuse charges. And prior to Fumo, the State Senator from that commune— Buddy Cianfrani —also went to jail on abuse charges. We are afterward all a city of grand traditions. I just don't think the Farnese charge measures up to the standards created past Vince or Buddy.

And finally there is the blockbuster case on trial now against Congressman Chaka Fattah, who lost his primary final month. He is charged with corruption related to entrada finance machinations and the unlawful use of grants going back to his 2007 mayoral bid in Philadelphia.

This has been a bad year for the Congressman. He has watched his son get convicted on unrelated abuse charges and his wife has been tangentially implicated—but not charged —on a small transaction within the Congressman's indictment. The nonprofits that he has sponsored and supported with federal money are in disgrace, along with his legacy. In fact the nonprofits may have only been necessary as office of a Fattah network of political operatives loyal to Fattah. The scholarships they granted and conferences they held could have been run by established agencies that had independent and more efficient capacity.

In Pennsylvania, you tin use campaign funds for practically anything so the Feds will have to show the quid pro quo; the $6,000 donation to Bard College is not enough by itself. Farnese simply may accept woken up one solar day and decided that the higher deserved his entrada funds, for no credible reason.

Few people remember that during Fattah'southward run for Mayor in 2007 he wanted to sell or lease the aerodrome and use the proceeds to address poverty with massive social service programs. Perhaps there were good intentions behind this policy position, simply I recollect wondering at the fourth dimension whether this was too about building his regime through a network of operatives giving out services and contracts.

Fattah assembly who managed his nonprofit and even his for-profit alliances are besides on trial. Moreover, there are two onetime associates of the Congressman giving testimony against Fattah. Then this trial is actually most more than than just i politician who might get bedevilled of wrongdoing; it'southward also about the dissolution of an entire political association.

The Fattah defense is to blame his associates who turned on him in exchange for consideration in sentencing, claiming they acted on their own behalf. The logic: I'grand not a crook. My friends who worked on my behalf went rogue. They are the crooks. It is hard to see that working out well for the Congressman, just stranger things have happened.

Concurrently, McCord is 18 months overdue for sentencing, which is a sign that the Feds are measuring the impact of his cooperation. Estey was merely sentenced now  in order to avoid the statute of limitations.

The inevitable result is that public trust in business and regime continues to pass up just in time for a presidential election that polls tell us is divers by who we don't want more than than who we want.

This would be a adept time for political leaders—existing or aspiring—to take a much stronger stand up against public abuse. I don't hear plenty voices doing that, fifty-fifty as we elect a new land chaser general and a new country treasurer. Speak upwards fifty-fifty if information technology means speaking back to your own political party. Otherwise fix to be overrun past the new American populism running between the right and the left, reflecting a general disgust at a system that views u.s.a. all as suckers and supplicants more than citizens.

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Source: https://thephiladelphiacitizen.org/john-estey-corruption-chronicles/