Posted on 11/13/2003 4:59:07 AM PST by randita
Posted on Thu, Nov. 13, 2003
Two Phila. union chiefs subpoenaed
The federal grand jury investigating corruption summoned a Street ally and his son, a source said.
By Nancy Phillips and Emilie Lounsberry Inquirer Staff Writers
A Philadelphia union leader who is a major supporter of Mayor Street has been subpoenaed to appear before a federal grand jury that is investigating corruption in city government, according to a court-system source familiar with the labor official.
Samuel Staten Sr., business manager of Local 332 of the Laborers' International Union of North America and a longtime Street ally, and his son, Samuel Staten Jr., president and assistant business manager of the union, both have been summoned, the source said.
The elder Staten was among those who shared the dais on election night when the mayor declared victory over Republican Sam Katz, and the Laborers' Union was one of the top five donors to the mayor's 2003 campaign. Since 1997, the union's political action committee has donated $539,000 to Street's campaigns.
Efforts to reach the Statens were unsuccessful yesterday. A person familiar with the matter said neither man was a "target" of the probe - a term the U.S. Justice Department defines as someone who is likely to be indicted.
Lawyers for the Statens declined to comment yesterday. "It would be inappropriate to comment at this time," said attorney Arthur T. Donato Jr., who represents the younger Staten. Joel Trigiani, who represents the elder Staten, said: "Unfortunately, at this time, it would be inappropriate for me to comment because I just don't have sufficient information to do so."
The subpoenas for the union officials come at a time when the FBI and the IRS are seeking an array of information about how city business is conducted and how city money is spent. Federal officials have also issued subpoenas for documents from city agencies and from contractors who have done business with the city, including the leader of a company that has a contract to manage concessions at Philadelphia International Airport.
Ricardo Dunston, president of Redwood Airport Management Inc., received a grand-jury subpoena, and federal authorities have subpoenaed company records dating back four years.
Federal prosecutors are looking into possible violations of the Hobbs Act, the anti-extortion law that is often used to prosecute public officials, two people in the criminal-justice system said.
Another person familiar with some aspects of the investigation compared the inquiry to a figure in Greek mythology - Hydra, a many-headed serpent that sprouted a new head whenever one was cut off. "This is like Hydra because it just seems as though there's so many paths that are obviously related in some way," the person said. "It seems to be a multifaceted thing."
It could not be learned yesterday what information federal authorities were seeking from the Statens or how they fit into the investigation.
Staten Sr., 68, played a key role in negotiations last summer that led to a new labor pact among the six trade unions that work at the Convention Center. With Street at his side, Staten became the first union leader to publicly endorse a controversial element of the pact, one that virtually erased rules about which unions could perform specific tasks. That move by the 2,700-member union - the only predominantly black union at the center - came during what Staten Sr. said were efforts by other unions to squeeze his union out of work at the center.
The elder Staten serves on a state board that recommends lawyers for appointments to Philadelphia's Common Pleas Court and Municipal Court.
Staten Jr., 51, was appointed by Street to the Zoning Board of Adjustment in April.
The continuing federal investigation is of wide scope and has reached into many corners of government, from the Housing Authority to the Finance Department to the Board of Pensions to the airport. It burst into public view in extraordinary fashion when an FBI bug was discovered in Street's office on Oct. 7 as the mayoral campaign was entering its final weeks.
The mayor, who law enforcement officials say is a subject, not a target, of the probe, has said he has done nothing wrong. Federal authorities subpoenaed financial records of Street, his wife, Naomi Post, and his son Sharif from Commerce Bank. Commerce also was asked to turn over financial records for other individuals and companies, including Center City lawyer Ronald A. White.
Last month, federal authorities raided White's law office. They also raided the home and offices of Imam Shamsud-din Ali, a prominent Muslim cleric who is a longtime supporter of Street.
The Hobbs Act, a powerful weapon for prosecutors in fighting government corruption, has been at the center of many celebrated extortion cases, from the Roofers Union scandal to Abscam. The act covers extortion in its best-known sense - use of threats or violence to wrongfully obtain something from someone. In public corruption cases, the law makes it a crime to trade official actions for money or other things of value. It requires no quid pro quo, except in cases in which the payment is made in the form of a campaign contribution.
When campaign contributions are involved, the law requires prosecutors to prove that there was an explicit promise made that the donation would lead to an official act to benefit the donor.
Despite the higher threshold for campaign contributions, the Hobbs Act gives prosecutors wide latitude to go after corrupt public officials. It also allows them to target individuals who take money in exchange for influencing a public official, and it allows them to prosecute people who seek to influence government policy by paying bribes, either to a public official or to a third party.
"It's really a very powerful tool that the government can use in these cases," said lawyer Mark E. Cedrone, who represented a city official charged with taking money and other gifts in exchange for zoning permits and licenses. "The government doesn't have to prove that the official induced the payment, and it doesn't have to prove there was a quid pro quo. In my mind, it calls something extortion that is nothing more than the receipt of a gratuity."
Contact staff writer Emilie Lounsberry at 215-854-4828 or elounsberry@phillynews.com. Contact staff writer Nancy Phillips at 215-854-2254 or nphillips@phillynews.com.
Contributing to this article were Inquirer staff writers Marcia Gelbart, Maria Panaritis and George Anastasia.
© 2003 Philadelphia Inquirer and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. http://www.philly.com
SS. Makes you go mmmmm.......
Staten Jr., 51, was appointed by Street to the Zoning Board of Adjustment in April.
Hmmmm ... Zoning Board, Courts & Extortion ... And somehow I am Not surprised
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