FBI tapped 3 other offices (Phila. city investigation)

Phones of Ronald A. White, a second Street ally, and the city treasurer were targeted.

Besides bugging Mayor Street's office, the FBI tapped the office phones of the city treasurer and two of the mayor's most influential political allies.

Federal authorities placed wiretaps on the phones of Center City power broker Ronald A. White; city Treasurer Corey Kemp; and Imam Shamsud-din Ali, a prominent Muslim cleric, according to court-system sources familiar with aspects of the investigation.

White, 54, a top political ally of the mayor's and a major player in the city's lucrative government bond business, has emerged as a central figure in the wide-ranging inquiry that has shaken City Hall.

Last week, John Christmas, a deputy chief of staff in the mayor's office, testified before a federal grand jury that has begun reviewing evidence in the case. In an interview yesterday, he declined to disclose the focus of the prosecutor's questions or to say what he had told the panel.

Christmas said he did not want to "aggravate" federal authorities. "I really don't want to run afoul of them," he said.

The wide use of phone taps underscores the ambition and reach of the federal corruption investigation. Conversations recorded from the taps may have provided the evidence needed to persuade a judge to take the extraordinary step of allowing the government to place a listening device in the ceiling of Street's City Hall office.

Investigators have played tapes or cited details of recorded conversations as they have questioned people who had dealings with White. The tap on White's phone was in place for six to nine months, according to sources in the court system, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Two people also said that federal agents, during an FBI raid in October at White's Center City law office, intimated by their remarks that they had information from taped conversations.

"They were clearly trying to [say] this office was bugged so don't lie to us," said one person.

The FBI, with the permission of a federal judge, also had a tap on the office phone of Kemp, 34, who quit as city treasurer last month amid reports that the FBI had been pressing him to cooperate in the investigation. Kemp's lawyer, Michael McGovern, could not be reached for comment Friday.

As treasurer, Kemp played an important role in bond deals, bringing together lawyers, financial advisers and underwriters. With the finance director and the Mayor's Office, the treasurer helps determine who gets a share of the hefty fees from bond work.

Another phone tap, one source said, was at the office of Keystone Information & Financial Services, a business run by Ali, 54, a longtime backer of Street's whose business enterprises collected $1.2 million in city fees in fiscal year 2002 alone.

Federal agents searched Ali's home and offices and confiscated documents and computers on Oct. 8, the day after the bug was found in the mayor's office and the federal investigation became public - during the height of Street's reelection campaign.

Street, who was subsequently identified as a subject of the investigation, has insisted that he has engaged in no wrongdoing. He was reelected to a second term by a landslide on Nov. 4.

The bug planted in his office, which was in place for two weeks, did not record any incriminating evidence, The Inquirer has previously reported.

The investigation has reached into many corners of city government, from the Housing Authority to the Finance Department to the Board of Pensions to the Minority Business Enterprise Council to the Philadelphia International Airport. As investigators seek to follow the money that drives the city's business, contractors, investment advisers and Commerce Bank have received subpoenas.

Commerce Bancorp announced in a filing last week that it will extend to Pennsylvania and to the rest of the nation its suspension of political contributions while it evaluates the "reputation risks" of such activity. In April, Commerce - long known for its extensive political ties - said it would stop making political contributions in New Jersey.

White quit as a member of the board of directors at Commerce's Pennsylvania subsidiary on Oct. 16, the day his office was raided by the FBI.

Federal prosecutors are investigating possible violations of the Hobbs Act, the anti-extortion law often used to prosecute public officials, and also are looking for evidence of bid-rigging, according to documents.

White has been one of Street's primary fund-raisers, contributing $234,000 through two political action committees since Street became mayor. He has received $2.6 million in bond fees and other legal work for the city.

The effort to obtain secretly recorded conversations is regarded as a critical element in public corruption investigations, which are among the most difficult cases to initiate and prosecute.

Dennis J. Cogan, a veteran Center City defense lawyer, said that in a case involving campaign contributions, prosecutors would have to show a specific "quid pro quo" relationship between a contribution and the award of a contract.

Temple University law professor Charles H. Rogovin called electronic surveillance "an essential part of the arsenal" used by prosecutors to target corruption.

"To a high degree, you need electronic surveillance," he said. "There's nothing better to corroborate testimony than the tape."

Investigators "like to get recordings and then leapfrog to the next level," said one defense lawyer, who said that a phone tap in White's office could have been what provided probable cause to place a bug in the mayor's office.

Rogovin said that the premature discovery of the bug in the mayor's office may have hurt the investigation, but that it may not have been permanently compromised.

"I'd be surprised if they're not working assiduously," Rogovin said of federal agents and prosecutors.

One local lawyer, meanwhile, said that the multifaceted investigation has caused a lot of jitters at City Hall and among people who do business with the city.

Contact staff writer Emilie Lounsberry at 215-854-4828 or elounsberry@phillynews.com Inquirer staff writers Joseph Tanfani and Rose Ciotta contributed to this article.

"Federal authorities placed wiretaps on the phones of Center City power broker Ronald A. White; city Treasurer Corey Kemp; and Imam Shamsud-din Ali, a prominent Muslim cleric, according to court-system sources familiar with aspects of the investigation."

Imam Shamsud-Ali AKA Clarence Fowler has an interesting past including conviction for murdering a minister.

BUMP

Thanks for the ping Dr. S!

Thanks for the ping on the last article you posted Randita! Please continue to ping me on this stuff. I've got to get more on the ball with this subject. I was just so disheartened... no, disgusted after the election that I tried to occupy my mind with other atrocities.

The indictments need to come down in the NEXT FOUR WEEKS or this city is going to be stuck with Jeannie Blackwell at the helm. She's perhaps less incompetent than Street and more malicious. A bad combination...

Owl_Eagle

" WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
DIVERSITY IS STRENGTH"

5 posted on 12/08/2003 3:31:32 PM PST by End Times Sentinel ("You white rednecks... this is what my momma taught me!"- Nathaniel Jones Former Cincinnati Resident)

The indictments need to come down in the NEXT FOUR WEEKS or this city is going to be stuck with Jeannie Blackwell at the helm.

Is she going to be head of City Council in 4 weeks? Who's council head now?

But even if indictments do come down in 4 weeks, it's doubtful that with the public sentiment that is backing him, Mayor Street would step down immediately. He'd more likely play the victim-race card to postpone the inevitable.

Rumor has it that Jeanie Blackwell has enough votes to replace Anna Verna as the head of City Council. Anna's no day at the beach, but she's a whole lot better than Blackwell, who's just a monster. This would take place in Mid January.

If I wasn't feeling lazy this morning, I'd look it up for myself and provide a link, but from what several people have told me the City Charter specifies that once an indictment is handed down, the Mayor must step down. I'll look it up and find out what that time frame is, but I've gotten the impression that it's as close to immediate as you'll see in city politics.

Owl_Eagle

" WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
DIVERSITY IS STRENGTH"

7 posted on 12/09/2003 5:32:44 AM PST by End Times Sentinel ("You white rednecks... this is what my momma taught me!"- Nathaniel Jones Former Cincinnati Resident)

Don't bother looking it up. I take your word for it.

Didn't a Grand Jury meet the first week of October? That much info was publicized, but after that--nothing. I think the Phila. news media just decided to black out any pertinent news in the weeks prior to the election.

There's a lot bubbling underground here. I also think the Phila. news media knows a lot more than they are reporting. They avoided reporting it prior to the election because they would have been accused of attempting to sway the election and they are avoiding reporting it now because they would be accused of holding back the info in order to sway the election.

I think they'll wait a while longer after everyone has kind of forgotten all about it (and won't link it to the election), then the reports on this will start surfacing again.

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