Free Republic

President Donald Trump has commuted the prison sentence for longtime Philadelphia union leader John Dougherty. He is set to be released on Friday. Dougherty’s attorney George Bocchetto said the president signed the commutation in “a remarkable show of bipartisanship.” Dougherty was a kingmaker in Democratic city politics, but Bocchetto said his situation — serving time in Lewisburg federal prison, separated from his gravely ill wife Cecilia — cried out for compassion.

Goons gone wild a tired election actBy Tom Ferrick Jr.Inquirer Columnist When is someone in this town going to stand up to Johnny Dougherty and tell him to stop his guys from thugging up our elections?Time and again, members of Doc's union - Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers - have engaged in bully-boy tactics and punch-in-the-mouth politics. It's become their stock in trade.They did it again Monday night in South Philadelphia at a Sam Katz rally at Front Street and Snyder Avenue.When the Republican candidate arrived, he was greeted not only by a handful of supporters,...

Judges who obtained their positions by fraud, according to an indictment, have denied the Trump campaign's ballot-watchers access, providing crucial unsupervised time to Democrat vote counters. PHILADELPHIA, Penn. — Most Americans might not know the name Ozzie Myers, although a part of his tale was told in the hit 2013 movie “American Hustle” about the FBI sting that sent four congressmen to prison in the 1970s. If you’re from Philadelphia, though, you know his name, and knew it well before 2013. He’s important to the country now because he’s currently under indictment for bribing a state elections judge to stuff...

President Trump carried Pennsylvania in 2016 in a major surprise and Democrats plans to reclaim the state as their own is key to unseating Trump in 2020. Wednesday’s announcement that Philadelphia labor kingpin John “Johnny Doc” Dougherty, along with 6 cronies, on a 116-count indictment that includes embezzlement, bribery and theft, threatens the hopes of national Democrats to reclaim control over Pennsylvania’s electoral votes in 2020. Uncategorized Democrats Rocked by 116-Count Indictment of Major Democratic Players In Pennsylvania By HJIC Published on February 2, 2019 Opinion| President Trump carried Pennsylvania in 2016 in a major surprise and Democrats plans to...

What does it take to lead a union for 4,652 electricians - one the state's most politically powerful? Start with $30 million in campaign contributions spent over the course of 16 years on state and local candidates by the city's electricians' union, Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Over the years, the union's money and manpower have helped elect mayors, City Council members, county commissioners, congressmen, state legislators, governors, and at least 58 judges, including the union leader's brother and five Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices.

Mayoral aspirant John Dougherty offers anti-violence plan By Thomas Fitzgerald, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER With a kickoff worthy of a campaign rally, labor leader John Dougherty today announced the creation of a new non-profit corporation to combat violence in Philadelphia by signing up union members as mentors to at-risk youth. Enough is Enough Inc. will pair workers with children in hopes of steering them away from violence, with start-up funding from Dougherty's union, Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electoral Workers. "Government cannot do it alone," said Dougherty, who is a potential candidate for mayor in the 2007 Democratic...