Former Philadelphia electricians union leader and political heavyweight John “Johnny Doc” Dougherty was convicted on more than 70 counts in his embezzlement trial on Thursday, marking his second guilty verdict in a federal criminal trial in a little more than two years.
Dougherty spoke briefly to reporters as he walked to his car from the federal courthouse on Market Street. He attributed his conviction to testimony from Anthony Massa, a contractor who was originally charged in the case but agreed to testify for the prosecution.
“The jury elected to believe Tony Massa. The minute they believed Tony Massa, the case was over. So I mean, everything else just fell in line,” he said.
Massa testified that Dougherty’s co-defendant in the case, former union president Brian Burrows, told him to bill Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers for tens of thousands of dollars of work on homes belonging to them and the union leader’s family members, the Inquirer reported.
Defense attorneys argued during the trial that Massa was lying on the witness stand in exchange for leniency from prosecutors.
Dougherty and the others charged in the case embezzled more than $600,000 from Local 98, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office. In addition to home repairs, they spent union funds on groceries, home decor supplies, restaurant meals, concert and sports tickets, and other personal expenses.
Local 98 declined to comment on the verdict.
Prosecutor: Union members “had their pockets picked”
Dougherty was previously convicted in November 2021 for bribing then-City Councilmember Bobby Henon, his codefendant in that case. The guilty verdicts for the two men led to calls from some elected officials and good-government advocates for campaign finance reforms and new restrictions on outside employment for councilmembers.
Reaction has been more muted so far to the embezzlement conviction, which did directly not involve government officials or public funds.
Dougherty spent Local 98 funds on home repairs and snow removal at the home of his brother, state Supreme Court Justice Kevin Dougherty, but Kevin Dougherty said he did not know the union was billed for the work and he was not charged.
However, the misuse of union dollars drew criticism, along with praise for the jury’s decision to convict Dougherty on most of the counts he was facing.
“Not just a win for the gov’t, but a win for the union members and labor everywhere. Greedy f—s like this do more to hurt the union movement than anything besides the 1%,” one Reddit user wrote Thursday.
“Stole from the union men and women. How low can a person get?” wrote a Facebook user, John Mazziotti Jr.
Prosecutors exiting the courthouse said they were grateful to the jury for showing that even a powerful person “cannot take things that do not belong to them,” in the words of Assistant U.S. Attorney Bea Witzleben.
“This was a case where all these members who pay these people’s salaries basically had their pockets picked by them, and we’re glad we could finally hold them accountable for that,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank Costello said.
Years of appeals lie ahead
The finding that Dougherty breached the financial authority entrusted to him by Local 98 suggests that he could eventually wind up in prison, said Michael Levy, a retired former federal prosecutor who teaches at the University of Pennsylvania law school.
His conviction on 70 counts “certainly affects the sentencing guidelines, because the government has proven what the loss was to the to the union,” Levy said Thursday. “The sentencing guidelines are driven by the amount of loss of the victim.”
Sentencing for Dougherty has been scheduled for March and could include a sentence for both of his convictions. He can then file appeals, which could take years to resolve. He also faces a possible third trial in an extortion case.
Ryan Boyer, business manager of the Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council, an umbrella group of unions, said Thursday that he expects Dougherty will appeal the verdict. Dougherty headed the council for several years until his 2021 conviction forced him to step down.
Boyer told the Inquirer he was sad for Dougherty and his codefendant, former Local 98 president Burrows, who was also convicted Thursday.
“He has done so much for the city and the fabric of Philadelphia,” Boyer said of Dougherty. “You cannot undo the great job he’s done for working men and women in Philadelphia.”
Boyer also said the electricians union is “in good hands” under Dougherty’s successor there, business manager Mark Lynch.
