Ex-Philadelphia union leader John Dougherty sentenced to 6 years in prison for federal bribery, embezzlement
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- John Dougherty, a once-powerful union boss in Philadelphia's IBEW Local 98, was sentenced to six years in prison on Thursday for federal bribery and embezzlement convictions handed down over the last three years.
Asked about sentencing outside of the courtroom, Dougherty said: "Look, I'm the boss. That's what happens."
Dougherty's sentencing hearing began in Reading, Pennsylvania, at 10:30 a.m. The courtroom was packed with Dougherty's supporters and people wearing union shirts.
Former Philadelphia City Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell and Dougherty's brother, Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Kevin Dougherty, and City Councilmember Jim Harrity were there as well.
During the hearing, Dougherty's daughter Erin made an emotional plea to the judge to sentence her father to home confinement instead of prison. She asked the judge to consider the former labor leader's quadriplegic wife, and how he is her sole caretaker.
But federal prosecutors asked for significant jail time, saying the abuse of power and trust wasn't a momentary lapse of judgment.
Dougherty's daughter was just one of a number of witnesses who attended Thursday's hearing to speak on his behalf.
Dougherty is expected to report to prison on Sept. 4. They requested he be housed in a federal institution in Lewisburg.
Dougherty was also ordered to pay more than $300,000 in restitution.
His sentencing comes five years after he was first indicted. FBI and IRS agents' investigation and raids of the former head of IBEW union Local 98 stretch back more than a decade.
At Dougherty's first trial in 2021, he was convicted on counts of bribery and fraud in connection to using former Councilman Bobby Henon to advance work and projects for Local 98. Henon is serving a 3 ½ year prison sentence after a jury convicted him alongside Dougherty.
Dougherty's most recent conviction came in December 2023 when a jury found him guilty of conspiracy and embezzlement. At that trial, where jurors took three days to return a verdict on dozens of counts, Dougherty was accused of using more than $600,000 in funds from the electrician's union for personal purchases.
Prosecutors also said Dougherty, who served as Local 98's business manager, used union money to pay contractors for work done at homes and businesses owned by himself, as well as friends and family.
Dougherty maintained his innocence throughout the trial but told the court on Thursday he was not only guilty but sorry for the crimes two juries convicted him of.
Dougherty's attorney, Greg Pagano, argued the former labor boss should be given a break for the years of generosity and contributions to Philadelphia charities.
"I think John's community work and charitable work all came back to help him," Pagano said. "The court government got to see that side of John Dougherty."
Dougherty's codefendant, ex-union president Brian Burrows, was also found guilty in December. Burrows was accused of hiring a contractor, called during trial as the government's key witness, to do tens of thousands of dollars worth of renovations in his home. Evidence showed Burrows directed the contractor to submit the work bill directly to Local 98.
Last month, Burrows was sentenced to four years in prison. The 64-year-old will have three years of supervised release and need to pay over $100,000 for forfeiture, over $1,000 for special assessment and restitution for embezzlement crimes, including taking funds belonging to Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Several members of Dougherty's inner circle took plea deals.
In April 2024, a judge declared a mistrial in an extortion case involving Dougherty and his nephew Greg Fiocca. Prosecutors alleged Fiocca assaulted a contractor in August 2020. The jury told a Berks County judge it was deadlocked after a day of deliberations.