The FBI's more than 50-count indictment against Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowskl, along with indictments of four others, including former Reading Mayor Vaughn Spencer, ushers in another sordid chapter of corruption allegations against high-ranking officials in Pennsylvania.

The FBI alleges that Pawlowski, a Democrat, committed extortion, fraud and bribery in a pay-to-play scheme that a federal prosecutor said put city hall on sale to the highest bidder.Pawlowski has consistently maintained his innocence during the 25 months since the feds raided City Hall and other offices. In his fourth term, Pawlowski is up for re-election this year and won the Democratic primary in April against six other candidates.At a news conference Wednesday proclaiming his innocence, Pawlowski said he will not resign and remains an active candidate for re-election in November.Pawlowski cannot be compelled to leave office unless he is convicted of a crime. It is unlikely that Pawlowski's trial will be held before the November general election.Allentown City Council approved a vote of "no confidence" against the mayor more than a year ago, and he has resisted calls for his resignation from high-ranking Democratic officials, including state Rep. Mike Schlossberg, D-Allentown, a one-time Pawlowski ally.Nine people have previously pleaded guilty in the Allentown investigation, including Pawlowski's longtime friend and campaign consultant, Mike Fleck, who reportedly agreed to testify against Pawlowski and wore a wire to incriminate him in return for favorable treatment by the FBI. At the Wednesday news conference, Pawlowski blamed Fleck for the illegal activity and called him a liar.The indictment of Pawlowski, former Reading Mayor Spencer and Rebecca Acosta, a former Reading School Board member and wife of former Reading City Council President Francisco Acosta, who previously pleaded guilty in a parallel corruption case in Reading and is serving a two-year sentence in federal prison, brings to five the number of elected or former elected officials implicated in the investigation. The fifth, former Allentown Controller Mary Ellen Koval, pleaded guilty in 2016 to conspiracy to commit honest services fraud for her attempts to steer city and Allentown Parking Authority contracts to donors who contributed to her campaign and Pawlowski's.Former Allentown Managing Director Fran Dougherty, the highest-ranking appointed city employee to be caught up in the scandal, pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy to commit mail or wire fraud for his role in a city streetlight contract to a preferred campaign donor.Law enforcement officials said many of these alleged strong-arm campaign donation tactics came out of Pawlowski's failed bids for governor of Pennsylvania in 2014 and U.S. senator in 2015.Also charged in Wednesday's indictments were Lehigh Valley business consultant and former Northampton County Director of Administration James Hickey and Allentown attorney Scott Allinson. Hickey also was named in a separate indictment in the Reading case.These indictments come on the heels of charges against U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah, D-Philadelphia, who is serving a 10-year prison term for corruption; former state Attorney General Kathleen Kane, sentenced to 10 to 23 months in prison for criminal conspiracy and perjury, and former Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams, also a Democrat, who is awaiting sentencing in jail after pleading guilty to corruption charges.In just the past two years, the following elected officials have found themselves in trouble with the law. Former Pennsylvania Treasurer Rob McCord, a Democrat, pleaded guilty to two counts of extortion; state Reps. Leslie Acosta was convicted of embezzlement, Louise Bishop was convicted of corruption, Michelle Brownlee was convicted of conflict of interest, Harold James was convicted of corruption, and Ronald Waters was convicted of corruption. All are Philadelphia Democrats.The list does not include two Pennsylvania State Supreme Court justices who stepped down after being caught up in the infamous "porngate" investigation launched by the state Attorney General's office in 2015. They are Michael Eakin, a Republican, and Seamus McCarthy, a Democrat, both of whom were accused of sending inappropriate emails to friends.If this keeps up, Pennsylvania will earn the dubious title of "most corrupt state in the nation." This is one category where we definitely do not want to be No. 1.By Bruce Frassinelli |

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