Feds search union boss’s properties
Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA
Federal agents spread out across the city Friday to search properties linked to a powerful labor boss and the City Hall office of his protege on city council.
FBI and IRS agents searched properties including the Philadelphia home of Johnny “Doc” Dougherty, a nearby union bar named Doc’s Union Pub, the electricians’ union headquarters and Councilman Bobby Henon’s office.
FBI spokeswoman Carrie Adamowski said she could not disclose the nature of the ongoing investigation, which also appeared to involve state police. IRS spokesman Edward Manning also said he couldn’t give additional information about the searches.
Dougherty, 56, runs the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 98 and has long been a powerful political force in the city, most recently helping Mayor Jim Kenney win election last year. Henon is a longtime union official who joined council in 2012.
Dougherty stood outside his South Philadelphia home Friday, chatting with neighbors, shaking hands and conferring with his lawyer as agents loaded boxes of evidence into a car.
“Nothing’s changed since they were there 10 or 12 years ago. The only thing different is the tomato bushes in the back,” Dougherty told The Associated Press.