Jury begins deliberations in Johnny Doc, Bobby Henon corruption trial

The jury in the corruption case of union boss John Dougherty and Philadelphia City Councilmember Bobby Henon began deliberations Wednesday, after a COVID-19 case prompted a delay on Tuesday.

PHILADELPHIA - The corruption trial of union boss John Dougherty and Philadelphia City Councilmember Bobby Henon went to the jury for deliberations Wednesday, after a brief COVID-19-related delay on Tuesday.

On Wednesday morning, Federal Judge Jeffrey Schmehl instructed the jury on the law and sent them to "render justice" as he put it.

The trial comes two years after federal prosecutors brought a sprawling 116-count indictment against Dougherty, Henon and several members of the local electricians union. The indictment accuses them of using illegal means to keep a tight grip on construction jobs in the Philadelphia region.

John Dougherty and City Council member Bobby Henon.

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Prosecutors hope to prove that Dougherty, known as ‘Johnny Doc,’ kept Henon in a $70,000-a-year union job so he could influence Henon's work at City Hall. Defense lawyers insist there's been no undue influence and say the city allows council members to hold outside jobs.

Dougherty, a major force in Pennsylvania politics, has steered more than $30 million over the years to mostly Democratic candidates, and his brother sits on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

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He still faces a second trial on charges he and others embezzled more than $600,000 from Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which he leads.

Jurors have heard wiretaps of his phone calls to Henon, Mayor Jim Kenney and others. Prosecutors closed their case by playing a conversation between Dougherty and the mayor in November 2015, the month he took office, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

During closing arguments Monday, lead prosecutor Frank Costello told jurors, "Councilman Bobby Henon was bought and John Dougherty bought him" adding, "this case is about bribes disguised as salary, benefits and tickets."

Costello took jurors through the various schemes the government alleges the pair took part in including attempting to stop the non-union installation of MRI equipment at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Defense attorney Hank Hockeimer attacked the government’s core argument saying what we have here is "a labor leader supposedly bribing a pro-labor City Council member. There’s no bribe."

The defense reminded jurors of how Dougherty had grown Local 98 into a powerful union and had increased union wages in the process.

Both men have pleaded not guilty.

Dougherty had suggested he would take in the stand in his own defense. He did not and neither did Henon. The judge instructed jurors they could not hold that against them. The jury is expected back at 9:30 Thursday morning to continue deliberating.