Philly congressman Fattah faces corruption charges
PHILADELPHIA — U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah paid off an illegal $1 million campaign loan with federal grants and charitable donations, funneled campaign funds toward his son’s student loans and disguised a lobbyist’s bribe as payment for a Porsche his TV anchor wife never sold, prosecutors said Wednesday in announcing a racketeering indictment against him.
The 11-term Democrat from Philadelphia led a conspiracy that engaged in bribery, fraud, money laundering and other crimes and netted him hundreds of thousands of dollars, federal investigators said.
The indictment describes four schemes, two involving efforts to erase debts from Fattah’s failed 2007 mayoral bid. The U.S. Department of Justice charged that Fattah used federal grants and donations to his educational foundations to pay back part of the wealthy donor’s $1 million loan.
Fattah dismissed the investigation. “I’ve never been involved in wrongdoing, any unlawful activity (or) any misappropriation of federal funds,” he said.
