Former mayor jailed for corruption
ALLENTOWN — The former mayor of Pennsylvania’s third-largest city was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in prison for rigging municipal contracts in a scheme to raise money for political campaigns.
Ed Pawlowski, 53, was convicted in March of dozens of federal charges, including conspiracy, bribery, fraud, attempted extortion and lying to the FBI.
A jury found that Pawlowski coerced Allentown city vendors to contribute to his failed campaigns for governor and U.S. Senate, orchestrating a scheme to rig contracts.
Pawlowski denied wrongdoing and has vowed to appeal his conviction.
He asked Judge Juan Sanchez for leniency.
“I didn’t sense any, any remorse, no apologies, no contrition despite the fact there was overwhelming evidence in this case he masterminded a pay-to-play scheme,” Sanchez said.
