Pennsylvania House lawmaker convicted of taking cash bribes
A Pennsylvania state lawmaker faces the possibility of prison time after a
jury on Wednesday convicted her of charges she accepted $4,000 in cash from an
undercover informant seven years ago.
A Harrisburg jury found Philadelphia Democratic
Rep. Vanessa Lowery Brown guilty of
bribery, five counts of conflict of interest and failing to properly file a
financial disclosure form.
“We’re disappointed in the outcome,” said Lowery Brown’s lawyer, Pat Casey.
“We will continue to fight on her behalf, and it is a classic case of
government overreach.”
Casey said he expected to appeal.
The trial pitted prosecutors who argued she took the money in exchange for
official favors against Lowery Brown’s defense team, which argued she had been
entrapped into taking the money.
Lowery Brown is unopposed in seeking a sixth term in next week’s election.
She declined to say what her plans are for her seat.
Prosecutor Mike Sprow said although he was uncertain about the details, if
she is sentenced before the new session begins in December, it may affect her
ability to qualify for lifetime health benefits and her pension.
The verdict, Sprow said, is “obviously what we believed was appropriate in
this case. I think the jurors saw through the entrapment defense.”
Sentencing was scheduled for Nov. 28.
Sprow said the sentencing range on six of the seven counts is up to nine
months, so it is possible Lowery Brown may get state prison time.
Lowery Brown told a grand jury in 2014 she knew taking the money was wrong.
She had previously agreed to plead guilty in the case but changed her mind.
The verdict follows guilty or no contest pleas by four other onetime Philadelphia
state lawmakers and a former traffic judge in the city, all Democrats, for
taking cash or gifts from informant Tyron Ali. The other three then-sitting
lawmakers resigned as part of their pleas.
The cases were brought by prosecutors in Philadelphia and Harrisburg after
then-state Attorney General Kathleen Kane abandoned the investigation in 2013
when she concluded it improperly targeted black officials. Philadelphia’s
then-district attorney, Seth Williams, revived the case.
Williams, Lowery Brown and the other five defendants are all black; Kane is
white.
Kane and Williams, both Democrats, were subsequently convicted of criminal
offenses related to their offices. Williams is in federal prison, while Kane is
on bail while she is pursuing appeals.
