History of corruption in Philadelphia politics

This material belongs to: 6abc Action News.

From the days of the ABSCAM scandal of the late 1970s to the conviction of the city’s most powerful and longest serving congressman Chaka Fattah, Philadelphia politics has been no stranger to corruption.

Details of Chaka Fattah’s case. Source: 6abc Action News.

Fattah was convicted last June in a federal racketeering and bribery case. Chaka Fattah was found guilty on all charges in his federal corruption trial on June 21, 2016.

He served 11 terms in congress and is now serving 10 years in prison.

Former Pennsylvania state senator Vincent Fumo was told to pay up again after his 2009 political corruption conviction.

For decades, Vince Fumo reigned among local Democrats in the state legislature. In 2009, he was convicted on federal corruption charges and served about two years of a five years sentence.

Details of Leland Beloff case. Source: 6abc Action News.

And from the halls of city council, there were two notable cases.

City councilman Leland Beloff was convicted in 1987 for extortion in a plot with a former mob boss. And there was the 1991 arrest of Jimmy Tayoun, who accepted money in exchange for political favors. He served three years and then wrote a book on how to survive prison.

Details of Jimmy Tayoun case. Source: 6abc Action News.

Which brings us to Thursday, when Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams pleaded guilty to one count of accepting a bribe. He immediately resigned from his position.