No More Phillies, So Now What?
Phillyist Playlist: The Get Up Kids at the Trocadero & TLA
Asshole of the Week
Yo, Philly in the News
Photoist
Seventh District Councilman Rick Mariano has officially been notified that he is the target of a federal grand jury investigation. This is hardly news to anyone who has been paying attention -- Mariano's office was subpeonad in the Spring for a "wide range of records" and last month federal investigators paid visits to some of Mariano's staffers (both current and past) and served subpeonas to testify in front of a grand jury.
Mariano faces investigation for money laundering and conspiracy to commit fraud, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer:
One area of interest for investigators is whether a company in Mariano's district, Erie Steel Ltd., paid a $5,873.75 credit-card bill for the councilman in May 2002. The payment was made a month before the councilman flew to Las Vegas to get married.Confused yet? And somehow there's a strip club involved in the works, too.(...) Authorities are also examining whether a real estate agency owned by Vincent DiPentino, a longtime friend of Mariano's, was used to funnel $10,900 to pay another credit-card bill for the councilman.
According to sources familiar with the probe, the $10,900 initially came from Erie - with Erie writing a $10,900 check to DiPentino's real estate firm, which then wrote a check for that amount to Mariano's credit-card company.
It's hard to believe that Mariano is innocent, as his lawyer, Fortunato Perri, Jr., claims -- after all, when Mariano was questioned by federal investigators in May he refused to give any information at all about his debts, how he earns money, if he has received gifts or payments, and whether or not he owns any business. OK, that's not entirely true -- he listed his job as a Councilman as a job and a credit card on his financial statements.
However, Mariano is innocent until proven guilty.
Phillyist does wonder when we'll see the end of probes into corruption at City Hall. Get us off this crazy whirlygig of fun - we're dizzy.
Photo credit: Phila.gov
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
Post a comment (Comment Policy)