Dem. Mayor Wept in Courtroom After Being Found Guilty of 47 Counts of Corruption
A Democrat Pennsylvania mayor faces decades in prison after he was convicted on nearly 50 charges of corruption in court Thursday.
Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski was found guilty on 47 of the 54 charges against him, which included bribery, conspiracy, fraud and attempted extortion, as well as lying to federal officials.
Pawlowski also changed city contracts in order to raise money for his campaigns for Mayor, The Morning Call reported.
After the verdict was announced, Pawlowski reportedly cried in the courtroom.
His wife, meanwhile, collapsed in the hallway.
A date has not yet been set for Pawlowski’s sentencing, but the Democrat mayor who has been in office since 2006 will be free on bail until his court date.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Wzorek blasted Pawlowski’s behavior after the hearing and said he will continue to search for corruption.
“This type of behavior is not acceptable,” Wzorek told The Morning Call.
“If they don’t have it of their own mind to think this is unacceptable, we will be watching, and the FBI will be doing investigations and will root out corruption.”
Pawlowski’s attorney, however, said he was “surprised and disappointed” by the verdict.
The front page of the local paper featured a photo of Pawlowski leaving the courtroom with cameras following him.
Pawlowski could face up to 20 years in prison on each count of corruption.
Pawlowski is currently serving his fourth term in office.
He was re-elected in November 2017, despite the fact that at that point, he had already been indicted.
A version of this article appeared on The Daily Caller News Foundation website.
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