PA Broker Admits Defrauding Housing Authority
By Jennifer Lin And Jane M. Von Bergen, The Philadelphia Inquirer | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
With the help of a PHA accomplice,
At his plea hearing Friday, U.S. District Judge
Slomsky also said West was involved in "three to four other areas of cooperation with the government."
But eight years ago, West figured in the sprawling federal investigation of pay-to-play politics in
In 1998,
At the time, West said the check was payment for a presentation to the company's board. Street's associates gave conflicting accounts at the time of what the money was for, and one adviser said there had been no speech.
Street could not be reached for comment Friday. No one was charged with a crime regarding the payment.
In 2010, the minority-owned
Prosecutors said
The biggest recipient was State Rep.
Released on bail of
Leaving the courtroom, West would not say where he worked. One way he earns money is through poker. Last July, West placed 167th in the World Series of Poker 2011 No Limit Hold'em event, winning
At PHA, West conspired with
Street was PHA chairman at the time but has not been mentioned in the West dealings.
According to court documents,
In
West used the situation to concoct an inflated fake bill. In an e-mail to Bridges, he warned of "bad news" --
In the end, PHA paid
West hired Bridges as vice president with a
An audit at PHA turned up the payment to
Khan, the assistant U.S. attorney, said
Bridges pleaded guilty to tax evasion connected to an unreported bonus and admitted to violating state ethics laws. He was sentenced to two years probation.
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