READING, Pa. A former Philadelphia labor leader who wielded significant influence in Pennsylvania politics was sentenced Thursday to six years in prison for bribing a City Council member and stealing nearly $600,000 from the union he led for nearly three decades.
John Dougherty, 64, was convicted in December of embezzlement, conspiracy and dozens of other charges in a 2019 indictmentwho accused him of using the politically powerful electricians union as his “personal bank account” and a source of jobs for family and friends. In 2021, a separate jury convicted Dougherty of bribing a city council member to carry out the union’s orders.
Addressing the court, Dougherty apologized for his conduct, saying it “got out of control”.
“I am here to take full responsibility. It’s embarrassing. I’m sick,” Dougherty told the judge. Noting that he had been under federal investigation for years, he said, “I knew better, I let the lines get blurred, I crossed the line.”
Federal prosecutors, in a sentencing memorandum addressing Dougherty’s convictions in both trials, said that “Dougherty’s crimes inflicted immeasurable harm on Local 98 and the city of Philadelphia.”
But Dougherty still has influential supporters. His brother—Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Kevin Dougherty—was in the court’s packed gallery Thursday as supporters took the stand and testified about the defendant’s charitable works, his staunch union defense and his devotion to his family.
Dougherty received nearly 250 letters of support from political and civic figures, including one from former Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell — who served two terms as mayor of Philadelphia — and another from Sister Mary Scullion, a much-admired homeless advocate in the city.
Prosecutors argued for a lengthy prison sentence, saying Dougherty systematically stole from the electricians’ union and deprived Philadelphians of the right to honest service from the elected official he bribed. Dougherty was so powerful that no one in his orbit questioned his conduct, and he threatened retaliation against anyone deemed disloyal, Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank Costello said in court Thursday.
“The defendant has demonstrated little to no remorse or responsibility,” Costello said.
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl handed down the sentence in federal court in Reading on Thursday.
Known as “Johnny Doc,” Dougherty was a longtime power broker in Democratic politics, directing tens of millions in union campaign contributions to candidates for public office, including his brother, who was elected to the state high court in 2015.
Federal prosecutors said Dougherty also used union money to buy groceries, restaurant meals, tickets to concerts and sporting events and other personal items. He paid contractors with union funds to work at his home, his relatives’ homes and a neighborhood bar he owned, and arranged for friends and family to be on the union payroll, according to the indictment.
A co-defendant in last year’s trial, former union president Brian Burrows, was convicted last month to four years in prison.
Dougherty was also convicted of bribe Philadelphia council member Bobby Henon. Prosecutors said Dougherty gave Henon a union job without showing up. Henon later signed a lucrative cable contract for Comcast Corp. — forcing Comcast to refer electrical work to Dougherty’s friend — and took other official actions under Dougherty’s influence. Henon was convicted to 3 and a half years in prison.
“Henon did everything Dougherty wanted. He got what he paid for,” said Costello, the prosecutor.
A third criminal case against Dougherty, involving racketeering charges, ended in a hung jury in April.
Prosecutors were seeking a prison sentence of up to 14 years for Dougherty. They also sought $2.1 million in restitution from Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, where Dougherty served as business manager from 1993 until his dismissal in 2021.
Dougherty’s lawyers argued for a reduced sentence. They acknowledged that the labor boss abused his position of trust in the 5,000-member local, but said he did “tremendous and tireless work” on behalf of organized labor. The defense also said Dougherty takes daily care of his seriously ill wife.
“I know my father is far from perfect. I understand and believe in the idea of accountability,” his daughter, Erin Dougherty, said on the witness stand. But she begged the judge to sentence her father to house arrest so he could continue to care for her mother.
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