Public Official No. 3 Looks Like No. 2

Those naysayers in the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pa. are at it again. The noose around Fed Ed's neck is growing tighter as prosecutors painstakingly build a power racketeering (RICO) case against Allentown's Mayor, whom we've all come to know and love as Public Official No. 3. The latest of the King's men to fall is one of his own Assistant Solicitors, Dale R. Wiles. He was charged yesterday (criminal information here) in a bid-rigging scheme to replace a privatized tax collector with one more willing to contribute to Edwin Pawlowski's never-ending quests for public office.

The first blow fell against entrepreneur Ramzi Haddad on September 10. He was willing to bribe his way into more favorable treatment. But what was astonishing, even to me, was the revelation that Fed Ed went so far as to buy burner phones and conduct sweeps of his office. That's pretty clear evidence that he's a crook.

Fed Ed has nevertheless gone to work every day acting as though nothing is unusual, posting hypocritical Facebook inspirations each Sunday. He's tried to regain some of his liberal supporters by proudly proclaiming that Syrian refugees are welcome, though just a few months before, he refused to allow Allentown's Syrians them to fly their national flag.

Which brings us to Dale Wiles. He posts inspirational quotes on Facebook, too. Like "A good man or woman will be honest no matter how painful the truth is." And "Never ask someone if they're telling the truth. An honest person will be offended. A liar will just lie to you more."

Wiles, we all know, failed to follow his own advice and conspired with Fed Ed and Pubic Official No. 4 (finance director Gary Strathearn) to defraud the rightful winners of a tax collection contract in favor of a campaign contributor. What's worse, he his documents from the FBI that would reveal the scheme and lied to agents when they confronted him.

Obviously, he's going to jail.

I know Wiles. He used to search titles at the Northampton County courthouse until the bottom fell out of the real estate market. Back in 2010, when he was first appointed Assistant Solicitor, I wrote a story about it.

It's worth repeating.

"Despite Layoffs, Cronyism Alive and Well in Pawlowski's Allentown."

September 23, 2010 - His wife is a practicing attorney, but Chicago-area native Dale R. Wiles has avoided courtrooms during his time in the Lehigh Valley. He's preferred to make his money searching titles, mostly in Northampton County.

During this time, he and his wife have been soldiers for the local Democratic party. They've made campaign contributions to Democrats seeking local and state office. They also gave to Sam Bennett's disastrous Congressional race against Charlie Dent. Dale and his daughter even participated in one of Bennett's TV ads. "Children's Health Care? Over-rated," he snarks, dressed in a faux Dent T-shirt. Of course, he's a Democratic committeeman, too, and a district boss to boot.

Now that the real estate market is in the tank and his title searching income is down, Dale has played on his political connections for a job an Assistant City Solicitor in Allentown. Wiles is filling the vacancy created when long-time Assistant Solicitor Martin Danks decided to trade in his legal pad for a fireman's uniform. Heaven forbid that Pawlowski would consider leaving the position vacant and save the City some money.

Wiles has absolutely no experience as a lawyer. That may actually be a plus in that office, which seems to spend most of its time denying Right-to-Know-Law requests.  What Wiles lacks in experience is made up for by knowing the right people.

One of them is wife, Gladys.  She just happens to be City Solicitor Jerry Snyder's partner in private practice.

Last year, Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski laid off thirty-nine union workers. Rising pension costs could fuel additional layoffs, as well as a tax hike, next year.

But King Edwin's men are apparently safe.

You can see Wiles and his daughter, wearing their faux Dent T-shirts, in the Sam Bennett commercial below.



Wiles' Wife Secretary to Allentown Redevelopment Authority

Incidentally, Wiles' wife Gladys is Secretary of the Allentown Redevelopment Authority, which currently has two Requests For Proposals.

I sure hope her husband ain't rating them.

She needs to step down.