Let me tell you a little about what I saw. I arrived during the lunch break. I noticed that the prosecution side was empty, but there were several defense lawyers on the Fed Ed and Allinson side of the courtroom, looking through files. That's a rough indication to me that the defense thinks it's in trouble.
When he entered the courtroom, Allinson made no eye contact with anyone. He originally sat with his back turned to everyone. Fed Ed also failed to look people in the eye. He did at one point speak to his wife and mother-in-law, but that was it. He mostly sat at the defense table, occasionally pouring himself a glass of water. He made no attempt to instruct his defense lawyer, who never once asked him anything.
Judge Juan Sánchez, a diminutive and smiling man who was born in Puerto Rico and has a slight accent, is presiding. Though he's a former legal aid lawyer as well as a public defender, he has the reputation of being perhaps the most pro-prosecution judge among those in the Eastern District. Throughout the afternoon, he sustained nearly ever objection made by prosecutors, and quietly admonished criminal defense lawyer Jack McMahon a few times.
He runs a tight courtroom. When he called for a five minute recess, he was back in four. He also made a point of looking at his watch as he waited for a straggler.
Though all rise for Judge Sánchez, he and the rest of us remain standing for the jury as they enter the room. They are the ultimate deciders in this case. They were equipped with several monitors so they could view evidence as it is being presented. Though I've been told that they've lost interest during some of McMahon's previous cross-examinations, they listened closely to his extensive cross-examination of Ruchlewicz.
McMahon himself was at the top of his game. I've seen him try cases in Northampton County, and in two of these cases, he was ineffective. But he was a masterful showman in the courtroom yesterday. He was prepared yet theatrical. At one point, while making points in his cross, he stood behind Fed Ed with his hands on his shoulder, humanizing him. When admonished by the court, he'd be very apologetic and then continue to do what he's been doing all along.
Ruchlewicz himself is a terrible person. He's self-absorbed and I am sure he impressed few jurors when he mentioned being "abroad" during his testimony. During breaks in testimony, he was sequestered from everyone by the FBI.
What really did him in for me is a recording (and yes, sometimes there is video) of a meeting that he and Matt McTish had with Fed Ed at the Hamilton. When he saw Fed Ed make his way into the restaurant, he repeatedly disparaged him to McTish. As Pawlowski stopped to talk to people, Ruchleicz called him a "motormouth." He added that Pawlowski was "like a toddler in an ice cream shop." When Ruchlewicz spied former Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan talking to Fed Ed, he said, "Who doesn't like Johnny Casino?"
Fed Ed made his pitch to McTish - he was running for the Senate and needed McTish's help - and then left. McMahon's point was that there was no solicitation by Pawlowski to commit bribery. But Fed Ed's departure was very likely purposeful.
While Ruchlewicz was like the male equivalent of a Mean Girls cast member, Mike Fleck appeared to be a complete goof who was unable to stop laughing in conversations about the acquisition of Eagles tickets for a playoff game. Fed Ed got some from the Pennoni engineering firm as well as another city vendor. Ruchlewicz was tasked with getting a bunch of them from different sources that included the delinquent tax collector.
Shortly before the shit hit the fan, Fed Ed got wise to Ruchlewicz. What frosted him was that Ruchlewicz had sent a text message to Ramzi Haddad, assuring him that Allentown would buy or lease one of Haddad's properties for the City's Public Works. What bothered Fed Ed was not so much that the promise had been made, but that he had done so in writing.
"If Sam keeps this up, we're gonna' be in jail," Fed Ed tells Fleck.
"If any of this ever comes out in writing, we're fucked," agrees Mike Fleck.
"I'm actually terrified," said Fed Ed.
So who exactly is Ruchlewicz?
ReplyDeleteSo who exactly are you? Do some reading.
ReplyDeleteLove the shout our to "Johnny Casino". Without doubt he was the King of political money shakedowns and everyone knew it.
ReplyDeleteAll gloryhole gobblers should be aghast at King Palumpas new rumpus room paid for by the plebes of the big circus tent whose big top karnies are fueled by the blue juize of jesusuit drummers more lunnee than Keith Moon!
ReplyDeleteRepublican Redd
Humanist by Design
Whoever “designed” you should do one more and quit. Entertaining you are not.
Deletehahaha
DeleteCouldn't comment this fine morning but I have redd the poor immatation of me! The designer made me in his OWN image, tell that one to the circus carnival barker that it but a diversionist at best!
Very nice that someone is up into the wee hours in the morning with me renting space. LingwistiX and highroglifiX must be studied if there is to be a duplication of a character like me. Neither left nor right, upper case, lower case for thoZe cluelessly cognaZant in the criminally corrupted institutional failure.
reel republican redd
humanist by design
Ahh..I've been waiting for this type of reporting, thanks for going and sharing.
ReplyDeleteYet Pennoni gets off again, while continuing to flout their conflicts in Easton and Penndot.
ReplyDeleteMy friend who has good inside information (I can't say how) told me that Charlie Thiel may be the next one indicted after the Fed Ed case is over! He has been right with everything else that he told me would happen with the case. Fed Ed gave a contract for the camera system to a company called CSI where Thiel worked. The law says that any donor who has given more than $250 to city candidates cannot get a contract. But he said Thiel donated $400 to Fed Ed and $11,000 to a PAC chaired by Fed Ed. Sounds like a payoff to me! Typical of Fed Ed, CSI was the only one to "bid" on the contract. He also told me that Thiel set up 2 different non-profits but both were scams. He never registered them with the state or filed the forms he was supposed to file.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't surprise me, Thiel was always a yes man for Ed. He was totally in bed with Ed so what do you expect? Once Ed got indicted he pretended he was never associated with him. Now the chickens are coming home to roost!
ReplyDeleteThiel totally screwed up the school system
ReplyDeleteThe only reason Thiel is on the school board is because he ran for every other office and lost! He's lost every election he has ever been in.
ReplyDeleteThiel has lost more political races than anyone I can remember in the history of Allentown. The voters are on to him...he's nice to people's face and then stabs them in the back. The only thing he cares about is himself.
ReplyDeleteThiel claims he no longer works at CSI but he really still does the same work but calls himself a "consultant". He quit CSI right before he ran for Mayor so it wouldn't look like he was part of it.
ReplyDeleteThanks Bernie, your observations are very interesting.
ReplyDeletePenonni & Callahan were a couple while he was in office.
ReplyDeleteIm not surprised by any of this pay to play. Sadly, that's politics.
ReplyDeleteBut, Norris McLaughlin's involvement bothers me. Big law firm doing its best to kiss ass for a kickback. If their work is so exceptional, why the need to pay to play game? Not getting enough work out of their experienced legal teams?
This story is about the Fed Ed trial, not Charlie Thiehl. I will be deleting any anonymous comment that is OT.
ReplyDeleteSam is the poster child for how dangerous it is to be smart and lack moral fiber. I worked with him, he’s exceedingly intelligent. Fleck, if he testifies, is likely to be even worse for the prosecution. Fleck and the truth are not acquaintances. When I learned that the case had these two “stars” as key witnesses, I knew it wasn’t going to be the slam dunk that it should be. I’ve been following it closely, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s an acquittal. Which is crazy, but so far that’s where I see it and the defense hasn’t even called a witness.
ReplyDeleteI would be surprised if there is an acquittal. Fleck may be just as morally challenged as Ruchlewicz, but is more likable. Let's not forget who used both of these jokers.
ReplyDeleteAll true. My gut tells me there are still a few twists and turns. I guess we don’t know if some sort of plea deal was even offered, but it is odd (or maybe just arrogant) that no type of deal was struck. Fleck can definitely be more likeable, but the jury has already heard him on the tapes being pretty awful. When McMahon has a chance to talk about his tax issues, it is going to be interesting to see how he responds. Great coverage! The Morning Call reporter is also doing a heck of a job tweeting updates. Emily something. It’s a fascinating case.
DeleteWhat an advantage for the former Reading mayor, getting to see this unfold first. Though some charges are certainly different.
The feds did offer Fed Ed a plea, but he will have to be dragged out of office. The difference between Ruchlewicz and Fleck is that Ruchlewicz comes across as smug and self-entitled. Fleck may be a crook, but is a likable crook, if that makes sense. He could really screw the feds here or he could be the one who hammers the nails in Fed Ed's coffin. The reporting has been exceptional. I love Emily Opilo's tweets, the daily Facebook video and Peter Hall's thorough stories. Peter knows the courts while Opilo knows Allentown. Ed Sieger has been outstanding for WFMZ-TV69. But I just had to go, and will be back.
ReplyDelete'Sam is the poster child for how dangerous it is to be smart and lack moral fiber'
ReplyDeleteSpare us the pop psychologist backdoor praise. I met the guy and even thought of working with him. He was lazy, disinterested and not as dumb as a box of rocks but no genius. The guy was as sharp as a cue ball. Fleck is just an idiot. He would brag that Jim Hickey was his mentor and they worked together. All these guys thought they were smarter than anyone around them. That is the chant of most criminals that get caught.
Bernie:
ReplyDeleteMcMahon argues that the only way the Feds can convict is with evidence of Fed Ed explicitly agreeing to trade business for campaign donations.
The Feds have 54 counts of a different view.
The most eye-raising evidence I've read about so far seems to be Fed Ed saying "Eff them, no more business for them", using burner phones, or ducking into bathrooms to discuss donations. But couldn't the latter two be dismissed as circumstantial, with Fleck and Ruchlewicz dismissed as crooks and liars attempting to pin their misdeeds on FedEd? If that happens, what's left on which to base a conviction? Memory is imperfect but I think the earlier, more credible prosecution witnesses implicated Fleck/Ruchlewicz/Dougherty rather than FedEd himself.
Separately, aren't politicians required to maintain a strict separation between campaign activities and official workplaces? With the conversations in City Hall it doesn't sound like that was happening here, but I've not seen any mention of those rules. If memory serves it's not even kosher for a Mayor to make a single fundraising phone call from her office.
canary, Of course the defense is that fleck and ruchlewicz are the bad guys. Where have you been? But Dougherty tied this right to Fed Ed, not the others. Don't try to pretend that previous witnesses only blamed Fleck and Ruchlewicz.
ReplyDeleteWhile I don't think Fed Ed will walk on all 54 counts I certainly think from following this the prosecution will get convictions on quite a few of those 54. I think Allison being tried with Fed Ed is just bad luck for him. I can't see either guy skating.
ReplyDeleteNo doubt Bernie, when it comes to the pen, you got the chops.
ReplyDelete