UIPDATED: Zach Cole Borghi, Bethlehem's RTK Officer and LC Comm'r, Arrested at City Hall

Zach Cole Borgi is the City of Bethlehem's Right-to-Know Officer. He's also an elected Lehigh County Comm'r who has served since 2022 and is currently seeking re-election as the Democratic nominee in District 3 (parts of Allentown, Bethlehem, Fountain Hill, Catty and Hanover). He's seeking re-election as the Democratic nominee. But he might have to run from inside a jail cell. Several sources at Bethlehem City Hall confirm that he was arrested by federal agents on Thursday and led out of the building in handcuffs. 

As of Thursday night, there was no record of Cole Borghi's arrest on PACER, an online tracker of federal cases. This could mean that the indictment is currently sealed. From what I've been able to put together, the charges might be drug-related. 

I've found no previous record of criminal activity by Cole Borghi. But he was sued for $3,000 in back rent in January and judgment was entered against him.

UPDATED 8/29/25, 10:08 PM: At 11:30 am Thursday, LC DA Gavin P. Holihan held a news conference (I watched it but was not physically present) to discuss what has happened. Borghi's arrest is just a part of a massive drug investigation that extends into four states. 

Borghi has been charged with possession with intent to deliver as well as possession of a pound of marijuana. Holihan noted that no RICO (racketeering) charges are lodged against Borghi. He was arrested at City Hall as I previously told you. The arrest took place without incident. He was released after posting $50,000 cash bail through a bondsman.

There still is no public record of his charges, and Holihan declined to get into specifics until all warrants have been executed, and the charges can be unsealed

From what I understand (not stated at the presser), police have surveillance of Borghi delivering controlled substances.

District Attorney's News Release: District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan is announcing the details of a massive drug investigation that spanned several years and culminated in many arrests yesterday in Lehigh, Northampton and Montgomery counties as well as Philadelphia, New York, Chicago and Wisconsin.

This investigation remains ongoing and is the result of Lehigh County’s 12th Investigating Grand Jury and due to the confidentiality of those proceedings, we are limited in the amount of information that can be provided.

As of Aug. 28, there have been 22 individuals arrested and we anticipate many more arrests as this investigation proceeds.

The Lehigh County Drug Task Force was assisted by federal, state and local agencies to execute 26 search warrants at businesses and homes as a result of this 3-year grand jury investigation.

Search warrants are still being processed on 283 financial institution accounts and various cryptocurrency accounts.

To date, some of the items seized include:

• Well over $100,000 in cash.

• Cryptocurrency accounts.

• More than 2,000 pounds of marijuana, large quantities of THC liquid, cocaine and MDMA pills.

• At least 25 firearms that include semi-automatic rifles and ghost guns.

Two clandestine laboratories manufacturing illegal THC products were also discovered and dismantled by members of the Pennsylvania State Police Clandestine Laboratory Team.

The preliminary hearings for those charged yesterday are currently scheduled for 2 p.m. Sept. 3 at Lehigh County Central Court. Some of those charged yesterday have already posted bail.

An investigation of this scale includes the cooperation and efforts of many law enforcement agencies including the Lehigh County Drug Task Force; the Lehigh County Emergency Response Team; the James B. Martin Regional Intelligence and Investigation Center; Allentown Police Department and Bethlehem Police Department’s Emergency Response Team and Vice Units as well as patrol officers; Pennsylvania State Police (Troop M), Pennsylvania State Police’s Computer Crimes Unit; Special Emergency Response Team, Strike Force and Vice Units; the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General’s Bureau of Narcotic Investigations in Allentown; the Department of Homeland Security in Allentown, U.S. Marshals in Allentown; South Whitehall Township Police; Upper Macungie Police and detectives in New York and Montgomery County.

Additional law enforcement agencies in Illinois and Wisconsin were instrumental in taking suspects into custody and initiating extradition proceedings. The investigation was made possible with funding from the Liberty Mid-Atlantic High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Initiative (HIDTA).

This case was will be prosecuted by Chief Deputy District Attorneys Craig W. Scheetz and Kevin P. McCloskey.

As in every criminal case, the fact that arrests have occurred or complaints have been filed are merely accusations; and the accused are all presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.