Former U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah was sentenced Monday to a 10-year prison term by a judge who said he was “astonished” that a veteran legislator would steal government and charity funds to pay his son’s debts and buy a vacation home.
Fattah, a Democrat who was born into a family of black activists in Philadelphia, spent two decades in Congress working on housing, education, gun control and other issues of concern to his mostly poor district. Fattah and his TV anchor wife meanwhile took in more than $500,000 a year.
Yet Fattah’s finances grew increasingly dire after a failed 2007 run for mayor, when he faced new campaign spending limits that led him to take an illegal $1 million loan from a friend. The trouble escalated when the friend called in the debt.
As he awaited his sentence, Fattah told the judge he had mixed emotions: saddened to find himself in court but grateful for the work he was able to do over 37 years as a state and federal lawmaker.
“I’ve helped tens of millions of people,” said Fattah, 60. “(That) has nothing to do with the fact that I’ve been found on the wrong side of these questions by a jury.”
Fattah lost the spring primary days before trial and resigned his seat following his June conviction. The jury found he took the $1 million loan from the chairman of Sallie Mae, the student loan corporation. He returned $400,000 of it and repaid some of the rest with federal grant money he had steered to an education nonprofit run by former aides.
The nonprofit efforts, including a NASA-funded mobile science classroom emblazoned with Fattah’s name that roamed Philadelphia during the mayoral campaign, helped promote Fattah’s political career, prosecutors said. Fattah was also ordered Monday to repay $600,000 to Sallie Mae and NASA.
“For someone so interested in advancing education for the disadvantaged, you had the temerity to steal from the Educational Advancement Alliance, a nonprofit supported by government funds,” U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle said. “While you have done much good, you also engaged in grave and widespread criminal activity.”
Four co-defendants who helped Fattah move government grants and other money between his campaign, the nonprofits and his consultants will be sentenced throughout the week.
Fattah used the money on campaign and personal expenses, the jury found. He put $23,000 in nonprofit funds toward his son’s college loans and took an $18,000 bribe to try to help a friend become an ambassador. Fattah and his wife used that money for a down payment on a Poconos vacation home. They told authorities it covered the friend’s purchase of a Porsche owned by Fattah’s wife, but the Porsche never left their garage.
Fattah had insisted the Department of Justice had been out to get him and his family for years. He plans to appeal the conviction.
“There are so many people in this courtroom and outside that owe their success — and also are able to serve the community so much better — as a result of the congressman’s influence, support and inspiration,” said Joseph Quinones, a one-time high school dropout who said that Fattah’s encouragement led him to earn a master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.
The congressman’s son is serving a five-year prison term in an overlapping fraud case that went to trial last year. Chaka “Chip” Fattah Jr. was convicted of using fraudulently obtained business loans to fund his jet-set lifestyle.
The elder Fattah, who earned $174,000 a year as a congressman, is married to longtime Philadelphia news anchor Renee Chenault-Fattah. They have two school-age children. Chenault-Fattah spent 25 years with WCAU-TV before she resigned after the indictment named her a participant in the bribery scheme. She was never charged and has denied wrongdoing.
Fattah’s co-defendants include former Philadelphia Deputy Mayor Herbert Vederman, of Palm Springs, Florida, who had sought the ambassadorship. He was sentenced to two years in prison Monday. Two political consultants pleaded guilty and testified at trial.
Prosecutors had asked for a 17- to 21-year sentence. The judge gave Fattah until Jan. 25 to report to prison.
Fattah entered Congress in 1995. Former state Rep. Dwight Evans, a fellow Democrat, now holds his seat.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
Doesn’t this article Just prove again and again that the Democratic party is the Party of criminals?
how many more are they they say if you see one cockroaches you are missing thousands we need to use i insect spray and clean out congress
I love how this guy claims all that he did to help thousands in poverty and that this help needs to cleanse him from his minor incantations of the law. How sad
Yes it does
Expect to see a lot more prosecutions when PE Trump takes office and sweeps the trash out that has been stealing the citizens blind for years.
The headline says Congress woman! The story is about a congressman. WTF!?
I thought I was just tired this morning I noticed that too!
From all outward appearances the picture sure looks like a female but then again today what you see is not necessarily the truth.
A congressman is like a new born baby until he grows up….
Is his name now Chaka Con?
HAAAAAAAA!!
Should have asked Hillary for some private lessons.
Just goes to show you that the DUMBOCRATS have been corrupt from the Muslim in DC, The Criminal Clinton and her Cartel. And now it trickles down to the rest of crooks elected by innocent people. The monies we donate for good causes being robbed for themselves. I wish they would put them away for LIFE. And I hope that the DONALD takes down the Muslim and the Clinton Cartel.
I want to see all of the CLINTONS at Leavenworth in stripes.
I believe i read that Hillary has been staying out of sight in a bunker in New York. Wonder if some her benifactors are not happy that she will not be able to make good on promises!!!
Why did I know that the person was a black female democrat even before I read the article?
How nice, a lifetime democrat passed his legacy of crime and tenacity for stealing to his son. What a guy!
I hope this becomes a trend in DC, Cleaning the swamp of these scumbags is long overdue.
This does not surprise me nor should it surprise anyone. there are more crooked politicians then honest ones (if any) but most people’s mind set is that is what our gov’t is about so no biggie. Now this is what really gets me. The amount of money the media employees get you would think that they could at least get the article right. Showing a picture of his wife and titling it as CONGRESSWOMEN when in fact it was and is about him not her. Then the media wonders why no one believes the media any more.
I am guessing the woman in the picture is his wife. Philadelphia? Isn’t that where they couldn’t do the recount, because so many boxes did not add up right?
It’s a shame that after so much “research” – the author(s) of this article do not know that Fattah is a congressMAN. This is a picture of his wife.
We the people should be calling for an audit of the entire Government, we shouldn’t be waiting on someone to save us, we don’t deserve saving if we refuse to take steps to right the problems within our government. We the people keep putting these clowns back in office and refuse to have term limits as a must if they want our vote. I don’t blame Washington, what did we the people expect when we allowed errant children to run our nation? We gave them the credit cards, the keys to the alcohol cabinet, the keys to the car and the house and we are surprised to see that they are having an ongoing party at the nations expense?