Bribery trial opens for Philadelphia union boss Johnny "Doc" Dougherty and city leader Bobby Henon

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A powerful Philadelphia labor leader kept a city council member on the union payroll in a no-show, $70,000-a-year job so he would do his bidding at City Hall, federal prosecutors said Tuesday as a long-awaited corruption trial began.

The sweeping 2019 indictment accused Johnny "Doc" Dougherty and City Council member Bobby Henon of engaging in an illegal conspiracy to keep a tight grip on construction jobs in the Philadelphia region.

Federal prosecutor Bea Witzleben presented her opening arguments, calling the allegiance between Henon and Dougherty a "corrupt agreement".

Witzleben spent over an hour outlining nine schemes she alleges the long-time friends and co-workers carried out.

In some of the alleged schemes, Witzleben said Henon introduced bills and resolutions to carry out vendettas at Dougherty's behest. Additionally, Henon brought Dougherty into contract negotiations between the city and Comcast. There is also the allegation Dougherty and Henon shut down work on the installation of machines for sick children at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia since the contractors were non-union.

Within five minutes of opening arguments, the prosecution told jurors they would hear conversations from 16 months of wiretaps between Dougherty and "high-powered" officials like Mayor Jim Kenney and Deputy Mayor of Labor Rich Lazer.

Henry Hockeimer, Dougherty's defense attorney, began by thanking the jury then began going over Dougherty's long history and rise at the powerful union.

He also spoke about Dougherty's personal life including his marriage and his children. Hockeimer spoke about Dougherty's ability to grow the union and increase wages significantly for members over his lengthy career.

But he also told jurors when they hear the phone conversations to understand that the working-class union boss was known as a "bombastic" and often "cocky" person saying, "at times he's profane. There's no off-switch on this guy."

In regards to the contract negotiations the city was going through with Comcast, he countered the prosecution instead saying that Dougherty's expertise helped the city agree.

Henon's defense attorney, Brian McMonagle, made clear that it was normal for elected officials to hold additional jobs if they disclosed it like Henon did.

McMonagle painted both defendants as hard-working men fighting for the interest of middle-class workers working their way to the top echelon of political power. McMonagle also said Dougherty and Henon never took or gave bribes and the assertion that Dougherty planted Henon in that seat with benefits like Eagles tickets and a salary are not true.

It was in 2019 when federal prosecutors charged Dougherty, Henon, and six other Local 98 officials and allies with bribery, embezzlement, and other crimes, alleging Dougherty and others misspent six-hundred-thousand dollars on home improvement projects, lavish dinners, parties, and other personal expenditures. Last year, the judge granted a defense request to split the case into two trials- the first of which is this one, focusing on charges tied to the relationship between Dougherty and Henon.

Both Dougherty and Henon have maintained their innocence.

A spokesperson from the Mayor's Office said in a statement Tuesday, "To be clear, neither the Mayor nor any member of his administration have been accused of any of the criminal activity at issue in Mr. Dougherty's and Councilmember Henon's trial."

The spokesperson added that The Mayor has not been subpoenaed to testify but Deputy Mayor of Labor Rich Lazer has.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.