Political Consultant Implicated in Philadelphia Corruption Case
By Adam Decker, Marketing −
Allegations of corruption permeate the investigation into the 2007 Philadelphia mayoral campaign.
Political consultant Tom Lindenfeld has been implicated in a federal investigation into corruption, with allegations regarding the 2007 Philadelphia mayoral campaign. It’s alleged he was involved in a conspiracy to funnel funds to the campaign coffers of Rep. Chaka Fattah (D).
Court documents in the federal case do not name him, but two people have confirmed Lindenfeld is “Person B,” the man who allegedly accepted a loan of $1 million to be used for expenses in the Fattah campaign. Part of this loan was later repaid with money from a federal grant, which was intended to be used for underrepresented groups in the community.
When the News Broke
When the allegations were made, Lindenfeld was working for Muriel Bowser (D), a D.C. Council member who won the primary elections for mayor in April.
Bowser told the Washington City Paper that she was rather surprised to learn that Lindenfeld had been named in the Philadelphia Daily News as being “Person B” in the court documents. She made it quite clear that he is no longer part of her political campaign team.
When Bowser won her primary, supporters felt that Lindenfeld was getting far too much attention. This increased the amount of tension between him and members of the campaign team. He never revealed to them that he could be implicated in a federal investigation.
How It Happened
Lindenfeld is alleged to have been involved with a secret loan that went through his firm, LSG Strategies, before it was used for campaign expenses. It appears that the loan was never officially reported to the authorities overseeing the financial side of the Pennsylvania campaign.
Someone involved in the investigation has confirmed that he saw a promissory note for $1 million signed by Lindenfeld. It is not clear from the court papers if Lindenfeld knew anything about the process of repaying the loan, or whether he was aware of money from a federal grant being used. The only allegations against him are that he used false documents to hide illegal movement of money. Lindenfeld has not spoken out publically about this and he has not been charged.
Fattah has not been charged, but one of his aides, Greg Naylor, has pleaded guilty to participating in illegal money activities. Naylor also admitted to giving false statements during the investigation.
Going Against the Grain
The allegation that Lindenfeld was involved in a financial conspiracy goes against his stance as an advocate for electoral reform to increase transparency, as well as the accusations he made in 2011 about the District failing to take adequate measures against corruption and embezzlement.
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