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Councilman's aide, 3 others indicted in fraud

City Councilman Jack Kelly's chief of staff, his campaign treasurer, and two prominent Bucks County developers were indicted on fraud and corruption charges yesterday, accused of trading favors and money for influence in City Hall.

City Councilman Jack Kelly's chief of staff, his campaign treasurer, and two prominent Bucks County developers were indicted on fraud and corruption charges yesterday, accused of trading favors and money for influence in City Hall.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Philadelphia said the developers, brothers Hardeep and Ravinder Chawla, had plied Christopher Wright, Kelly's chief of staff, with $16,000 worth of gifts, housing and legal services in exchange for help with tax bills and Council legislation. Also charged in the alleged scheme was Andrew Teitelman, who served as Kelly's campaign treasurer and lawyer to the Chawlas.

All four are scheduled to be arraigned today. Kelly is not accused of any wrongdoing.

"Wright was bought by the Chawlas so that he would serve their interests, and ultimately his own, instead of the public's," acting U.S. Attorney Laurie Magid said in a news release.

All of the defendants have previously denied any wrongdoing during the course of the yearlong investigation.

"Chris has dedicated his career to honestly serving the citizens of Philadelphia, and he's confident a jury will recognize that," Lisa Mathewson, Wright's lawyer, said yesterday.

Wright, a former aide to City Councilman Thacher Longstreth, has worked for the city since 1988 and makes $91,179.

"This seems to be an extremely weak case by the government," said attorney Bill DeStefano, whose client, Teitelman, was the nexus for the relationship - he was at once Kelly's campaign treasurer, Wright's friend, and general counsel to the Chawlas' several business entities. Teitelman has said that he did minor legal work for Wright based on their friendship.

Kelly, who testified before the federal grand jury, has pledged to cooperate fully with the U.S. attorney.

He declined to comment yesterday on the indictments. "I haven't had an opportunity to look at anything, and I'm not prepared to comment on it until I do," he said in a phone interview.

The Chawlas, who fled the military regime in Burma (now Myanmar) as children and now live in Bucks County, are among the city's most active developers. They have been campaign donors to Kelly, other City Council members, and Mayor Nutter.

They started their career with commercial properties in the Northeast and moved into controversial downtown proposals, including the River City mixed-use complex along JFK Boulevard at the Schuylkill, and the NewMarket residential and hotel project in Society Hill.

According to the indictment, Wright received a $1,000 check marked "Happy Holidays" from Hardeep Chawla, in December 2005; rent-free use of a Rittenhouse Square apartment for a time in 2006 and 2007, as well as a free parking space; and free legal services from Teitelman for an eviction proceeding and divorce.

In return, according to the indictment, Wright:

Helped negotiate a tax settlement between the city Law Department and Hardeep Chawla's company, Sant Properties. The settlement saved the company about $13,000.

Wrote legislation on behalf of the Chawlas to make it easier for the developers to build mechanical parking garages. The legislation was introduced by Kelly and passed by Council.

Asked Kelly to introduce the Chawlas to Councilman Darrell L. Clarke, who controlled the fate of zoning for the River City project as that district's councilman.

The indictment alleged Ravinder Chawla once offered to hire Wright as "our consultant." Wright also signed one e-mail "Your Public Servant."

While Kelly was not implicated in the indictment, the close connection with the Chawlas drew criticism from the ethics-watchdog organization Committee of Seventy.

"The indictments are a stark reminder it's still business-as-usual in some corners of City Hall," the organization's president, Zack Stalberg, said. "Councilman Kelly's office clearly was in an incestuous relationship with these developers and their mouthpiece. If Kelly didn't know what Chris Wright was doing, he should have."