One unrelated pal, Donald "Gus" Dougherty, allegedly did more than $100,000 worth of work at John's house free.

Another friend, Peter DePaul, a well-connected developer, let Dougherty stay at DePaul's $3,000-a-month waterfront apartment free while Dougherty's home was undergoing a $400,000 renovation.

Federal prosecutors are looking at these relationships as part of a broader probe of the union boss. He has not been charged and denies any wrongdoing. But voters in the First District, where Dougherty is running for state Senate, should take a look as well.

Here are some questions they should be asking: Who else does Dougherty owe? More important, given Dougherty's ties to so many organizations: If elected, whom will he really represent in Harrisburg?

To be sure, Dougherty already wears many hats.

He is the head of Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which paid him $182,000 last year and employs one of his daughters.

Dougherty's union started a charter school, the Philadelphia Electrical and Technology Charter High School, where another daughter works as the director of special projects.

He is chairman of the city's Redevelopment Authority, which steers tens of millions in government funding into projects in blighted areas.

Dougherty is also on the board of the Delaware River Port Authority, which has invested millions in area projects.

He is president of the Pennsport Civic Association, where he lives.

Until early this year, Dougherty was on the board of Independence Blue Cross, which is in the process of merging with the state's other insurance giant, Highmark.

If elected, Dougherty may exit some of the posts, but he plans to keep his six-figure union job. That alone seems fraught with potential conflicts of interest.

What side will he take on labor issues that come up at the state-owned convention center?

What about the inherent tension between nearby residents and the developer/investors of the two slots parlors planned for the city?

DePaul, who let Dougherty stay at his waterfront pad free, is an investor in the Foxwoods casino planned in Dougherty's Pennsport neighborhood.

Dougherty's union, of course, favors building things because it creates jobs. But many Pennsport residents, and others that Dougherty seeks to represent in the Senate, oppose the casinos.

Dougherty says he is pro-neighborhood and supports the casinos. It's tough to have it both ways.

And if elected, how well would Dougherty work with Mayor Nutter on Philly issues in Harrisburg? Dougherty worked hard to keep Nutter from getting elected last year. In fact, the city ethics board is investigating whether his union was behind a campaign flyer that said a vote for Nutter is a vote for "racial profiling."

The bigger question remains: If elected to the state Senate, whom will Dougherty really represent?