Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown to pay $40,000-plus for ethics violations
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Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown to pay $40,000-plus for ethics violations
City Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown and her campaign have been slapped with a $48,834 fine for a series of ethics violations.
The Ethics Board announced today that Reynolds Brown made material misstatements and omissions in her campaign finance reports, accepted excess contributions, failed to properly deposit contributions, accepted prohibited gifts and failed to disclose transactions on 2010 and 2011 financial interest statements.
The 25-page report included details of Reynolds Brown’s financial woes in which she sought assistance from mentor Congressman Chaka Fattah to prevent her house from going into foreclosure in 2010. She needed $30,000 to save her home and by November was at least $3,000 short. Chaka “Chip” Fattah Jr. gave the Councilwoman a $3,300 loan which she did not disclose on her 2010 financial interest statement. At the time Fattah Jr. was an employee of a for-profit charter school that received millions of dollars in contracts from the School District. The FBI is currently investigating Fattah Jr.’s finances.
Reynolds Brown was not taking calls on the agreement reached with the Ethics Board, but her office released this statement:
“I have cooperated fully with the Board of Ethics in an effort to clear up any oversight and/or omissions made by the Friends of Blondell Reynolds Brown so that my campaign may begin with a clean slate effective immediately and I can continue to focus on my constituents and the important legislative business of the City of Philadelphia.
It is clear that there were a number of errors that occurred during the last campaign. I brought information to the Board of Ethics that resulted in this settlement.
I take full responsibility for the conduct of my campaign and have taken corrective steps to ensure that future reporting is clear and accurate. The persons responsible for these errors have been removed from any responsibilities regarding the Friends of Blondell Reynolds Brown and I have implemented strict guidelines and practices to ensure these errors will not be repeated.
I also must take full responsibility for an error in judgment regarding the repayment of a loan, through campaign funds, for a personal matter. I have subsequently made the Friends of Blondell Reynolds Brown whole through reimbursing that amount with my personal funds. I deeply regret this decision, which I voluntarily brought to the attention of the Board of Ethics. Most important: I apologize to my supporters and my colleagues, whose trust I value deeply. I will do everything in my power to make amends.”
Resign. Call for her removal. This is a disgrace.— TR3- A fine for an ethics violation is just the cost of doing business in Phila City Council. The MUCH more concerning fact is that she can't manage her personal finances but thinks she can run a city.— Period
- So, she stole $3,000 to pay her mortgage arrears and now has to pay a fine of $40,000. Where is she going to steal that money from? Follow the money.— Jacob
- 100k per year and she can't (won't?) pay her mortgage. THEN she goes to the ghost congressman for financial advice who refers his son who takes OUR tax dollars and supposedly puts that money into education. Is it just me who sees problems with this scenario?? Keep pulling that D lever if you want our 'leaders' to become like kings and we get the little scraps they throw in the name of 'fairness'.— keapitreal
- Not enough money to keep up the payments on her house, but she has enough money to pay a 40,000 dollar fine. I think not.— Thelonius Monk
- taking millions from the school district he skimmed 10% off the top, easy if not more, she took contirbutions and pocketed the money, yet still faced foreclosure, and these are the clowns that control the city budget, spending, and tax increases, yet neither has ever run their own business,
so we have two clowns who are thieves and dont understand finances, these are exactly who we want running the city!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the two of you are embarrasments to your race and to the city in general, its moves like these that keep our taxes going up and driving business away
— coolbreeze - Detroit east! Lean forward and over the cliff into poverty and obscurity. Keep voting Democrat and stay classy, Philadelphia.— Greece_West
- Gotta love the Dems baby...do as I say, not as I do!!— vdstrading
- I'm terribly sorry.....that I got busted.— guitarman
- How much more does the Democratic City Committee and its sycophants have to give us before the Republican City Committee or some viable Independent get their acts together enough to bust their behinds into an elected office that matters?— 19151
- "Most important" she said was apologizing to her supporters..how about everyone in the city since you're an at-large councilperson you moron?!
It's completely within the bounds of media practice in the US for the media to go after her for interviews and answers until she resigns. The mayor, too, should call for her resignation, but that would represent a breach of the branches of city government, and further, as he's a fellow Democrat, he won't say a word. He's busy partying in DC anyway.
Actually, the media aren't going to go after a left-wing councilperson...nevermind.— 19151 
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I agree about the President Obama photo-op she has on there. I have a feeling she was contacted to remove it immediately like you suggested. Politicians are all up on their associate's scandals and they all know that once they get caught doing something wrong it will alienate the guilty one for all time from the rest of the pack. She is history and she knows it. What a way to destroy your career. Dumb is what dumb does.- And we are supposed to believe that someone who couldn't pay her mortgage is going to come up with 40K to pay a fine? Can't wait to read the future story about how this was paid in exchange for favors that sold out the people she is supposed to represent.— superturtle
- She needs to change that photo with President Obama on her Facebook page and immediately RESIGN! Disgraceful is she!— Cleodine Velvet Jackson
- Again, she will still show up to work like nothing happened. They always do. She won't leave without kicking and screaming, I'm sure.
- http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=e06_1359380173— joemummer
- Where's Reverend Al?— whynotpeace
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- What does takinbg responsibility mean? To mean you admit what you did and then resign. How can anyone expect this woman to be involved with the finances of the city? What is a misstatement? Sound like a lie but even the ethics committee doesn't have the guts to call it what it is. Is the DA going to investigate? Is the Fed. Misstatements (lie) are crimes and the taxpayers have the right for a true investigation.— SPENDSPEND
- It was only a matter of time before Miss. Blondell Reynolds got busted. I am surprised they didn't nab her sooner, like a few years ago using the city vehicle to do personal errands and shopping. Also, for using a tax paid assistant to carry her shopping bundles into her house for her every week. Blondell does not have the sensibility of a civil or public servant but she treats everyone else like they are her servants. She should be fired by the people immediately and her pension taken away for bad behavior.
- And this once great city continues to slide into obscurity.— tonyS
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- If you would investigate every individual on our City Council you will find 95% of them have committed worse...Why doesn't the Feds investigate them all?— BigE
- So it's OK to cheat in order to win as long as you don't get caught until after you're "elected".— FixThisCityPlease
- Forget the fines, they should loose their jobs.— Taxpaying Voter
- $120,000 per year and Blondumb Reynolds Brown can't manage her own finances by keeping her home? This moron is rumored to be running for mayor too? She not only lacks intelligence but ethics too. She should be voted out of City Council because of this. This demonstrates a lack of character. How much of that money did she personally pocket?— Michael T. Welsh
- This does not surprise me in the least. One party town..— patty b
- Keep voting Democrat— Nezhy
- just another day in the hood...— Tom813
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David Gambacorta spent a small eternity writing about cops, drug dealers and serial killers. Now he’s writing about power and politics – which sometimes reminds him of the old crime beat. He joined the Daily News in 2005. And yes, he knows you’re not quite sure how to pronounce his last name. E-mail tips to gambacd@phillynews.com
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Jan Ransom, a native New Yorker, joined the Daily News in 2010 after graduating from Howard University. She has since written about the difficulty of filing police complaints, tax deadbeats and life after violent home invasions. She joined the Daily News City Hall Bureau in 2011 and has plunged headfirst into reporting on administration budget battles and City Council shenanigans. E-mail tips to ransomj@phillynews.com
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Sean Collins Walsh is from Bucks County and went to Northwestern University. He joined the Daily News copy desk in 2012 and now covers the Nutter administration. Before that, he interned at papers including The New York Times, The Dallas Morning News and The Seattle Times. E-mail tips to walshSE@phillynews.com
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