Edward Campbell, alleged drug dealer, is courtroom assistant

Edward Campbell was arrested last weekend and accused of selling drugs out of his West Philadelphia home.

But the son of powerful Democratic ward leader Edgar "Sonny" Campbell Jr. was already a familiar face in the Criminal Justice Center.

He works there.

Campbell, 38, was employed for more than a decade as a tipstaff - or courtroom assistant - to Common Pleas Court Judge Jeffrey Minehart and currently holds the same job with Municipal Court Judge Joffie Pittman.

Campbell was arrested Saturday after a three-month narcotics investigation. Police say they recovered 230 grams of cocaine in his house on the 5900 block of Vine Street, down the street from a charitable foundation that bears his family's name.

Also found in the home were a small amount of marijuana, a .40-caliber pistol, and $2,430 in cash.

Court spokesman Marty O'Rourke said Wednesday that Campbell worked for Minehart from 2003 to 2014 and started working for Pittman in January at an annual salary of $47,483.

Campbell's brother, Edgar "Buddy" Campbell III, is a former court administrative officer who resigned in 2012. He was paid $57,218 a year.

O'Rourke said the arrest's impact on Campbell's current job had not been determined.

Lawyers and others who know Campbell described him as a friendly, rotund fixture who was hard to miss in the Criminal Justice Center. Tipstaffs general perform light duty, such as escorting jurors or swearing in witnesses.

Campbell's defense attorney, Christopher Montoya, said he was surprised to learn of the drug charges.

"I didn't hang out with him, but I got to know Eddie, and he was, like, the nicest guy," Montoya said. "Always cordial, always shaking hands, very friendly. I was shocked when I heard about that. But these are just allegations, and we'll take it from there."

Montoya, who had not received the police report of the arrest as of Wednesday afternoon, speculated that Campbell was not charged with a firearms offense because the gun that police allegedly recovered was legally owned by Campbell or someone else at the house.

Campbell's father, Sonny Campbell, posted 10 percent of $50,000 for his son's bail Wednesday.

Sonny Campbell is head of the influential United Ward Leaders of Color and a close ally of Philadelphia Democratic Party Chairman Robert Brady.

His sister was Carol Ann Campbell, the late city councilwoman, ward leader, and secretary of the Democratic City Committee. His father, the late Edgar Campbell Sr., was a city councilman and the first African American leader of the city's Democratic Committee.

Campbell Sr. also served as clerk of quarter sessions, a court position that has since been abolished.

benderw@phillynews.com

215-854-5255 @wbender99

Staff writers Chris Palmer and Dylan Purcell contributed to this article.