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Mayor's Fund: Questionable expenses

A City Controller's Office review of the Mayor's Fund for Philadelphia found $219,000 worth of undocumented and unexplained expenses incurred in 2015 under its then chairwoman, Desiree Peterkin Bell.

Some purchases stood out more than others:

  1. $52,000 for rooms at the Downtown Marriott for former Mayor Michael Nutter; Peterkin-Bell; Nutter's chief of staff, Everett Gillison; and others during Pope Francis' appearance at the 2015 World Meeting of Families.

  2. $45,000 for flights to and hotel rooms in Rome as part of a prior visit to Pope Francis.

  3. $8,738 for Uber rides charged to a Mayor's Fund credit card that was in Peterkin Bell's name.

  4. $3,226 for 25 Amtrak charges.

  5. $2,195 for a "Purpose Not Position Dinner" at the Hyatt at the Bellevue. (Peterkin Bell often uses the phrase "Purpose Not Position" on social media posts.)

  6. $2,095 at the Jefferson Hotel in Washington.

  7. $679 at Maggiano's Italian Restaurant.

  8. $56 on purchases at J. Crew and Macy's.