Montco man pleads guilty in municipal court scheme

IN THE END, Samuel G. Kuttab had called in a favor to a judge and corrupted the judicial system, all to save $2,138.44 in Small Claims Court.

Yesterday, the Wyncote native, described as a "politically active businessman," appeared in U.S. District Court to plead guilty to mail fraud for his role in the scheme. Kuttab learned that he'd be losing money and possibly his freedom.

"Have you thought long and hard about what you're doing here today?" U.S. District Judge Juan Sanchez asked him.

Prosecutors said that Kuttab, 55, was active in Democratic circles, donating to campaigns and hosting parties, and that he befriended and supported Joseph C. Waters Jr. when Waters sought to become both a Municipal Court and Common Pleas judge.

Waters was appointed to the municipal bench in 2009. On Sept. 30, 2011, prosecutors allege, Kuttab notified him about a Small Claims case he had pending in Municipal Court. Kuttab's company, Donegal Investment Properties, was being sued for $2,738.44, and Waters - who also was charged - contacted two judges handling the case to sway them. According to recorded conversations between Waters and those judges, it didn't take much pressure.

That case ended with a settlement, and Kuttab cut a check for $600 to the plaintiffs.

Waters pleaded guilty in September and was sentenced to 24 months in prison.

Kuttab, who was sentenced to 32 months in prison in 2002 for tax evasion, will be sentenced in July and faces a maximum sentence of 20 years, with a fine of up to $250,000, along with three years of supervised release.

He left the courtroom quickly after shaking hands with Richard Barrett, chief of the U.S. Attorney's Office's Public Corruption Unit, and declined to comment.

His attorney, Luther Weaver, said Kuttab just wants to move on.

"He fully admitted his role in the scheme," Luther said, "and he wants to put it all behind him."