Ex-DA sent to prison, feds charge Bob Brady aides, Eagles and Sixers hurting | Morning Newsletter
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Top advisors to Congressman Bob Brady are in hot water for allegedly paying off political opponents, and the city's disgraced former district attorney is headed to prison. Polls open in 13 days.
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» READ MORE: Seth Williams gets 5 years in prison for bribery, corruption
If the ethics fines, the personal scandals, the bribery trial, and his abrupt resignation in disgrace this summer were not enough, writes reporter Jeremy Roebuck, the public dressing down that Seth Williams received from the federal judge who sentenced him Tuesday to five years in prison surely cemented 2017 as the worst year of the former Philadelphia district attorney's life.
U.S. District Judge Paul S. Diamond held little back as he lit into the city's fallen top prosecutor, Roebuck reported, giving him the harshest punishment allowable by law, and calling him a "criminal" who "fed his face at the trough" of public money.
Williams humiliated his employees, the judge continued, and dumped his own mother "like a sack of potatoes" by stealing money set aside to cover her nursing home care to project a "high-roller" image to the "parasites [with whom he] surrounded" himself.
» READ MORE: Two top Brady aides charged in probe of payoff to 2012 primary rival
Two longtime top political advisers to U.S. Rep. Bob Brady were charged Tuesday by a federal grand jury with taking part in a scheme to disguise a $90,000 payment to a challenger to Brady in the 2012 primary as part of a secret plan to get the rival to drop out of the race.
Charged were long-time consultant Kenneth Smukler, 57, a gregarious politico and communications specialist; and Donald "D.A." Jones, 62, a more low-key technocrat who is an expert in get-out-the vote tactics. The pair are the latest targets in a federal probe that in recent months has netted guilty pleas from the 2012 challenger, former Philadelphia Judge Jimmie Moore, and from Moore's former campaign manager, Carolyn Cavaness.
A little confused? No worries, Chris Brennan has you covered: Who is Ken Smukler, Bob Brady's right-hand political man?
» READ MORE: Two key Eagles done for the year
This was bad enough from Les Bowen: The happy buzz from Monday night's Carson Wentz-led vanquishing of the Washington Redskins lasted barely 12 hours. It faded when Eagles coach Doug Pederson stepped to the NovaCare lectern Tuesday and announced that both left tackle Jason Peters and middle linebacker Jordan Hicks will miss the remainder of the season.
And then Sarah Todd just piled on: Underperforming Sixers guard Markelle Fultz, the top overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft, had fluid drained from his right shoulder and is planning to visit a specialist soon, his agent told ESPN on Tuesday. …. Brett Brown, when asked if Fultz may be shut down for some time to let his shoulder fully heal, says that's an option under consideration, although the med staff is working to keep him playing for the whole season if possible.
Maybe Mike Sielski is right: A big night for both the Eagles and the Sixers should remind Philly it's OK to enjoy sports.
Then again, I wonder how that search for a new Phillies manager is going?
What you need to know today
Bombshell: According to the Washington Post, the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee helped fund the research that resulted in a now-famous dossier containing allegations about Donald Trump's connections to Russia and possible coordination between his campaign and the Kremlin, people familiar with the matter said.
The NJ Attorney General's Office is appointing a state monitor to oversee the NJ SPCA after the State Commission of Investigation issued a scathing report that the agency is filled with 'wannabe' cops who waste money and fail to investigate properly complaints of animal abuse and neglect.
Police are hunting an escaped prisoner in North Philly.
Apparently, the at least five urgent care facilities across the state that were raided Monday by investigators with the DEA, the FBI, and other agencies have been in legal crosshairs for years.
SJ Magazine, a Maple Shade-based publication owned by women, canceled an all-male 'women's empowerment' panel after criticism sparked outrage on Twitter.
Another Ocean City boardwalk pizza store owner pleads guilty to tax evasion: John Gaeta cheated the government out of more than $85,000 in taxes while trying to conceal his ownership of Big Slice Pizza.
How Steve Bannon's war on the GOP elite could come to Pennsylvania.
» READ MORE: #OurPhilly
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That’s Interesting
This Philly couple traveled to Romania for cheaper dental work. Should you, too?
Volpe pays Blatstein $7.8M for NoLibs' Tendenza wedding venue and lot. The lot may in the future be redeveloped into some combination of homes, shops and hotel rooms.
Barnes Foundation tally after 5 years in town: 1.4 million visitors, 17,000 members, 'huge' bump in contributions. Five years its been since the Barnes shed its Merion home base amidst much controversy and moved to the Parkway. Since then, they've carved out a niche for themselves and begun to redefine the Barnes. (And yes, people still go to the Barnes. A lot.)
A simple prosthesis allows hundreds of thousands of people with lower limb amputations to get about normally. And a normal bodily function — sweat — can render the prosthetic limb useless as water builds up against a silicone liner. A study at Widener will examine whether a material infused into the liner can effectively solve the problem by absorbing heat and then gradually releasing it later.
Ten things to know before you face Terror Behind the Walls.
HipCityVeg's flagship location in Rittenhouse — 127 S. 18th St. — will close after business Sunday, Oct. 29 for what's described as several weeks of renovations.
How a Main Line trench coat sparked a made-in-Philly fashion collection: American Trench started out wanting to produce a coat made in America. Now, it's touting a Made In Philly movement, even though its own items aren't made in the city … yet.
Next month, Philly will get a sneak peak at a locally shot horror film dubbed American Exorcist that features a cameo by everyone's favorite former local weatherman: John Bolaris. He plays a 'Billy O'Reilly type' in the Philly-shot horror movie.
Opinions
The ugly mudslinging by the Trump White House against a war widow and her allies obscures the most important question, says Will Bunch: Why are we in Niger in the first place?
Nellie Fagan and the corner boys of Southwest Philly: My group was probably the third generation of boys she "raised," writes Cinnaminson author Charlie Sacchetti, and we all treated her like our grandmother.
What we’re reading
The New York Times wades inside the estate that inspired 'The Philadelphia Story.'
GQ digs deep into Chris Christie and the opioids commission.
The New Yorker published a fascinating look at the Sackler family, whose Purdue Pharma developed Oxycontin and, many argue, sparked an epidemic.
How do violent Chicagoans get their guns? It's not big trafficking rings. Mostly, it's through little guys like John Thomas, ProPublica Illinois finds.
Midnight on the midway: The Dallas Morning News found out what happens after the State Fair shuts down for the day.
Daily Dose Of | Missed Connections
Through Craigslist and Facebook groups, strangers who met and bonded over their love of skeletons in West Philly this spring came together this past weekend to dig up the skeleton of a dead groundhog in the Chester Avenue Community garden plot.