Inquirer editorial: Philly's dime funded insider's lush lifestyle

The charges against longtime political insider Melonease Shaw for allegedly stealing money from a welfare program add more slime to the goo attached to the city Democratic Party, which doesn't seem to mind that it has become synonymous with public corruption.

For years, Shaw has danced with Philadelphia's political elite to pay for a spectacular lifestyle that included discounted rent for her offices, free catering and parking, and $3,000 in line dance lessons. She also danced more than a few contracts out of public officials. At various times during the mayoral administrations of John Street and Michael Nutter, Shaw had contracts with SEPTA, PECO, the School District, and SugarHouse Casino.

Only after learning of her arrest last month by Attorney General Kathleen Kane's office did Mayor Kenney disqualify Shaw from competing for the city's Harrisburg lobbying contract. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has also suspended her lobbying privileges.

Shaw is accused of mishandling a $32 million contract with Transitional Work Corp., a now-defunct nonprofit that was supposed to help welfare recipients get jobs. From 2007 to 2011, Shaw allegedly siphoned $250,000 from the agency and spent it on food, catering, health club memberships, lodging, transit passes, parking, rent, line dance lessons, and a political contribution to an unknown recipient.

This isn't the first time Shaw was accused of questionable business practices. Her lobbying firm, Maven, was sued after failing to pay back a $90,000 minority business loan from the Philadelphia Commercial Development Corp., at the time headed by Councilman Curtis Jones Jr. The case was finally settled for $40,000 last year, nine years after the loan was made.

In 2009, a Department of Public Welfare audit discovered that Shaw had taken $5,000 from the welfare-to-work program she ran to treat herself to a trip to the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver.

Perhaps Shaw's trial will reveal exactly how she got the jobs program contract and who helped her keep it amid so many signs of trouble. The new allegations are particularly disturbing given the apparent evidence that Shaw treated herself to a lifestyle that the poor families she was supposed to help could never dream of.

Philadelphia made progress toward curbing its favoritism culture during the Nutter administration, but more work must be done. Given Shaw's poor record, one wonders whether the Nutter administration objected when the welfare contract her agency received was entered into. If it did, why did it award Shaw $86,667 in city lobbying contracts in 2010 and 2011?

Kenney needs to make it clear that he's not going to allow contractors to miss a step and dance away with the public's money.