A jury has been selected in former labor leader John Dougherty’s third federal trial

For the third time in as many years, John Dougherty strode into the Philadelphia federal courthouse on Market Street on Monday preparing to once again select a jury to determine his fate.

“This is old news,” the former labor leader quipped to reporters before the selection process began. “You should be up with Donald Trump instead of with John Dougherty,” he said, referencing another, arguably higher profile, trial unfolding 100 miles away.

But unlike that novel criminal proceeding in Manhattan where jurors were also being picked on Monday, Dougherty’s situation came with a bit more precedent.

It was just five months ago that union head sat in the same Philadelphia courthouse to select the jury that eventually convicted him on embezzlement charges. And a year before that, a separate panel was picked there that found Dougherty and former City Councilmember Bobby Henon guilty in a bribery case.

» READ MORE: Former Local 98 leader John Dougherty’s facing his third felony trial this week. Will this time be different?

With Dougherty’s sentencing for those earlier convictions looming in May, the jury’s conclusion in his latest criminal trial — this one on extortion charges — could potentially result in more prison time for the man once considered a political kingmaker and the most powerful labor leader in the commonwealth.

Dougherty, 63, and his nephew and codefendant Gregory Fiocca, 31, stand accused of extorting a union contractor who they say attempted to dock Fiocca’s pay after he performed poorly at his job on the construction site of Live! Casino in South Philadelphia in 2020.

Prosecutors say Fiocca, enraged by his cut wages, grabbed his boss by the throat and threw him across a desk, while Dougherty later threatened to block the contractor’s future efforts to work in Philadelphia unless he paid Fiocca in full.

Both men have denied the charges against them and maintain the government has exaggerated a pay dispute and scuffle over which the Philadelphia police opted not to pursue charges. Dougherty, his attorneys have said, was merely fighting for the wages of his nephew, a member of Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the union Dougherty led for nearly 30 years.

Dougherty and Fiocca sat silently at the head of the courtroom throughout much of the day Monday, as their attorneys conferred with prosecutors to whittle down a list of 61 prospective jurors to the panel of 12 that will eventually decide the case.

The six men and six women chosen Monday range from their 20s or 30s to retirement age. Some have ties to law enforcement, government jobs, or unions. All were drawn from the greater Philadelphia region and will sit through the testimony and evidence set to be presented in a Reading courtroom over the next several days.

» READ MORE: As it happened: Jury selected in ex-labor leader John Dougherty’s 3rd trial; why this trial isn’t in Philly

“Everyone involved wants 12 good people to sit in the jury box,” U.S. District Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl told the group. “A case, if it hasn’t already, will touch someone you know.”

Opening statements are set to begin Wednesday, with the trial expected to conclude within several days.