A federal judge blasted a controversial Philly landlord who committed voter fraud, saying he showed ‘disrespect’ for democracy
Philip C. Pulley apologized, but declined to offer many details, including whom he voted for or why.
A controversial Philadelphia landlord was sentenced Thursday to three years’ probation and 100 hours of community service for casting ballots in several different counties in the 2020 and 2022 federal elections.
But even as Philip C. Pulley admitted he was wrong for his electoral double-dipping, U.S. District Judge Mitchell Goldberg said he was “disappointed” by the Huntingdon Valley man’s apology.
Goldberg had asked Pulley, 62, why he had decided to falsely register and vote in places including Philadelphia, Montgomery County, and Broward County, Fla. Pulley responded that he didn’t know, but said he was concerned about what was happening in local government and wanted to protect his family.
“I have no one to blame but myself,” he said, adding that he was embarrassed and ashamed. He pleaded guilty last fall to charges including voter fraud, voter registration fraud, and voting more than once in a federal election.
Still, his explanation came without many specifics — including whom he voted for or why (he was registered as a Republican in Florida, but as a Democrat in both Pennsylvania counties, voter records show).
And as Goldberg finally imposed his penalty, he tore into Pulley, saying: “I don’t accept, I don’t believe, I don’t find credible your response that you didn’t know why you did this.”
“You showed the utmost disrespect for our democracy,” the judge continued. He ordered Pulley to submit a letter within a week offering a more “introspective” explanation for his actions, adding: “I don’t think your answer here today was honest.”
The scolding was the latest setback for Pulley, who in recent years has been accused by tenants’ rights groups, city attorneys, and the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office of poorly managing his various real estate interests.
Those professional concerns, however, were not central to Thursday’s sentencing hearing, at which several of Pulley’s friends and relatives told the judge he was a good man who was remorseful for his fraudulent actions.
“I have never seen him so humbled,” said his daughter, Samantha Pulley.
Prosecutors said in court documents that between 2020 and 2023, Pulley registered to vote in Philadelphia, Montgomery County, and Broward County at the same time, sometimes providing false or old addresses or incorrect Social Security numbers.
In the 2020 primary election, prosecutors said, Pulley voted in both Montgomery County and Florida, and then voted in both counties again during the general election. He also registered in Philadelphia that year and requested a mail ballot but was denied.
Two years later, prosecutors said, Pulley voted in all three jurisdictions in the general election.
Prosecutors did not say whom he voted for, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark B. Dubnoff declined to elaborate in court Thursday, saying it was not relevant to Pulley’s crimes.
In 2021 and 2023, prosecutors said, Pulley also cast ballots in municipal elections in both Philadelphia and Montgomery Counties. He is facing local charges in Philadelphia’s Common Pleas Court in that matter, and a trial is scheduled for next month, court records show.
Pulley declined to comment after being sentenced Thursday.
Those legal woes added to a number of issues that have been mounting at his real estate companies in recent years. Last fall, a historic Francisville building managed by one of Pulley’s companies partially collapsed. And a month before that, Fannie Mae, the government mortgage financier, sued Pulley’s companies and said they had defaulted on seven mortgages worth nearly $60 million.
A spokesperson for the city’s law department said this week that Pulley and his companies owed more than $1 million for code or tax issues. Another lawsuit, filed by the city as it seeks to demolish his Lindley Towers apartment building — which partially collapsed in 2022 — remains ongoing as Pulley’s attorneys fight the matter in court, the spokesperson said.
In the voter fraud case, Goldberg, the judge, imposed a $9,500 fine in addition to probation and community service, half of which he said must be performed at a nonpartisan organization supporting free and fair elections.