Former City Councilmember Bobby Henon is facing sentencing for a bribery conviction. Here’s what you should know.

Former Philadelphia City Councilmember Bobby Henon will learn his fate Wednesday as he faces sentencing for his 2021 bribery conviction in a case tied to onetime labor leader John J. Dougherty.

Prosecutors have asked U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Schmehl to sentence the three-term Democrat to up to 10 years. Henon’s lawyers hope they can persuade the court to let him avoid prison time.

» READ MORE: Follow our live coverage of Bobby Henon's sentencing hearing

Here’s what you should know about Henon and the case.

Henon, 54, served on City Council for a decade representing his native Northeast Philadelphia, and was once Council majority leader.

A former electrician and the political director of the politically powerful union of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, he was elected to Council in 2011 backed by union money and support. While in office, Henon remained on Local 98′s payroll — at a salary of more than $70,000 per year — in addition to collecting his $140,000 paycheck from the city.

He stepped down from his Council seat shortly after his conviction and was replaced by Councilmember Mike Driscoll in a special election.

The jury found Henon guilty on 10 counts including conspiracy, bribery, and honest services mail and wire fraud.

» READ MORE: What the jury decided on each count in the John Dougherty and Bobby Henon trial

Although Council rules allow members to hold outside jobs in addition to their elected roles, prosecutors convinced the panel that Henon’s union salary wasn’t for legitimate work. Instead, they described it as a bribe from Dougherty, who they said effectively put Henon on retainer so he could use the powers of his Council office to advance his own personal and professional aims.

» READ MORE: These were the key issues jurors weighed in the John Dougherty and Bobby Henon trial

At Dougherty’s urging, the jury found, Henon drafted and, in some cases, introduced legislation — aimed at punishing a towing company that had attempted to tow the union leader’s car and at supporting his bid to become head of the Building Trades Council, an umbrella group of the city’s labor unions. He granted Dougherty outsized influence during negotiations over the city’s 15-year franchise agreement with Comcast, a potentially lucrative deal for Local 98′s members.

Henon was also convicted of a separate bribery scheme in which he extorted a $5,000 bribe in the form of a campaign contribution from the Communication Workers of America, when the union in 2015 needed his help in an ongoing dispute with Verizon.

Despite his conviction, Henon maintains he did nothing wrong and that all of the official actions he took at Dougherty’s behest were things he would have done anyway as the primary advocate for union labor on Council. He has vowed to appeal.

The government is urging the court to give Henon a sentence within a range of 97 to 112 months.

“The seriousness of the harm that Henon’s conduct has inflicted upon the city of Philadelphia and the public trust cannot be overstated,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank R. Costello Jr. wrote in recent court filings. “His conduct consisted of an enduring scheme [in which] he sold out his duty of loyalty to the people of Philadelphia.”

» READ MORE: Feds ask judge to put former Philly Councilmember Bobby Henon in prison for up to 10 years

Henon’s attorneys, meanwhile, have asked the judge for leniency, citing Henon’s “history of service to his community” and his dedication to his constituents while on Council.

“While this conviction will not stop his service to the community, a lengthy term of incarceration will. Councilmember or not, the community relies on Mr. Henon and should not be deprived of an individual who cares so deeply and works so tirelessly on its behalf,” wrote Henon’s lawyers, Brian McMonagle and Catherine M. Recker.

In court filings, McMonagle also said Henon has suffered “disastrous and utterly life-altering consequences already. As a result of conviction, he’s lost his job and pension, is barred from working with a union, and as had to deal with the impact on his reputation and his family.

» READ MORE: Other Philly elected officials who were involved in corruption cases and were convicted, or pleaded guilty or no contest

More than 180 people — including elected officials, church leaders, union heads, constituents, city employees, and business owners — wrote letters to the judge in advance of Wednesday’s hearing describing Henon as a kind, devoted and hardworking Northeast Philadelphia community leader.

Among those pledging their support: former Gov. Ed Rendell, AFL-CIO President Pat Eiding, Local 98 spokesperson Frank Keel, former Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Seamus McCaffery, City Commissioner Lisa Deeley, and City Councilmembers Mark Squilla and Michael Driscoll. Driscoll was elected to Henon’s Council seat in a special election following his conviction in 2021.

“The Bobby Henon I know is an individual who cares very deeply about making life better for our most vulnerable citizens and creating opportunity for the people who never had any before,” Rendell wrote to the judge, adding that he knows “very little about what that case involved.”

Although Henon was convicted of accepting a bribe from the Communication Workers of America to help the union in a fight against Verizon, one CWA union member told the judge Henon’s loyalty will never be forgotten

“Bobby Henon stood arm and arm with myself and fellow union brothers and sisters day after day on picket lines to show support for our fight,” the employee wrote. “Bobby Henon is a true advocate and supporter of workers rights.”

» READ MORE: Bobby Henon’s role in union dispute with Verizon focus of bribery trial testimony

The letters to the judge also include notes from Henon’s family, including his mother, son, brothers, aunt and cousins, all describing “Robbie” — the oldest in his family of four from Wissanoming — as a pillar of strength and responsibility in times of hardship, a dedicated father, and a model for others in his recovery from alcohol addiction and 26 years of sobriety.

Following the 2021 trial, one anonymous juror told The Inquirer the jury also felt for Henon, and appreciated the good work he did on Council.

But the juror said the group also weighed how Henon repeatedly bended to Dougherty: “Even when he was hesitant to do so, he did it.”

“The jury saw the good that Bobby Henon did,” the juror said. “But they also realized that you can be good and still break the law.”

» READ MORE: A juror in the Dougherty-Henon trial says it was a lesson in Philly government — ‘and it was appalling’

Dougherty still awaits sentencing on the 2021 bribery conviction, but that will likely occur only after his two remaining federal trials.

He’s scheduled to stand trial in April on charges that he and other Local 98 officials embezzled more than $600,000 from their union between 2010 and 2016. Several have already pleaded guilty.

Separately, Dougherty also faces charges that he extorted a union contractor who tried to fire his nephew from a job site.