‘I am guilty:’ John Dougherty’s stunning statements at sentencing delivered an about-face few had predicted

It was a moment more than a decade in the making. And when it finally came, few could have predicted how it ultimately unfolded.

John Dougherty — once the state’s most powerful labor leader, now a two-time felon — stood before a federal judge this week to answer for his crimes for the first time.

And what he said left many in the courtroom stunned.

“I am guilty. I take full responsibility,” the 64-year-old told U.S. District Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl. “I’m responsible. I’m the boss.”

» READ MORE: John Dougherty, a towering figure in Philly politics and organized labor, sentenced to six years in federal prison

That full-throated admission of guilt — following Dougherty’s convictions in a 2021 bribery trial alongside former Philadelphia City Councilmember Bobby Henon and an embezzlement case last year involving more than $600,000 stolen from his union — came after countless protestations of innocence, years of bemoaning what he’d described as an FBI witch hunt against him, and repeated unfulfilled intimations that he might explain himself on the witness stand during three felony trials.

It may have influenced the six-year sentence Dougherty eventually received — less than half the up to 14 years prosecutors sought.

But beyond that, the 10-minute mea culpa Dougherty delivered in plainspoken, unequivocal terms offered new insight into the actions of a man whose behavior had been, up to that point, explained in court only through the words of others.

» READ MORE: John Dougherty is headed to prison. But what happens next?

While his attorneys had said he should not be convicted for thousands in personal expenses including pricey meals and grocery bills he’d charged to his union — lapses they’d chalked up to “honest mistakes” — Dougherty acknowledged that he “got sloppy.”

He “knew better.”

“I let the lines get blurred,” he said. “I got over my head. … My intention wasn’t to figure out how I could get a crab cake and not pay for it.”

Witnesses had couched the influence he’d exerted on Henon, after plying him with regular bribes in the form of a union salary, as an extension of Dougherty’s zeal for fighting for Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

Dougherty described it Thursday as “something that got out of control.” He’d spent decades turning what he described as a “mom-and-pop shop” into the most powerful and financially secure union in the state, and at some point he’d conflated himself with the powerhouse organization he’d helped to build.

“John Dougherty and the business manager became the same person,” he said. “Even to the point where it violated the law.”

That Dougherty could bring himself to be so bluntly forthright about his lapses in a courtroom packed with supporters was far from assured. In fact, all signs leading up to his sentencing Thursday suggested he might take an opposite approach.

In 2016, when agents first descended upon his home, Local 98′s headquarters and more than a dozen other locations in a series of coordinated raids, Dougherty stood outside his house — dressed in a now iconic 76ers hat, shorts and a white Oxford shirt — and proclaimed to reporters: “This is nothing.”

“I’ve had many, many subpoenas and many, many visits” from federal investigators over the years, he insisted. “I’m not making rookie mistakes.”

As he strode into the federal courthouse in Center City five years later at the start of his bribery trial, he confidently predicted to awaiting reporters that he’d be convicted of “zero crimes.”

And two guilty verdicts later, he’s continued to insist he will eventually be vindicated on appeal.

But as Dougherty spoke in court Thursday, his words hinted at an explanation for his apparent and sudden about-face.

“I’m 64,” he told the judge. “I’m tired. I’m at your mercy.”

Many other Philadelphia notables who have found themselves in the same unenviable position haven’t mustered the candor Dougherty displayed at his sentencing.

Brian Burrows — Dougherty’s second-in-command at Local 98 and his codefendant at his embezzlement trial last year — acknowledged no responsibility for his involvement in the theft of more than $600,000 in union assets at his sentencing last month.

Instead, he insisted that he’d put far more money back into the pockets of Local 98′s members — in the form of increased salary and pension and health-care benefits — than any amount he’d been convicted of stealing. Prosecutors predicted they’d hear more of the same when Dougherty had his chance to address the judge.

“My daily job,” said Burrows, “wasn’t to see what was on John Dougherty’s expense reports.”

Henon apologized for letting his constituents down at his sentencing last year. But he insisted: “I tried my best to help every Philadelphian. … Please know, I never took a day off.”

Former U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah, convicted in a 2016 corruption case, sidestepped his crimes while addressing the court at his sentencing hearing. He touted his record instead — and, shortly after, a judge gave him one of the longest prison terms ever imposed on a sitting member of Congress.

And when former Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams faced judgment following his conviction in a 2017 bribery case, he could not bring himself to directly address the court at all.

He had his attorney read a statement in which the former prosecutor bemoaned the impact the case had had on his life. “I lost my job, reputation, pension, house, law license, and liberty,” it read.

In Dougherty’s case, prosecutors said they were satisfied with the ultimate outcome. They’d set out to expose the labor leader’s crimes and hold him accountable. The proceedings, Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank Costello maintained, had done exactly that.

Dougherty, meanwhile, left the courthouse with his signature impish smile on his face. He stopped to hug family members, flashed supporters a thumbs up, and gave every appearance of a man now unburdened after finally taking the opportunity to say his piece.

As for what he’d told the court moments earlier, Dougherty explained to the crush of awaiting reporters: “I’m very comfortable with how I live my life.”