What to watch for as the trial begins | Inside Johnny Doc’s Trial

Welcome to the first installment of the Inside Johnny Doc’s Trial newsletter, where we’ll take you behind the scenes of the case against John J. Dougherty, one of the region’s most transformative labor leaders, as it plays out in court. Every Monday, we’ll catch you up on what you missed last week, tell you what’s coming next, and deliver the type of courtroom analysis that you’ll only get from our team covering the trial from gavel to gavel.

It all kicked off last week with jury selection, as the court picked the panel of seven women, five men, and six alternate jurors charged with deciding Dougherty’s fate. That process can often be a slog, filled with hours of sitting around and waiting as lawyers deliberate behind closed doors. (And it was!)

Dougherty is accused of embezzling, along with others, more than $650,000 from his union. But he appeared in good spirits throughout the process Wednesday — if less loquacious than at the start of the 2021 bribery trial that ended with his conviction.

Back then, he showed up to court flanked by supporters, stopped to jaw with reporters outside, and confidently predicted he’d be convicted of “zero crimes.” This time, he arrived alone — accompanied only by his attorneys — and didn’t pause to talk to anyone as he made his way into the building, sunglasses on.

With the jury picked and the lawyers’ opening statements set to get underway later this morning, here’s what to watch for as the real action begins.

— Jeremy Roebuck and Oona Goodin-Smith (@jeremyrroebuck, @oonagoodinsmith, insidejohnnydoc@inquirer.com)

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📮Do you have a question about the trial? Email us back and we might answer it in our newsletter.

🏛 As Dougherty heads back to court for a second trial, he does so under far different circumstances.

🔎 What are the charges? What does the defense say? What will jurors hear during the trial? What you need to know as the proceedings get underway.

👤 Prosecutors say Dougherty didn’t act alone. Here’s who else was charged in the embezzlement scheme.

💸 Springsteen tickets, meals at The Palm, and more than $8,000 at Target: What prosecutors say Dougherty and others bought with Local 98′s money.

A lot has changed for Dougherty since the last time he faced a jury alongside then-City Councilmember Bobby Henon.

Dougherty was forced to step down as business manager of Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the union he transformed over nearly 30 years into a political powerhouse. He also gave up his role as head of the Philadelphia Building Trades Council, an umbrella group of the city’s labor unions.

He’s facing a sentencing hearing in the bribery case that could send him to prison for up to 20 years. And in the run-up to his second trial, he’s ditched two different teams of attorneys, including the lawyers who represented him in his earlier case. His current lawyer, Greg Pagano, has represented mob figures, police commanders and alleged Liberian warlords in the past.

But this time, Local 98′s current leadership has turned against him. As our colleague Chris Brennan reported this summer, the most recent union leadership elections turned into a referendum of Dougherty’s continued influence. And things got messy.

Mark Lynch, Dougherty’s handpicked successor as business manager, ran for reelection on a platform of breaking his predecessor’s iron grip over the union’s affairs. The local cut off Dougherty’s access to his union email account and cell phone, and fought him in a separate legal case over how much Local 98′s insurance should have to contribute to Dougherty’s legal defense bills. Dougherty eventually won that case, and Lynch won the election.

It will be interesting to see how much the union — which supported Dougherty throughout his first trial — reacts to the revelations that come out in this case, in which prosecutors say the union and its members are the victims.

Together, Dougherty and his codefendant, former Local 98 president Brian Burrows, stand accused, along with others who have already pleaded guilty, of stealing more than $650,000 from the union and its associated political action committee between 2010 and 2016.

Dougherty is charged in 78 counts including conspiracy, embezzlement of labor union assets, wire fraud, and filing false tax returns. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison on the most serious count.

That’s on top of his conviction in the earlier bribery case. The judge overseeing both cases has said he intends to sentence Dougherty on all the charges once this trial and a third case — one scheduled for trial in March involving allegations the ex-union chief extorted a contractor — are resolved.

Burrows is facing less prison time — up to five years on the most serious charge — should he be convicted on the 24 counts of conspiracy, embezzlement, and falsification of union records with which he’s charged.

“We’re feeling pretty good about it. We have a different type of case.” — Thomas Bergstrom, attorney for Burrows.

For years, Burrows was a Dougherty loyalist, and the two co-owned a Pennsport pub (they’re charged in part with using union money to pay for work on the bar’s plumbing). But Burrows’ attorney looked to separate his client’s case from that of the embattled labor leader. And we’ll likely see that strategy continue to play out in court this week.

There aren’t many people who get excited about jury duty (your newsletter authors being notable exceptions!) Even fewer are eager to sign up for the prospect of a five-week trial — especially one approaching the holiday season. And several of the 83 potential jurors summoned Wednesday from across the nine-county Philadelphia region weren’t thrilled about that possibility.

Many told U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Schmehl they couldn’t do it, citing previously scheduled vacations or other commitments. And when the judge finally dismissed those who hadn’t been picked, sighs of relief were heard from around the courtroom as those not selected donned their coats and made a beeline for the door.

During jury selection in the last trial, Dougherty walked around the room and later joked about the process, calling it “fantasy football for lawyers.” But this go-round, he sat quietly at a table at the front of the room, heading back into chambers with the judge and lawyers as they questioned prospects for the panel.

Meanwhile, potential jurors — teachers, nurses, Air Force and Navy veterans, small-business owners and at least three members of Local 98 among them — silently poked at their phones, while others chatted with the strangers next to them. They came to the Philadelphia courthouse from as far away as Lancaster and Lehigh Counties, and were paid $50 each for their efforts.

“This process is going to be very boring for you. In fact, it’s very boring for me,” Schmehl warned the group as the lawyers conferred on their picks late in the day.

He wasn’t entirely wrong.

After nearly five years, a global pandemic, multiple lawyer changes, and controversy over a confidential informant, this trial is finally moving forward. We’ll hear opening statements today, and the government will begin presenting its case later in the week. You can follow along with our live updates and daily coverage.

👋 We’ll see you here again next week, court watchers.

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