A federal judge denies Johnny Doc’s request to be released from prison early to help his ill wife

Convicted former labor leader John J. Dougherty will remain behind bars after a federal judge denied his latest request to serve the rest of his six-year prison term on house arrest in order to care for his gravely ill wife.

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl wrote in a one-page order Monday that although it was “extremely unfortunate” that Dougherty’s wife, Cecilia, was facing significant health challenges, “it does not outweigh, at this point in time, the need for punishment that has been adjudged.”

Dougherty last year filed emergency motions seeking to cut his prison term short, telling Schmehl that his wife — who for years has suffered from a debilitating brain injury — had seen her condition worsen dramatically, and arguing that without his aid, she’d likely die.

In the first request, filed in the summer, Dougherty said a trust fund established to pay for his wife’s care was about to run out of money. And in December, Dougherty’s attorney, George Bochetto, said the situation had become more acute due to the death of Dougherty’s father-in-law, who had been serving as the primary caregiver.

Prosecutors opposed Dougherty’s requests, saying that although they were sympathetic to his wife’s plight, they did not believe he’d served enough of his sentence to merit release.

Schmehl, in his order, also said the trust fund had not yet run out of money, and that Medicaid might be able to help pay for future care. He also said Dougherty’s adult daughters “can provide their mother with some meaningful degree of assistance.”

Bochetto said in an interview Monday that he was “very, very disappointed” by the ruling, particularly because he was not able to present evidence to Schmehl in court about what he called a “very dire situation.”

Asked if he planned to appeal, Bochetto said: “I’m looking at every possible avenue for emergency relief.”

Dougherty, 65, was sentenced in 2024 to six years in prison after being convicted in separate bribery and embezzlement trials — the first in 2021 on charges he had spent years bribing former Philadelphia City Councilmember Bobby Henon, the second over nearly $600,000 he and others embezzled from the union he once led.

Prior to those prosecutions, Dougherty, as leader of Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Worker, was one of Pennsylvania’s most powerful and influential political figures.