A federal judge will hold a hearing to determine if Johnny Doc’s prison term should be cut short
Convicted former labor leader John J. Dougherty will be permitted to hold an evidentiary hearing about his request to have his prison term cut short to care for his gravely ill wife.
Johnny Doc will be able to make his case for release after all.
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl on Tuesday said he would hold an evidentiary hearing next month to consider the request by convicted former labor leader John J. Dougherty that his prison term should be cut short.
Dougherty has been making the request in emergency motions since last year, contending in court documents that he should be allowed to serve the rest of his six-year sentence on house arrest in order to care for his gravely ill wife.
Schmehl in January denied Dougherty’s request, writing that although it was “extremely unfortunate” that Dougherty’s wife, Cecilia, was facing significant health challenges, that did not outweigh the need for Dougherty to continue serving his sentence.
Dougherty’s attorney, George Bochetto, appealed that decision in February. And on Tuesday, Schmehl agreed to hold a hearing on the matter on April 17. The judge did not explain his decision, which was made in a one-page order.
Federal prosecutors have long opposed Dougherty’s request, saying they did not believe Dougherty had served enough of his sentence to merit release.
They also said Dougherty was not qualified to provide comprehensive, round-the-clock care for his wife, who for years has suffered from a debilitating brain injury and who has long received specialized care from medical professionals.
And although they said they were sympathetic to her health challenges, Dougherty’s inability to be by his wife’s side “does not distinguish this case from that of countless defendants whose loved ones suffer as a result of their crimes,” prosecutors wrote.
Bochetto said Tuesday he was “delighted that the judge is going to hold a hearing, and we have every reason to be optimistic and hopeful that it’s going to work out.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment.
Dougherty, 65, the former leader of Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, was sentenced in 2024 to six years in prison after being convicted in separate trials — the first in 2021, after a jury found that he had spent years bribing former Philadelphia City Councilmember Bobby Henon, the second in December 2023 over nearly $600,000 he and others embezzled from the union.
After the convictions, Dougherty — who had political influence and connections in City Hall and Harrisburg — lost his standing as one of the state’s most prominent power brokers.