Jurors in John Dougherty’s embezzlement trial wrestle with theft allegations involving South Philadelphia’s First Ward

Jurors in John Dougherty’s federal embezzlement trial spent Wednesday poring over evidence and wrestling with one charge, in particular, but failed to reach a verdict after a second day of deliberations.

Early in the afternoon, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl called the panel of seven women and five men back to the courtroom to address a provocative question that had emerged from their discussions: What if they’ve concluded Dougherty was guilty of one part of a charge but had reasonable doubt about another?

» READ MORE: As it happened: Jurors deciding John Dougherty’s fate end 2nd day of deliberations without a verdict in embezzlement case

That query pertained, they said, to a specific wire fraud count involving $2,000 charged to the credit card of a political action committee run by South Philadelphia’s First Democratic Ward, an organization Dougherty led until 2015.

Prosecutors say that shortly after he stepped down as ward leader, Dougherty urged his successor in the role, Tom Rumbaugh, to use the credit card to buy several gift cards from Brooks Brothers that were listed on campaign finance reports in 2016 as “holiday gifts.”

Records from the clothing store show that Dougherty spent some of that gift card money on himself, as did Local 98′s then-political director Marita Crawford and former legislative director Chris Rupe.

Defense lawyers maintain that both Crawford and Rupe had done volunteer work for the ward and that Dougherty continued to play a role in ward politics, even after he officially stepped down as leader.

Dougherty attorney Greg Pagano said during closing arguments Monday that the gift cards had been given out at the ward’s holiday dinner and questioned why prosecutors chose not to call Rumbaugh to testify about them during the trial.

“If the ward wants to give [Dougherty] a gift card for his service for five years free,” the lawyer said, “they’re allowed to do that.”

In addressing the jury’s question Wednesday, Schmehl simply repeated what he’d told them a day earlier about the elements prosecutors must have proven to win a conviction on a wire fraud charge — including that the defendant voluntarily and intentionally sought to defraud, in this case, the PAC.

He sent them back to continue their discussions for the rest of the afternoon. But as court broke for the day and the jury was dismissed with orders to return for more deliberations Thursday, signs of progress emerged.

Lawyers for Dougherty’s codefendant Brian Burrows said the panel had indicated in messages sent to the judge before the end of the day that it was close to rendering a decision.

“It’s pretty clear from their recent notes that they’re close,” defense lawyer Thomas A. Bergstrom told awaiting TV news cameras outside the courthouse. His cocounsel, Mark Kasten, predicted a verdict by Thursday.

Dougherty and Burrows have denied the allegations that they and others embezzled more than $600,000 from Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the union Dougherty led for nearly 30 years.