Clout | Sexcapade at Convention Center?

DID PENNSYLVANIA Convention Center officials try to cover up a sex scandal? Or were they keeping a personnel matter private, as they are obliged to do?

The issue became public last week when Fox 29 investigative reporter Jeff Cole revealed that David Morgenstern, acting director of events services, was suspected of sex chat with a 15-year-old girl on a Convention Center computer.

The underage girl's father discovered the chat in April. He complained to Convention Center President Al Mezzaroba.

Mezzaroba launched an internal investigation, seized Morgenstern's computer hard drive and placed him on paid "family-medical leave."

Here's what Mezzaroba didn't do: Contact law enforcement.

"There's nothing in the criminal code that would require Convention Center executives to contact the authorities," said Kevin Harley, spokesman for state Attorney General Tom Corbett, "but I'd say you have a moral and ethical obligation, particularly actions of this type, to report it."

Mezzaroba said he believed it was the duty of the girl's father, whom he described only as a man living in a southern state, to call authorities.

"We're not sure a crime has been committed," Mezzaroba said. Convention Center board chairman Buck Riley "has made a promise that whatever is discovered will be turned over to the attorney general."

"I didn't know the Convention Center was an investigative body," said Harley.

No one has alleged criminal activity against Morgenstern, who told Cole in a brief interview that the underage girl claimed to be 23.

"The only allegation is misuse of a computer," Mezzaroba said. "Our obligation is to make sure an employee didn't do anything improper on our time."

He declined to discuss details of the case since it's a personnel matter.

Harley said whether a crime was committed would depend on the nature of the conversations with the teen girl and whether pornography was exchanged.

"If the Convention Center would like to share their information with us, we'd certainly be interested in pursuing it," Harley said.

Meanwhile, John Dougherty, head of the Redevelopment Authority, which has been acquiring land for the Convention Center's expansion, told Fox 29 that he'd raised the issue of sexual impropriety among center employees four years ago.

A Convention Center source told us that Morgenstern was admonished by management several years ago for improper use of his computer. The nature of the improper use couldn't be determined.

Our guess is that Convention Center officials would like Dougherty to keep quiet about this.

"Whenever Doc has had a chance to take a shot at the [Convention Center] board, he has," said Mezzaroba. "Before he had [former board chairman] Michael Nutter to shoot at, but now I guess he just has me."

Dougherty returned fire saying, "It's a shame that this is Al Mezzaroba's management style: politics, politics, politics. I've just finished working with the board and the governor to put together a successful acquisition of land [for the expansion] in record-setting time and at a lower price than expected, so I have no problem with the board."

Dougherty said he blabbed to Fox 29 because "there are a lot of uneasy people at the Convention Center because they know some of the activities going on there might not be illegal, but are very immoral and very unethical."

He declined to elaborate. But we have a feeling another shoe or two will drop before this saga ends.

Nutter I: It's good to be the king

It's amazing how many friends you make by winning an election.

In March, Michael Nutter looked like a dead duck as leader of West Philly's 52nd Ward. His second-in-command, Steve Jones, complaining of Nutter's absentee leadership, led a mutiny to oust him.

For awhile, the ward held separate meetings, one led by Jones, one by Nutter. The majority of the ward's committee members were with Jones.

A party committee headed by Mike Stack was asked to resolve the split, but Stack - being no dummy - did nothing until after the primary election.

Nutter won the Democratic mayoral nomination and, lo and behold, the 52nd Ward leadership now has been restored to him.

Nutter II: It's fun to be the king

Old Nutter: City Council policy wonk with no media appeal.

New Nutter: Everybody wants him!

That includes 610-WIP sports talker Glen Macnow, who gets Nutter for at least an hour at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, which is "Movie Club for Men" night.

Nutter nominated three of his favorite movies - "Casablanca" (a classic), "The Contender" (Jeff Bridges is president!) and "The Natural" (Robert Redford swings WonderBoy) - for listeners to select from.

The listeners picked "The Natural," so Nutter will discuss that flick.

Macnow said the show would steer clear of policy stuff and aim for talk "where he can loosen or even take off his tie and just be a guy."

Mayoral trading cards

The first printing of Clout's mayoral trading cards is gone and we still have requests sitting on our desk for the free set of primary candidates.

Don't fret, you'll get yours. We're doing a second printing. This one will also fix the incorrect birth date on the Bob Brady card (rare Brady error card!).

If you'd like a set - featuring full-color portraits of all eight mayoral candidates with stats on the back - just e-mail your name and address to mayorcards@phillynews.com or send the same information to Clout Mayor Cards, Daily News, Box 7788, Philadelphia, PA 19101. *

Staff writers Gar Joseph and Dave Davies contributed to this report.