Feds lay out plans for Milton Street trial
Federal prosecutors laid out their fraud and tax-evasion case against T. Milton Street Sr., the outgoing mayor's flamboyant brother, in court papers filed Friday.
Federal prosecutors laid out their fraud and tax-evasion case against T. Milton Street Sr., the outgoing mayor's flamboyant brother, in court papers filed Friday.
The 36-page filing said that prosecutors might call as many as 47 witnesses to testify against Street, including his own son and a woman familiar with Street's wagering practices at the Philadelphia Turf Club.
The feds also plan to introduce almost 100 exhibits at trial, including checks, bank-deposit slips, e-mails, letters and tax returns.
Other potential government witnesses include business executives with whom Street had dealings at the airport; his accountant; co-defendant Matthias Schwabe, and Connie Little, a former Democratic ward leader and top aide to the mayor.
Schwabe, who worked for then-airport maintenance contractor Philadelphia Airport Services, pleaded guilty in December 2006 to taking $10,000 from a PAS petty-cash account for personal use, though he said it was later paid back.
He also admitted he didn't pay taxes on $83,000 he received from Street in exchange for favors.
If called by the government, Little is expected to testify about monies paid to Milton Street by his brother's campaign.
The feds may even tap T. Milton Street Jr. to testify about his father's business practices, as well as his own role in his dad's ventures.
Street, 68, a former hot-dog vendor and state senator, was indicted in November 2006 in connection with a scheme to defraud a firm seeking airport work, for failing to file tax returns in 2002, 2003 and 2004, and for underreporting income in 2000 and 2001.
If convicted of all charges, Street could face three years behind bars under advisory sentencing guidelines.
PAS hired Milton Street initially in 2002 as a $30,000-a-month consultant to lobby airport officials. It later gave his company a contract worth about $2 million a year to perform maintenance work, the feds said.
A third defendant, John H. Velardi Sr., was charged with defrauding a prospective airport contractor by participating with Street in a scheme to assign Street's contract for $80,000 even though the contract had already been canceled by the city.
Street and Velardi have pleaded not guilty and have been free on bail. Their trial is expected to begin Feb. 6. *
