Bribe charge links banker, indicted figure

A federal grand jury yesterday charged a Voorhees bank executive with accepting a bribe from Donald "Gus" Dougherty, the Philadelphia electrician already indicted on allegations he made illegal payments to a labor leader.

The banker, Craig J. Scher, is also charged with conspiring with a Haddonfield lawyer and a South Jersey developer in an unrelated plan to launder $100,000 through the sale of a Shore condo.

The developer charged is James Bell Jr., 58; the lawyer is Michael Sinko, 56. Scher, 45, was regional president of Nova Savings Bank.

The three men unwittingly made their deal with an undercover FBI agent, who recorded some conversations, according to the indictment.

"The fewer people that know, the less chance that we'll have problems with this," Scher allegedly said on one recording.

If convicted at trial, Scher likely faces 24 to 30 months in prison under the advisory federal sentencing guidelines, Assistant U.S. Attorney Anita Eve said.

Scher's lawyer, Richard Scheff, did not return a phone call seeking comment.

If convicted, Bell and Sinko probably face 18 to 24 months in prison, Eve said. Bell's lawyer, Catherine Henry, couldn't be reached for comment. Sinko's lawyer, Jeffrey Zucker, declined to comment, saying he hadn't had a chance to study the indictment.

The bribery charge against Scher is part of a continuing FBI and Labor Department investigation into labor leader John J. Dougherty, an unrelated childhood friend of Gus Dougherty's. John Dougherty is business manager of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 98 and was a potential mayoral candidate this year.

Federal agents searched his Philadelphia home last year, but he has not been charged with any crime and has denied any wrongdoing.

Gus Dougherty was indicted in June and pleaded not guilty to 100 counts of fraud and tax evasion and other offenses, including stealing $869,000 from a union benefits fund.

He was also charged with making "illegal payments" to John Dougherty, including selling a house to the labor leader for $24,000 below market value. Gus Dougherty also allegedly performed $115,000 worth of electrical work on John Dougherty's home for free.

The June indictment of Gus Dougherty included the allegation that he had bribed a banker, but Scher's identity was not made public until yesterday.

Scher is accused of helping Gus Dougherty obtain more than $5 million in loans from 2003 to 2005, when the contractor was deep in debt and had a low credit score.

In return, authorities said, Gus Dougherty gave Scher $9,400 worth of home-improvement work and four tickets to see the Eagles play in the 2005 Super Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla., plus a weekend stay at a condo on Amelia Island, Fla.