Consultant pleads guilty in Allentown, Reading corruption probes

An Allentown political consultant whose cooperation with the FBI fueled one of the state's most significant municipal corruption probes resurfaced Thursday for the first time in months, this time to admit his own role in the scandal.

Appearing in federal court in Philadelphia, Michael Fleck, 40, pleaded guilty to tax evasion and conspiracy to commit extortion and bribery, charges tied to a wide-ranging pay-to-play investigation that has roiled city halls in Allentown and Reading, has implicated mayors in both cities, and led to the collapse last year of Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski's U.S. Senate bid.

Fleck's plea came nine months after he abruptly shuttered his political consulting business and packed up his Allentown home, when word leaked he had worn an FBI wire to catch his clients shaking down government contractors for political donations.

"They were all elected officials," Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph J. Khan said during the hearing. "They were all trying to leverage their office for things of value - in this case, campaign contributions. We're talking an explicit quid pro quo."

Prosecutors have not mentioned the implicated officials by name, but their descriptions in court filings match Pawlowski and then-Reading Mayor Vaughn D. Spencer, both Democrats. Neither has been charged, and both have denied wrongdoing.

Fleck served as the campaign manager for both mayors between October 2013 and March 2015, the period covered by the charges filed Thursday.

Before he was confronted by FBI agents last year, Fleck also worked on the campaign of then-gubernatorial candidate Rob McCord, who resigned as state treasurer and pleaded guilty to similar allegations of extorting campaign contributors.

Fleck's plea Thursday was part of an agreement with prosecutors in which he agreed to continue cooperating and testify in grand jury proceedings and trials if needed. He also agreed to pay $77,738 to the IRS for hiding income from his consulting business, H Street Strategies, on his personal and payroll taxes.

"He's accepted responsibility, and there's a lot of work to be done before sentencing," said Philip D. Lauer, Fleck's lawyer.

Lauer declined to say where his client was living. Fleck told U.S. District Judge Juan R. Sanchez that Lauer works as a car salesman.

But less than two years ago, prosecutors said, Fleck was so well-known as a gatekeeper to municipal work in Allentown and Reading that businesses owners in both cities had begun to complain about his influence over the contracting process.

In one instance, a regular Pawlowski contributor - a lawyer identified by prosecutors only as Donor #4 - bristled at Fleck's expectation that he had to give to the mayor's Senate campaign if he hoped to keep his firm's Allentown contracts in Allentown.

Pawlowski was allegedly irate. In a conversation quoted in court filings, he told Fleck: "I've given him millions of dollars. . . . Relatively, compared to other law firms, they've given [me] nothing. . . . [Donor #4] for sure will get nothing now."

Fleck responded that he would "beat the crap out of" the man to make clear that the law firm's city work would be at risk.

Fleck faces a prison term of up to 10 years. Sanchez scheduled his sentencing hearing for July.

Khan predicted a stiff punishment.

"Mr. Fleck is very culpable," he said after the hearing, "but he could not have done this without the cooperation of public officials who tried to sell their offices."

An Allentown developer and three city officials - including the city's elected controller, Mary Ellen Koval - have pleaded guilty to charges tied to the contracts-for-contributions scheme. Reading's former city council president and a special assistant to Spencer have also admitted to similar crimes.

jroebuck@phillynews.com

215-854-2608 @jeremyrroebuck

Staff writer Julie Shaw contributed to this article.