Facing 418 years, Fattah Jr. will represent himself

Chaka Fattah Jr. was granted permission by a federal judge to act as his own attorney in court today, despite the judge advising him that such a move was “unwise.”

“I’m ready to deal with these charges head-on and I’m prepared to raise a number of issues, and if nothing changes, go through with this trial and fight every charge,” Fattah Jr. said outside of court after the hearing. “I remain confident of my innocence of these charges.”

Fattah Jr., son of Congressman Chaka Fattah, was charged in August with a 23-count federal indictment that says he allegedly, while working as a consultant, overbilled a charter school that was in turn receiving funds from the city and state.

Judge Harvey Bartle III granted Fattah’s request on Sixth Amendment grounds.

“In my opinion, a trained lawyer would defend you far better than you may defend yourself …You don’t have a great deal of familiarity with federal criminal procedure,” Bartle said. “Ultimately, it’s your choice.”

“Yes, your honor,” Fattah Jr. said repeatedly as Judge Bartle first asked if Fattah Jr. understood every count against him an the punishment that could accompany each count.

The indictment alleges in separate counts that Fattah Jr. made fraudulent statements in loan applications at banks including Citizens Bank, PNC, National Bank, Bank of America, Wachovia Bank and Sun National Bank. Each count carries a maximum sentence of 30 years and a $1 million fine.

If convicted of all counts and sentenced consecutively, Fattah Jr. would face a sentence of 418 years and a total fine of $12,425,000, along with other court costs and prosecutorial fees.

But Fattah Jr. claimed the indictment, which stems from his work as owner and proprietor of 259 Consulting, in which capacity he worked for Delaware Valley Charter Schools, an educational program for troubled youths, is flawed.

“We’re about to get into a fight about the law,” Fattah Jr. said. “Some of the things they charged me with are not federal crimes.”