Former Philly Sheriff sentenced to 5 years in jail for bribery

On Thursday, former Philly Sheriff John Green pleaded guilty to a massive bribery scheme. Outlets reported that he sold his office for over $675k in benefits. 

Inquirer.com reports that Green was the longest-serving sheriff in Philly, his time in office spanned from 1988-2010. 

Before Green was a sheriff, he has been a police officer. He ran for office without democratic support and promised to end corruption. He quit office in 2010 suddenly, as rumors of mismanagement and sweetheart contracts spread. He even called for his agency to be abolished. 

The indictment against Green started in 2015, where he basically sold the office to James R. Davis. Green provided $35 million contracts where he could run the office’s foreclosed property sales. They didn’t leave much a paper trail with these no-bid contract. 

Davis gave Green illegal campaign contributions and also bribes. Inquirer.com reported that David gave Green $210k for his last campaign, where the legal limit is $2.5k for Philly. Additionally, Davis bought Green two homes. Green did not repay Davis for various loans. 

Davis also hired Green’s wife and over six years, paid her $89k, which was never disclosed on the required forms. 

Last year, they had a joint trial together, and Davis was convicted of income tax offenses and other income tax fraud, but Green was acquitted for three charges, and the jury was deadlocked on two more charges. 

Earlier this year, right before his retrial, Green worked out a deal, so he would only plead guilty for one of the charges, which allow him only to have a maximum of five years. 

Green isn’t the only sheriff being investigated, and it is being reported that federal prosecutors have been working on a multi-year probe. As a result, four people have been convicted of crimes.