Ex-Treasurer, Lawyer Indicted in Philadelphia Corruption Case

A former city treasurer and an attorney were indicted Tuesday in a municipal corruption investigation that became public when a bugging device was discovered in the mayor’s office.

The indictment alleges that in 2002 and 2003, attorney Ronald A. White gave cash and gifts worth tens of thousands of dollars to then-Treasurer Corey Kemp to influence which financial services companies were selected to handle bond transactions for the city.

The gifts included a $10,350 deck for Kemp’s house and a trip to the 2003 Super Bowl, prosecutors said. White collected more than $630,000 for his work on city bond deals during Kemp’s tenure, prosecutors said.

The probe became public in October, when police conducting a security sweep discovered an FBI listening device in the City Hall office of Mayor John F. Street. Street has not been charged with any wrongdoing.

Kemp was charged with 46 counts, White with 34. The indictment also names two Commerce Bank-Pennsylvania officials, who were charged with making improper loans to Kemp, and two former J.P. Morgan executives who were charged with arranging for White to submit an invoice for $50,000 in phantom legal work.