ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) — Opening statements are scheduled to begin in the federal corruption trial of the mayor of Pennsylvania’s third-largest city.
FILE – In a Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2017 file photo, Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski, who is facing corruption charges, walks to the federal courthouse in Philadelphia during a break in a pretrial hearing. Opening statements are scheduled to begin Monday, Jan. 22, 2017, in the federal corruption trial of Pawlowski. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
Prosecutors say Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski ran a pay-to-play scheme. He’s accused of trading more than $150,000 in city contracts for campaign donations that fueled his aborted runs for governor and U.S. Senate.
The Democrat says he’s innocent. His attorney says prosecutors are peddling a “false narrative” about Pawlowski.
A jury will hear opening statements on Monday in Allentown.
Pawlowski faces accusations of fraud, bribery, attempted extortion and lying to the FBI. The most serious charges carry a maximum prison term of 20 years each.
The mayor won re-election in November and began his fourth term this month.
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