Once he lost that race and faced a large debt, Fattah and his inner circle illegally used federal and charitable funds to help repay the loan. He also mentioned Rep. Curt Weldon, a Republican congressman from the Philly burbs and a veritable 9/11 trutherwho served in Congress until 2007 when he lost to Joe Sestak, now a senate candidate. U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle called the Philadelphia Democrats crimes astonishing given that he and his wife had an annual income that put them at or near the top 1 percent.. Chenault-Fattah, who used to anchor her station's 4 and 6 p.m. newscasts, went on a six-month leave that eventually became permanent. Committed to one day maybe six days after the primary, the scheduled start date of his trial fighting those criminal charges. Started in 1983 by Pennsylvanias Act 91 of 1983, it was only one of its kind until 2010 when Fattah added language to the Dodd Frank bill to provide similar assistance, to homeowners nationwide. In November 2006, he declared his candidacy for Mayor of Philadelphia, where two-term incumbent Mayor John F. Street was barred from re-election by term limits, amid pressure from Democratic voters to keep his Congressional seat in order to maintain a Philadelphia representative on the powerful Appropriations Committee in the House. Housed within the White House and chartered on June 20, 2012, the IWGN convenes representatives across the Federal government to make recommendations about the future of neuroscience research. Thats an area where Evans whos successfully stumped for other candidates across the state has him beat. The only poll conducted so far suggests Evans is in the lead, but theres a caveat: Evans, who didnt respond to a request for comment, paid for that poll. 20072023 Blackpast.org. When former WCAU-TV co-anchor Renee Chenault wedded former Congressman Chaka Fattah in 2001, the Daily News proclaimed theirs the marriage of a century. , money, salary, income, and assets. "And that's something that a large segment of the population is not aware of. See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania, 2010#District 2. The indictment says Chenault-Fattah e-mailed Vederman in January 2012 about purchasing her car. And his family has fallen with him. The conference brought together national leaders in cooperative development to share best practices to create powerful change for their organizations. Fattah is only 64 years old, so his estimated lifetime pension is $1 million. And I don't want to do anything to jeopardize that," she told me. Fattahwasnt known as the type of person who would frequentlyhelp other politicos around town raise money. All the while he did it with his own little West Philadelphia political machine, with the support ofpeople like Hughes and Councilwoman Cindy Bass. "Asking for $18,000 which is a steal.". Earlier this year, Fattah, 60, was convicted of misspending government grants and charity money to fund his campaign and personal expenses, even as he and his TV anchor wife earned more than $500,000 a year. Get your daily rundown of Philly happenings in less than 10 minutes, Philadelphia local news: Neighborhoods, politics, food, and fun, Get Philly smart with BPs free daily newsletter. The Fattah campaign defended itself, claiming that it had followed less restrictive federal rules in spending the money, but eventually returned a portion of the excess contributions to the exploratory committee following a settlement with the city's Board of Ethics. The couple has already cleared out of the place for their new digs Chaka at a minimum-security Federal prison camp in western Pennsylvania for the next 10 years, Renee at an undisclosed location but they left it in mint condition and move-in ready. Former U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah, D-Pa., was released from a federal lockup near Scranton last month to serve the rest of his sentence in either a halfway house or under house arrest in. During his sentencing in 2016, U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle called the Philadelphia-area lawmaker's crimes "astonishing" given that he and his TV anchor wife had a $500,000 annual income that put them at or near the "top 1 percent.". 2130 which had a single cosponsor, Democratic Rep. Brian Baird of Washington. A solarium with its own fireplace off the living room and a library paneled in knotty pine with built-in bookshelves are other distinctive elements. He is from . I kind of want to leave it there.". To cement the transaction, Fattah provided a bank a copy of a bill of sale for the vehicle, the indictment says, which Chenault-Fattah had signed as the seller. This is a story about my funding of the bridge over the Schuylkill, but its really symbolic of a host of efforts across the district. For someone so interested in advancing education for the disadvantaged, you had the temerity to steal from the Educational Advancement Alliance, a nonprofit supported by government funds, Bartle said. Fattah was once a shoo-in for his seat representing the second congressional district, one of the poorest in the nation and the only district in Pennsylvania with a majority black residency. The program offers Philadelphians the chance to exchange firearms for vouchers for groceries or other goods. Two older structures with a link to that past also sit on these grounds: a carriage house thought to date to the 1800s and a one-room cottage with sleeping loft believed to be the oldest structure on the property. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia remanded for new sentencing and Fattah was again sentenced to 10 years on July 12, 2019. On August 9, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia overturned Fattah's bribery convictions. All they have to do is believe in the system.. Theyre both expected to start spending soon on television ads to increase name recognition in the district. His wife, former NBC10 news anchor Renee Chenault-Fattah, though not charged in his case, saw her career end this year after she was linked to the sham sale in 2012 of her Porsche convertible, a transaction prosecutors said was intended to cover up a bribe to her husband. The jury convicted him of leading a five-person racketeering enterprise that included the loyal aides and political consultants who did his bidding, comingling campaign, nonprofit and government funds and using them as directed for Fattahs personal and political needs. The sale price should just about cover the amount Chaka swiped from the government and nonprofit organizations to repay the illegal $1 million campaign loan that landed him in prison. But she fought to keep the figure private during her husband's mayoral run in 2007, and his federal financial disclosure reports do not specify how much she earns. Rep. Chaka Fattah, D-Pa., walks after leaving the federal courthouse in Philadelphia, Tuesday, June 21. Social Activism Brings a Name Change. He reported for prison at Federal Correctional Institution, McKean near Lewis Run, Pennsylvania on January 25, 2017. Former state Rep. Dwight Evans, a fellow Democrat, now holds his seat. Chaka Fattah is a former Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Now I know its actually people in the barbershops and the beauty salons. Ive helped tens of millions of people, Fattah said. Thats at least four more elections to win. Anna Orso was a reporter/curator at Billy Penn from 2014 to 2017. Chaka Fattah's net worth BlackPast.org is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and our EIN is 26-1625373. That is not going to be the big deal of whatever is said about me, he says, pausing to point at the 22 articles that lay out his political accomplishments. He says at least 25 million people have been impacted by his programs (there are 715,000 people in hisdistrict, 1.5 million in Philadelphiaand 12.8 million in the state), and that there isnt a single person in the citywho has not been touched in some significant, positive way by something he put in place. He publicly supported the Bring Our Troops Home and Iraq Sovereignty Act a bill that called for bringing the troops home within six months and transitioning the Iraqis to self-government. Fattah, 60, served 22 years in Congress . Born in Philadelphia on November 21, 1956, Chaka Fattah grew up with political ideas and even developed his own political propaganda for other candidates at the age of 14. Learn How rich is He in this year and how He spends money? All Rights Reserved. One man standing outside a barbershopon Lancaster Avenue put it this way: We keep supporting these people, keep electing them, but they always end up doing dumb shit.Many are concerned Fattah is just another in a long line of political figures exposed of beinginvolved in shady dealings. The biggest deal is: What did you do?, Nice to see you. He's doing well. A handful of names circulated, from District Attorney Seth Williams to now former Mayor Michael Nutter. The long-running criminal scheme was related to paying back a loan from Fattahs unsuccessful run for Philadelphia mayor in 2007. The credit is unique in that families under a set income without a tax liability are eligible for a tax rebate. He also wrote the legislation for the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC). A source speculated to The Philadelphia Inquirer that the decision could be tied to coronavirus concerns. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com. Its the former home of Congressman Chaka Fattah and his wife Renee Chenault-Fattah, a 2.6-acre estate tucked away on a quiet lane in East Falls. On August 9, 2018, however, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit overturned Fattahs bribery convictions. AOTC provides up to $2500 tax credit for families to assist them with the cost of college. Meanwhile, Evans had $303,000 on hand and Muroff had $208,000. Fattah, who has so far largely escaped being attacked by challengers with regard to the litany of criminal charges and accusations against him, is harnessing the one thing that he has that Evans doesnt: 22 years in congress and a seat on the House Committee on Appropriations. Chaka Fattah Jr., Frances Fattah, Chandler Faith Fattah, Cameron Chenault. said Fattah had rightly given up his ranking position. "After this, I would like to do something around cancer in our community," she said. Even though she's been off the air for almost three years, people still recognize Chenault-Fattah when she's out and about and question her about when she'll be back on air. Rep. Chaka Fattah was indicted Wednesday on racketeering charges tied to a host of public corruption schemes, the Department of Justice said. ", She added, "This is a disease that has no effective treatment and no cure.". Evans is the challenger who could do the most damage to Fattahs campaign for re-election. Credit NBC10. Chenault-Fattah, who is also a lawyer, spent 25 years with WCAU-TV before she resigned after the indictment named her a participant in the bribery scheme. The cottage has a high-ceilinged living room with fireplace and a sleeping loft. Chaka "Chip" Fattah Jr., who never finished college, was convicted of using fraudulently obtained business loans to fund his jet-set lifestyle. Fattah and several of his co-defendants, who include former campaign and congressional aides, obtained an illegal $1 million loan for him during the 2007 mayors race. This was her first interview since her husband's conviction, so I asked her about that not that I could get her to say much about Chaka, his legal case or the infamous 1989 Porsche that prosecutors alleged was a cover for a bribe from a lobbyist. Now all of a sudden he wants to run for mayor and he shows up dispensing checks. Theyre kind of dealing with the position, Fattah said. Read the news of the day in less than 10 minutes not that were counting. "If you're black or Hispanic, you're twice as likely to be impacted by this disease," Chenault-Fattah told me. The congressman has never won less than 85 percent of the vote in the general, and in 2000 he defeateda Libertarian by garnering an unheard-of 98 percent of the vote. Congressman Chaka Fattah, a Philadelphia Democrat, speaks to the center for American Progress in 2010. Experts seem to agree that prosecutors have their hands full trying to prove theircharges because of a long paper trail (900,000 pages of government evidence) that will have to be nailed down in court. Bartle noted that Fattah and his wife, a TV news anchor, made more than $500,000 in combined income, placing them in the top 1 percent of Americans. His parents divorced when he was young, and his mother soon remarried to a man she met at a national conference on black power in 1968. Fattah received an F rating from the National Rifle Association and an A+ rating from the Coalition on Gun Violence and the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence for his positions on gun control. or redistributed. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Suddenly, the popular broadcaster was a stay-at-home mom with a whole lot of time on her hands and a non-compete clause that sidelined her for a least a year. Fattah's third wife, Renee Chenault-Fattah, is a former Philadelphia television news broadcaster. Fattahs criminal acts were part of a years-long scheme related to his unsuccessful bid to become mayor of Philadelphia. His wife is Renee Chenault-Fattah (m. 2001). ", NBC 10 News Anchor Renee Chenault-Fattah. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, Innocent until proven guilty has, predictably, become the congressmans mantra. Fattah was challenged by Republican nominee Robert Allen Mansfield, Jr. and Independent candidate and publisher of the Germantown Newspapers, Jim Foster. Fattah endorsed Barack Obama for President in 2008. A subsequent Philadelphia Daily News investigation revealed that nonprofits receiving federal funding and connected to Fattah paid out over $5.8 million to Fattah allies and alleged that many of these payments were ethically dubious. For these additional counts, Fattah was again sentenced to 10 years of incarceration on July 12, 2019. Fattah's wife, Renee Chenault-Fattah, was implicated in the indictment against the congressman and no longer sits at the anchor desk at NBC 10 where she worked for nearly 25 years. On the basis of this ruling, Fattah appealed his conviction in October 2016, placing his sentencing on hold. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. NEW JERSEY FEDERAL JUDGES SON KILLED, HUSBAND SHOT AT HOME. 4646) which proposed to repeal the federal income tax and replace it with a 1 percent "transaction tax" on every financial transaction whether paid by cash, credit card or any form of financial transfer, the only exception being transactions involving the purchase or sale of stock. Wheres he been?, Love Philly? The estimated pension is at least $55,000 per year. This is my tuition and tax credit program this has helped millions of families. The Philadelphia Democrat, who was first elected to . Prosecutors say Fattah tried to conceal an $18,000 bribe from Vederman by pretending he sold a Porsche to the man. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. Bartle ordered Fattah to pay . The FBI spent years investigating Fattah, and it long looked as if he would escape federal indictment. Politics Was " Fun ". Fattah's 10-year-prison sentence falls below the federal advisory guidelines, a range that Bartle said ran 15 years and eight months to 19 years and seven months. The four others convicted at trial will be sentenced later this week. Chenault-Fattah is focusing her attention on Alzheimer's disease and the disproportionate way it affects people of color. Chenault-Fattah is raising money on the Indiegogo crowd-funding website for a new documentary called In Search of Lost Time: Alzheimer's and Dementia's Impact on People of Color,that she's producing along with veteran filmmaker Bob Lott of Teamwork Productions. Twenty-twoarticles and press releases are strewn across a dark wood table in the board room of Congressman Chaka Fattahs West Philly office. Since 2006, Fattah has pioneered gun-buyback programs in Philadelphia with the Philadelphia Police. save for his 2007 bid for mayor. Market data provided by Factset. He is from . On Monday, U.S. District Judge sentenced Fattah to 10 years in prison. Congressional pensions are exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). In this May 7, 2015 photo, Rep. Chaka Fattah, D-Pa., speaks during a My Brother's Keeper town hall at the School of the Future in Philadelphia. He can tout his role in passing the Affordable Care Act. The longtime northwest Philadelphia state politician has friends in both Philadelphia and state politics, including Tasco, who has a reputation for being able to whip up a significant amount of votes, has built relationships and is not a divisive figure., Fattah, frankly, doesnt care about the politicians who have backed his most well-knownopponent. 1703, which attracted no cosponsors. In 2005, Fattah opposed the War in Iraq and supported Congressman John Murtha's call for troop withdrawal. Meanwhile, Evans had $303,000 on hand and Muroff had $208,000. Fattah, 60, served 22 years in Congress before losing a Democratic primary in April. "[That] has nothing to do with the fact that Ive been found on the wrong side of these questions by a jury.. We have estimated After Fattah rattles off his accomplishments, he draws comparisons to others he says were unfairly targeted by law enforcement. In May 1986, he received his master's degree in Governmental Administration from the University of Pennsylvania's Fels Institute of Government. first as a Wall Street lawyer and later a TV broadcaster, Indiegogo crowd-funding website for a new documentary, California residents do not sell my data request. She was cited in the case over the sham sale of her Porsche,. Fattah has said he will appeal his conviction and sentence. They dont even have to believe in me. Fattah, who earned $174,000 as a congressman,. Prosecutors say he also used $27,000 in charity funds to pay down his son's college loans and took an $18,000 bribe to help a friend become an ambassador. Andthe Department of Justice contends its investigators werent unfairly targeting the congressman. He won the general election with 86% of the vote. Also learn how He earned most of networth at the age of 64 years old? In 2009, Fattah introduced a fourth bill to require having a study conducted, H.R. The Republican party may have won a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994, but a seat was still found for a liberal named Chaka Fattah.The freshman Democratic congressman from Philadelphia is a lawmaker who has . Both bills died without any action being taken. In the 2011-12 election period, he spent $162,000 while the average winner of a House seat spent 10 times that, some $1.6 million. He was sentenced on Dec. 12, 2016 to 10 years in prison and he reported to Federal Correctional Institution, McKean on Jan. 25, 2017. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. On February 23, 2010, Fattah reintroduced the bill as the "Debt Free America Act," (H.R. Despite apparently selling the car to Vederman in January, the indictment says, Chenault-Fattah in May renewed the car's registration in her name, had the vehicle serviced in Conshohocken in June, and adjusted the car's insurance for the winter in November. HEMAP is a loan program designed to protect Pennsylvanians who, through no fault of their own, are financially unable to make their mortgage payments and are in danger of losing their homes to foreclosure. The Pennsylvania Democrats son, Chaka Fattah Jr., is already in prison on bank and tax fraud charges. makes sure to note, too, that Sims raised $230,000 to challenge him for Congressthis year and didnt make it to filing day. On December 12, 2016, Fattah was sentenced to 10 years in prison and began serving his term at the Federal Correctional Institution, McKean, Pennsylvania on January 25, 2017. Market data provided by Factset. We're sorry what happened to your family, but isn't it great that you went on to use your voice to do something which makes an impact around this issue of Alzheimer's.' Fattah won his first election in 1982 by 58 votes , defeating a party-favored incumbent for the 192nd house seat in the Pennsylvania . Their older daughter, Cameron, is a freshman at Johns Hopkins University. Its very hard he said. Congressman Chaka Fattah. (The government thereafter announced its intention not to retry those counts.) Office of Property Assessment records show the home was put in Renee Chenault-Fattahs name via a nominal transaction in 2006. Just days later, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in McDonnell v. United States which altered the legal definition of bribery to exclude "pay for access." These are the people that have been voting for me and praying for me for all these years.. In Fattahs eyes, this people being wrongly accused happens all the time. The trial was originally scheduled for May 2, 2016, but in April a judge had the date pushed back to May 16 to give the defendants time to review the excess of more than 100,000 documents accrued by the prosecution. Fattah spent two decades in Congress before losing the primary this year. Dianna Marder, Party Politics: Fattah, Chenault exchange vows with help from their children, the congressman and news anchor held a big church wedding,The Philadelphia Inquirer, April 8, 2001, Congressman Chaka Fattahs son taken off to serve years in prison for fraud,NBCPhiladelphia.com, February 2, 2016,https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Chaka-Fattah-Jr-Fraud-Sentencing-Federal-Court-367332741.html; Bill Clark, Chaka Fattah former Pennsylvania congressman gets 10 years in federal prison for corruption, CBSNews.com, December 12, 2016,https://www.cbsnews.com/news/chaka-fattah-former-pennsylvania-congressman-10-years-prison-corruption/.

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