In yet another twist in the race for mayor of Philadelphia, Republican candidate Sam Katz filed private criminal charges Tuesday against the campaign of his opponent Mayor John Street.
The charges stem from allegations that the Street campaign has collected $125,000 in illegal campaign contributions over the course of the race, and refuses to return them.
Last Sunday, Katz issued Street an ultimatum -- return the money in question within two days, or face criminal charges.
The allegations assert that the money comes, either directly or indirectly, from corporations -- an illegal practice under both city and state election law.
Private criminal charges are filed when a crime is committed not in the presence of a police officer, said Cathie Abookire, spokeswoman for Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham. The DA then decides whether to continue with legal proceedings. This decision has not yet been made.
"The contents of a private criminal complaint are not public," Abookire said. "If someone is charged, [then it] becomes public."
The Street campaign has refused to return the money, citing a memo from the state secretary of the Commonwealth.
"He's filing a lawsuit saying we can't take these contributions, and the secretary of the Commonwealth says that we can," Street spokesman Mark Nevins said.
The Katz campaign maintains that the contributions are illegal.
"While the partnership donations were made from the partnerships and not the corporate partners directly, the checks issued drew funds from the partnerships' general accounts, which contain money from the corporate partners," attorney James Baumbach wrote in a letter to Abraham.
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