Street tapes not incriminating, but probe continues in city

Although the bug that the Federal Bureau of Investigation planted in Philadelphia Mayor John Street's City Hall office has reportedly not turned up any incriminating evidence, FBI investigations surrounding city officials continue.

Most recently, it was revealed that the office telephone of Philadelphia bond lawyer Ronald White -- a chief fundraiser for Street -- had been bugged for some time before the office was searched on Oct. 16.

However, Cathie Abookire, spokeswoman for the United States District Attorney's Office in Pennsylvania, refused to comment on whether the investigation surrounding White is related to the FBI probe in which Street is a subject.

Linda Vizi, a spokeswoman for the FBI's Philadelphia office, would not comment on details regarding exactly what the search party was looking for and what was found.

Other reports have also suggested the extent of White's role in the investigation.

FBI agents on Wednesday interviewed former Philadelphia treasurer Folasade Olanipekun, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. Olanipekun -- who is now finance director for Birmingham, Ala. -- was asked questions about White, who had been involved in business with her office.

She told the Inquirer, "I'm not worried, and I didn't do anything wrong. We did things properly and never strayed."

Also on Oct. 16, the FBI searched the offices of City Treasurer Corey Kemp and Finance Director Janice Davis, according to the Inquirer.

A sophisticated listening device was found in Street's office on Oct. 7 during a routine security sweep conducted by the Philadelphia Police Department. The discovery of the bug, which had apparently been placed in Street's office two weeks beforehand, was followed by a series of FBI raids into local businesses and offices of individuals affiliated with the mayor.

Street has continued to deny any wrongdoing. However, despite the fact that the FBI has failed to discover anything incriminating in the tapes, he remains a subject, though not a target, of the bureau's continuing probe.

The FBI probe over the last several weeks has contributed to the heavy focus throughout the mayoral campaigns on the candidates' personal qualities instead of their political platforms.

While some question what the probe indicates about Street's integrity, others point to the investigation as a Republican conspiracy to discredit the mayor at a critical time in the race.

"These federal investigators have opened up a probe that seems to have no beginning and no end and they just leak out information as they see fit, and so we know very little," Street campaign spokesman Mark Nevins said.

And in fact, poll numbers have shown an increase in support for Street's re-election bid since news of the investigation broke.

Nate Raab, spokesman for Republican candidate Sam Katz, confirmed that White's phone had been bugged, as reported by the Inquirer, but he declined to comment on the investigation.

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