White, Kemp deny wrongdoing in city fraud scandal

Nine of the 12 defendants in the city corruption indictment have pleaded innocent.

Last Tuesday, the U.S. Attorney's office issued an indictment charging 12 people with defrauding the City of Philadelphia.

Corey Kemp, former city treasurer, and Ronald White, a Philadelphia attorney, are the main defendants, charged with 46 and 34 counts, respectively.

The counts include conspiracy, fraud, extortion and making false statements for White. For Kemp, they include all of the above, plus money laundering and filing false tax returns.

Both pleaded innocent at their arraignments last Wednesday.

Michael McGovern, Kemp's lawyer, said, "I'm optimistic about everything."

McGovern has been specializing in white collar crime for over 10 years.

Also arraigned last Wednesday were Frank McCracken, a Reading, Pa., Reverend, and Denis Carlson, a businessman. Both pled not guilty.

McCracken allegedly obtained Commerce Bank funds for repairs to his church which never took place. Carlson is charged with lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation concerning this case.

Last Friday, Glenn Holck, Stephen Umbrell and Janice Knight also issued pleas of "not guilty."

Glenn Holck is the president of Commerce Bank Pennsylvania, and Stephen Umbrell is the regional vice president of Commerce Bank. They were charged with granting Kemp loans he did not otherwise have the credit to obtain in exchange for business.

Janice Knight is a Philadelphia businesswoman who is described in the indictment as White's "paramour."

Allegedly, Kemp recommended city business to her printing company in exchange for White's presents of money, event tickets, meals and parties.

She faces charges of conspiracy, fraud and making false statements to the FBI.

"Glenn Holck did not do anything wrong. Nothing whatsoever," said Kevin Marino, Glenn Holck's attorney. "It's outrageous that he was indicted."

Marino, who has practiced white collar crime law for 20 years, added that he is "one hundred percent confident" Holck will be proven innocent in trial.

Yesterday, Charles LeCroy and Anthony Snell were arraigned, and both pleaded not guilty.

La Van Hawkins, a Detroit fast-food executive, will be arraigned today.

LeCroy and Snell are former J. P. Morgan executives charged with paying White $50,000 for phantom legal services in return for his help in obtaining business favorable to them.

La Van Hawkins is charged with bribing Kemp for his assistance with obtaining business.

All defendants were released on a bail of $100,000 "own recognizance" each, except for White, whose bail of $250,000 was secured by his house in Philadelphia.

"Own recognizance" means bail does not actually need to be paid, unless the defendant fails to show at trial.

White's bail was higher than the other defendants' because of "the severity of the charges," said Rich Manieri, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The prosecution expected pleas of innocence, according to Manieri.

He added that despite the pleas, the prosecution is still optimistic about the trial.

"The facts in the indictment speak for themselves," he said.

According to Marino, the court dispute is going to be both factual and legal. That is, he will argue both that the prosecution's facts are wrong, and even if correct, still do not constitute a crime.

After all the arraignments, Manieri said, a trial date will be set.

Manieri added that there have been no dates scheduled for a court appearance by either Rhonda Anderson or Jose Mendoza.

Anderson is a Philadelphia attorney charged with participating in a fraudulent scheme with Kemp, and Mendoza is an employee of McCracken's who allegedly lied to Commerce Bank.

Joseph Grimes, Anderson's attorney, did not return repeated calls for comment.

However, he told the Philadelphia Inquirer last week that, "We have signed a plea agreement. She hopes to put this behind her, and we hope that her cooperation will mitigate the penalty."

At a press conference last week, Mayor John F. Street cautioned that an indictment is not necessarily guilt. "Let's let this criminal process take place," he said.

The case has been assigned to Judge Michael Baylson of U.S. District Court, Eastern District Pennsylvania.

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