Transcripts For WPVI Inside Story 20170702 : vimarsana.com

Sentenced for his guilty plea on a single corruption charge. However, he basically admitted he was guilty of all 29 charges where he took bribes while in office. Williams resigned immediately and faces five years in jail. His deputy, assistant District Attorney kathleen martin, whos basically been running the office ever since williams lost his law license, will continue to run the office until a new d. A. Is sworn in. Val, you went to school with Seth Williams, you know him very well. Id like to start with you. Why do you think Seth Williams put everyone through a long, arduous investigation, a trial that lasted the better part of a couple of weeks, and his relative absence at the d. A. s office itself . Whyd he put everyone through this . Well, let me say i start off by saying its a sad day for philadelphia. Its a sad day for people who knew seth. Like, in high school, a great guy, a leader. Im shocked by this. Ive been shocked all along at why he went, why he did this. I mean, maybe he needed the money, he needed the salary at the d. A. s office. Hes got 200 left in his bank account, he told the judge. Its really tragic. I think the voters of philadelphia really need to think about their leadership going forward. I mean, philadelphia is rife with corruption. A Philadelphia Inquirer editorial today talks about that. We in the Republican Party have been saying, give us a chance. Had four state reps go to jail in the last couple years or plead guilty to different charges, a state senator, and now your d. A. Beth grossman is running for d. A. We need to really take a long, hard look at her as opposed to mary krasner, whose in the tank for not on the side of Law Enforcement. So but i would just say im sad for seth, im sad for his children, and im sad for the city of philadelphia, the people of the city of philadelphia for continuing to go through this. Im not sad for seth. Im angry. Im angry that we live in a city that is really can be described as perpwalk city. I mean, we have an epidemic of political corruption in this city and in this state. You have the last top Law Enforcement officer of the state a convicted felon, and now the top Law Enforcement officer of the city and whose lives were intertwined. Whose lives were intertwined. Ironically. Thats right. And i think so when the mayor said yesterday that or on friday that. Hopefully, we can move on, i dont want to move on. I think we need leaders like the mayor to say this is an epidemic. This is a culture that produced Seth Williams. And we need to spur outrage. Let me tell you one of the things that i sort of feel terrible about in terms of what happened to seth is that seth was a foster care child, adopted by the williams family, gave him his name. They were, you know, dayworkers, blue collar. And they made many sacrifices for him to go to the best school, including the quaker schools, which are very expensive. They gave him a heck of an education, they tried to prepare him well. And then the allegations as youve heard, some of it was money that was taken from the nursing home from his mother. And all of the other allegations totally surprise the fact that heres a guy but for these people. So their work became in vain. And we want to see more kids out of foster care and being taken care of. And to see what happened here, gives the foster care and the adoption process sort of a bad name. So, christine, power just simply corrupts, no matter where you come from. You know, i. Im not surprised, and im not sorry. And i know that this is probably the moment to be christian. But i have a really difficult time, particularly when i think about the way that seth misused his office and his power. Weve talked about this many times at this table, the prosecution of monsignor lynn. That went on and on and on, after appeal and appeal and appeal. That case is emblematic of a lack of both compassion, and i think integrity, because youre making the connection given that Seth Williams was the d. A. At the time. The d. A. At the time. Not the d. A. At the time he was the prosecuting, the avenging angel. He went back again and again and again. I know that when seth was he took the plea, and he asked judge diamond if he could remain free until sentencing in october, and he was crying. I thought back to his denial of bail for monsignor lynn, a 66yearold ill priest. He did not not allow bail in that situation. Does anyone think that williams ever had an opportunity, and were in on any of the negotiations the prosecution may have had with the defense. But do you think he might have had a chance to save himself from going to jail . Well, knowing about plea deals, it was. The only way he was gonna get this low sentence there were 29 counts. He pled to one count and the other 28 essentially were kept at abeyance. So he was youre saying no. But hes gonna have to elocute to the facts at the sentencing. No, no, he did. Hes gonna have to admit to committing those acts. But what im saying is theres only one count. So lets assume he violated parole or violated probation. Its only the one count that he can be found guilty of being violated for. So to some extent, it was a good deal that he probably would not have gotten if the judge had sentenced him. So this is better than what he would have been able to get before the trail began. And hes gonna lose his law license. Yes. Yeah, i believe so. He wont ever be able to work again, practice. No. There was no way he was avoiding jail on this. And he would have gotten more time if he had gone through the process. Plus, you know, the irony of this he should have spared us all this, to tell you the truth, and the taxpayers this, and just pled guilty right from the start. The irony is hes doing things, he did things that he prosecuted other individuals for doing while he was in the process of doing them. Sure. Violating Campaign Finance laws, and then that ridiculous story about how he used Campaign Funds to pay fees at the Sporting Club because he felt that he needed to be in great, buff condition in order to be reelected. Right, and that gets to my point about a culture. I think the culture of corruption in philadelphia is characterized by an absolute lack of shame. Yes and it is talk about chutzpah. To say that you need to spend taxpayer money on a Sporting Club because youre gonna run, because you have to get buff to run for office. Where is the shame . Well, you can val alluded to this. Let me just read off a series of names here. Former congressman chaka fattah, former state senator vince fumo, former city treasurer corey kemp, former state House Speaker john perzel, former councilman rick mariano. These are all individuals who are philadelphia politicians within the last two decades have gone to jail. At the philadelphia citizen, we printed up philadelphia allstar corruption playing cards, so people can trade them with their friends. And in that exercise, we found that it much worse now when you read what people have done. Theyre more inventive you think of vince fumo, who innovated in terms of using nonprofits. Sure, sure. And, you know, you actually pine for the days of buddy cianfrani. But this is nothing new. Look what lee beloff did back in the day, look at abscam. I mean, i grew up in south philly, i say to my dad, why do we keep voting for these people over and over again . The neighborhoods get worse and worse, crime gets worse, taxes get higher. People are leaving the neighborhood. You cant attend the public school, and our guys keep going to jail. You know, theres two councilmen and then buddy cianfrani, and vince fumo was an unindicted coconspirator. And you go down the list. Vince and myers. And this is nothing new. This is a culture of corruption in philadelphia. I think we need to give we need to have twoparty rule again in philadelphia. Lets tread lightly on this next topic. Because as a coincidence, we have learned that wire taps were revealed among some philadelphia officials. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that fbi wire tapped union leader John Dougherty and City Council Major lead bob henon for more than a year. Neither faces any charges at this point. Also reported that the fbi informed mayor jim kenney that his voice as captured during some of these conversations. They have to do that when people are captured in conversations. Kenney and dougherty, as everyone knows, are political allies. So you have these wire taps. And then this Seth Williams thing is so fresh. And do you have this sense of dread of where this investigation is going to lead . A lot of people do. I had a you know, cause theres also been wire taps on, you know, rob mccord was was taking people and state level. And john estey as well. So, i had a a lobbyist who shall go unnamed tell me that every time he greets a politician, he now hugs him, so, feeling on the back to see if theres a wire thats how and hes not kidding. No, no, hes not kidding. I was doing some work for someone, um, and, uh, as we looked at some of the transcript, it was public officials, and the first question they ask is, are you wired before i can talk to you . I mean, it has become such a common problem i think thats a theme here with our discussion is, this is very sad. Yes. And the city of philadelphia, which has such riches. Yes. And time and time again, you see politicians being thrown in jail. City that has a lot to offer, great ports, great proximity to the jersey shore, to washington, to bal you know, washington, new york, et cetera we know all the great things about this city. The fifthpoorest big city in america being held back by a lack of leadership, a lack of good leadership and a lack of character and quality. You know, a lot of times they talk about entrapment, entrapment, how horrible entrapment is, and abscam, with the old guys in south philly. And if we didnt have politicians who were so easily suggestible and easily corruptible, that wouldnt be a problem. I understand people get angry at the feds for going in and trying to sow the seeds of discord. But they cant you cant create a crime unless you have willing participants, and philadelphia is filled with willing participants. Were not were not were not the golden you go over the river, you have the same problem eric kennedy and some of the others who have been you go to new jersey, and you go into illinois i mean, were in the top three. Were were [ laughs ] yeah, chicago, yeah. Lets not let one group off the hook here, which is the citizens of philadelphia. When you we just celebrated a turnout of 17 . We were surprised the primary . In the primary that 17 of voters turned out. Think about what that says. And that gets me into our next topic, and you mentioned this, val, already the philadelphia fraternal order of police is not pleased with the democratic nominee for District Attorney. Its members unanimously voted to support the republican, Beth Grossman, in the general election. Typically they select the democrat because thats the person that wins anyway, right . Philadelphia is overwhelmingly democratic, although its had republican d. A. S in the past, Arlen Specter one of them, ron castille another. So, will this endorsement, and will the Seth Williams plea deal, mean Beth Grossman has a chance in november . I think larry the republican . I think larry hit it on the nail, which is the turnout. If you have a low turnout, republicans are not going to have a shot. And shes not going to have the machine that the democrats have. So, you say no. No. She dont have a shot. But if you have a turnout, as larry indicated, a higher turnout, and there is outrage regarding to this, then you have an opportunity for grossman. Do you think the rankandfile Police Officers are going to do enough to help grossman . I think its not as i mean, its definitely, you want Beth Grossman is a good, solid candidate, and you want shes a positive but i think another factor is the negative that Larry Krasner has has elicited from those who are worried about the type of campaign he ran. And what happened on Campaign Night when you had people, you know, saying blank the cops, the pigs, you know . Theres if you can get enough people who are more worried about Larry Krasner than they are about voting for a republican vote against, rather than for. Just like with trump there were a lot of people who didnt like donald trump, but he was the alternative to Hillary Clinton. Sure. Ive gotten calls from fop, ive gotten calls from Business Leaders across the city, wanting to know what the Republican Party is going to do for this race, and, um. People are looking for someone to step up and lead on this. I think the Republican Party is going to have to step up and make the case that we support Beth Grossman. Fop is willing to do what they need to do. On the last show i was on, i said id bet my house the fop was not going to endorse Larry Krasner, despite the fact that bob brady i won i won that bet. I wish somebody id have two houses now. But, uh, you know, we need to step up. And thats the Business Community too if they care we cannot have philadelphia become chicago. And if police feel that they have a top Law Enforcement officer who does not back them up, are just as likely to take the word of the criminal as he is as he is the cops, its going to be a problem. We have less than a minute left could this also cause Larry Krasner to refine his image and his rhetoric . Well, thats the test. If he reaches out what he should do is, you know, announce that joe kahn, who he defeated, will run his office. Uh, because because he has to this is a test of his political skills can he bring together, can he be a uniter, can he be can he not be a divider . He he he used divisive rhetoric on the campaign trail. Hes against hes also against the death penalty, which is something the fop has some problems with, because if you kill a cop, you know, we want the death penalty. All right, inside story will be right back. Inside story is presented by Temple University remarkable change isnt easy, but for those who take charge, it comes naturally. Explore temples impact visit temple. Edu impact. Back with inside story. Theres more support for a wageequity law across the country, including in our area. The laws are gaining popularity for those who are seeking to bridge the wage gap between working men and women. Philadelphia, as you know, already passed a law that prevents employers from asking about a job applicants wage history, with the thought that stating a salary during an interview will perpetuate lower pay for women. The new Jersey State Senate passed a wage equity bill this week, while several groups gathered at Philadelphia City hall to convince several companies to back off a lawsuit seeking to overturn the citys law. Are you convinced well just go around are you convinced that such a wage equity law truly does help women . Can i give you the statistics first . Uh, when a woman graduates lets say its an mba from wharton and goes into the workforce, she starts at 5 below any male. That continues to grow as the years go by, and makes millions of dollars less than any male. I think everyone understands and realizes that there is a gap, i mean, there is no question. I dont concur with that, no, i dont concur with that. I think that, when youre a progressive, you know, when you have a hammer, you know, everythings a nail; when youre a progressive, everythings big government. The department of labor did a study in 2009, looked at 50 peerreviewed studies and concluded that its actually about six cents gap, and they the 70cent the myth is that theres a 23cents gap is largely explained by choices people make. So, women the top the lowest five professions in terms of salaries are dominated by women; the top five four or five of them are dominated by men 87, 97, 92 percent. When you take that into account, plus the choices that women make theyre coming in and out of the workforce; men tend to take more dangerous jobs, and on and on theres actually a sixcents differential between men and women. So. And that can be explained by a number of factors. So, its necessarily the case if it were the case that women were paid 23¢ on the dollar, people who are interested in making profits would just hire women, and the 23¢ would fall to the bottom line. Its a myth. Val makes a lot of sense, but i dont i just dont see why this law is necessary i dont see the nexus between not being able to discuss salaries at an interview and getting a lower salary. I dont know what the statistics are on that, but its counterintuitive to say, well, you know, i made this salary in the last four jobs. And, okay, well, were going to keep you at that level. I just dont see where the connection is. Maybe larry can help me. Well, no, i look, i have seen the studies that nelson talks about, and i do believe, based on that, that, especially starting jobs, women are vastly underpaid. But there is no evidence yet that wage equity laws ameliorate that. In fact, theres some anecdotal evidence that the lack of information can lead employers to further lowball women because its just total guesswork. Or they would invent some number in their head. Right, right. cause you cause its a lack of information for a starting point. So, i dont know. Now, its going to take some time. Massachusetts has done a wage equity law, new york city has done one, and in three years youll get some data. All right lets move on to our next issue body cam video limits in pennsylvania. Governor wolf intends to sign a bill that would exempt police audio and video recordings from the states public records law. This was this would include video taken from body cams, police dash cams. A court would still be able to order the release of such recordings, they just wouldnt be able to be released to the public on a request. Now, supporters say, for one thing, it would protect the identity of the informants that might be captured on video. But others are upset about the possibility of a reduced level of transparency among police when you have more ways to see what is going on, and you have more of these body cams being used in Police Departments across the country. What do you think, christine . I think i actually do think that this would be helpful, because it does open up it gets rid of some of the obstacles that the police have concerns about in releasing certain information. So and as Governor Wolf said, this can be honed, this can be amended, this can be changed in the future. But he thinks that this is a good first step. And it its sort of, like it balances the two tensions between the publics right to know and Security Issues for the police department. I think i think its a good law. I disagree. I really believe that it helps destroy suspicions that people may have within the community. And so, if you can release something, you can avoid a lot of disturbances, a lot of issues that people raise. And it really hurts the transparency issue. Should we have cameras in the courtroom then in all. I would i would agree. It would be a very boring show, but i would agree that they not courtroom not your courtroom. Larry . Val . I i im with nelson on this. I feel like some sunshine sunlight is the greatest disinfectant, and particularly now, as someone who supports the police, and when theyre under fire, let everything out. Now, with certain exemptions where safety is concerned. Let everything out. And i think it has the potential to make people more sympathetic to what police have to go through. Thats what. Anything that increases the use of body cams, i think, is a good thing. I think this will increase the use of body cams. I think the exemptions are reasonable. Lets see if time will tell as to whether they are or arent. But i think if this puts more body cams on cops, i think thats a good thing. I think weve got about 30 seconds one more topic the Pennsylvania State senate wants to allow people to bring guns into schools as long as they have a concealed permit. Anyone think this is a good idea . Well, for Law Enforcement its not an issue for me. But for teachers to be carrying guns and to be dealing with kids, and a kid pulling a gun out of the back of a teacher over a misbehavior issue, i dont think its advisable. You say its too dangerous. I think its a tough issue. The law has some really good restrictions in it as far as the training thats needed, psychological tests. I think that School District by School District, the answer on this is the way to go. I yeah, we had a statement from the newtown um, the people, the teachers of newtown, and they said no, and i go with what they say. I go with what they say, and i go with what Police Chiefs say, and, overwhelmingly, they say that more guns creates more danger. Inside stories of the week are coming up. Stay with us. Inside story is presented by Temple University. Remarkable change isnt easy, but for those who take charge, it comes naturally. Explore temples impact. Visit temple. Edu impact. Inside stories of the week. We start with larry. Matt, prosoda tax protestors were shouting this is our house at city hall before a bipartisan state committee looking at the Economic Impact of the soda tax. Thats bad politics, because were gonna have to go to harrisburg for money for the schools, and moderate republicans there might just tell us thats your house. Thanks, larry. Christine . Matt, im a conservative, im a registered republican, and i am not a fan of Hillary Clinton at all. And yet, we need we conservatives and conservative women in particular, need to come out and say to our president , keep your mouth shut. Stop tweeting. Break his fingers. Do something. Because the comments that the president made with respect to Mika Brzezinski this week on msnbc are unacceptable. And until conservatives start coming out and agreeing that its unacceptable and untenable for a president to do that, i dont know where we are. I got local problems, you know . And that is the opioid problem is killing a lot of our people in the city and throughout the state and new jersey. And this week, theres a new center being opened up in the 2400 block of north 5th street a major, large, very fancy center in terms of providing behavioral work and behavioral physicians to be able to help those opioid addicts. Thanks, nelson. Val . Well, matt, another liberalprogressive myth going down in flames in seattle where they increased the minimal wage to 15. A study commissioned by the city and performed by the university of washington showed that its actually hurting the workers it was supposed to help by two to three to one 125 a week loss for people its supposed to help. Thanks for our panelists. Thanks to you for watching. Happy 4th of july, everyone. Im matt odonnell. Well see you monday morning on action news. Im nydia han coming up next on action news, a 28yearold Delaware County man is charged with murder in the road rage killing of 18yearold bianca roberson. Plus, President Trump honors veterans on his first 4th of july as commanderinchief. Its a busy day along the jersey shore as thousands joy a long holiday weekend. Those stories and more. Its our all shades going on now. Styles and colors selection is wow. Roller, solar, roman, wood woven. No better time this must be an omen. Cellular, cascade, sheer pleated, allure. Nothing wrong with your windows new shades wouldnt cure. Summer suns here, its time to begin. A beautiful home, it shines from within. 25 off, savings are rife. Blinds to go. Blinds for life. And didnt realize how difficult it was going to be to tie all that space together. With an open floor plan, you need to separate it with furniture. Bassett had everything that we needed. Fabric combinations marry the rooms together. Having someone with bassett has been invaluable. We couldve never dreamed up this room without bassett. Good afternoon it is sunday, july 2, gray is off, im nydia han heres some of the stories were following on action news. Police have the red truck and the suspect wanted in a deadly road rage incident in chester county. Action news has exclusive video of the truck and were live with the latest details on the