Michael Savona A former Lower Southampton solicitor has resigned from his prominent Doylestown Borough law firm one day after the release of the latest superseding federal grand jury indictment in the ongoing probe into allegations of corruption involving former Lower Southampton public officials.- The firm, Eastburn and Gray, confirmed in an email to this news organization late Wednesday night that it requested and received the resignation of Michael Savona, a prominent municipal attorney in Bucks and Montgomery counties. Savona served as township solicitor in Lower Southampton from January 2014 until last December; he served as township solicitor for at least four other Bucks and Montgomery county municipalities including Warminster and New Britain Borough, according to municipal records. At least three of those municipalities — Conshohocken and Lower Gwynedd in Montgomery County, and Warminster in Bucks — severed ties with Savona as of Thursday, according to their respective township managers. Warminster also appointed its alternate solicitor, who does not work for Eastburn and Gray, to handle legal matters for the rest of the year, township Manager Greg Schuster said in an email statement.
In the email statement from Eastburn and Gray, the firm stated that Savona was the “subject” of an investigation related to the alleged criminal conduct of “certain elected officials in a municipality he previously represented.” Savona has not been criminally charged in the Lower Southampton case.
“Mr. Savona assured Eastburn and Gray that he was not involved and had not done anything wrong. Unfortunately, Eastburn and Gray believes as of today (Dec. 6, 2017) that this representation is inaccurate,” the statement said.
- @joCiavaglia continues her dogged reporting efforts:
Third round of indictments leveled against two former Lower Southampton officials theintell.com/news/20171206/… via - Savona’s resignation comes following allegations contained in the new second superseding indictment against three former public officials and a former manager of a Philadelphia credit union who are accused of crimes including conspiracy to money launder, money laundering, bribery, and wire and mail fraud.
- In the latest indictment dated Dec. 5, federal investigators alleged that two defendants — John Waltman, 60, of Lower Southampton, a former Lower Southampton district judge, and Robert P. Hoopes, 70, of Doylestown Township, the former Lower Southampton director of public safety — extorted, or attempted to extort, money or other actions from businesses in exchange for promises to use their political influence with local municipal officials to secure favors. The indictment alleges that Waltman and Hoopes discussed with an attorney identified only as “Solicitor 1” alleged bribes the defendants sought from a sign company that wanted to erect a digital billboard last year in Russell Elliott Park in the 100 block of Street Road in Lower Southampton. The charging document describes “Solicitor 1″ as working as Lower Southampton’s township solicitor during the same two years that Savona held the position.
The indictment also described “Solicitor 1” as “LST’s chief legal advisor Solicitor 1 had actual and perceived authority over legal matters in LST and had actual and perceived influence over actions taken by and on behalf of LST by LST board of supervisors, officers and employees.”
In a telephone interview Thursday, Savona’s attorney, Mark Sheppard, said his client “will continue to cooperate fully with authorities, and that given the ongoing litigation he is not in a position to comment further.” - The second superseding indictment includes excerpts from text messages and telephone conversations between Waltman, Hoopes and “Solicitor 1” colluded to negotiate “consulting fees” from a billboard company. bit.ly/2iB0e0h
- I’d like to know how deep this goes into Lower SH Township government. Are they all related too?
- The Billboard ProjectThe indictment also includes excerpts from text messages and telephone conversations between Waltman, Hoopes and “Solicitor 1” colluded to negotiate “consulting fees” that the sign company would pay Raff’s Consulting in exchange for the two officials’ assurances that the Board of Supervisors and other township officials would look favorably on the billboard proposal and lease agreement. Raff’s Consulting was a business owned by Bernard Rafferty that figures prominently in the federal government’s allegations of money laundering, according to the previous December and August indictments against the defendants.
Rafferty, 62, of Lower Southampton, is the former deputy state constable who worked out of Waltman’s district court. He is facing charges in the federal probe.
The billboard company and its salesman were not identified in the Dec. 5 indictment, but Lower Southampton Board of Supervisor meeting minutes confirm that Savona was involved in negotiations last year with a subsidy of Catalyst Outdoor Advertising LLC of Malvern called Southampton Outdoor LLC. An attorney for Catalyst Outdoor confirmed Wednesday that the salesman identified in the indictment was former vice president of asset development Robert DeGoria. DeGoria is not criminally charged in the Lower Southampton probe. The company was seeking to place a two-sided advertising billboard in Russell Elliott Park. The agreement never came before the board of supervisors for a vote, according to township Manager John McMenamin. Minutes from last year corroborate the timeline outlined in the Dec. 5 indictment involving the billboard proposal and the alleged scheme to extort a payment for Waltman, Hoopes and Rafferty.
The minutes show DeGoria, who recently was terminated from Catalyst and Southampton Outdoor, according to Catalyst’s attorney, appeared before the board of supervisors on April 27, 2016, to pitch the proposed LED billboard project. According to those minutes, DeGoria said it could generate revenue for the township as a place where local businesses could advertise.
DeGoria sent a term sheet to “Solicitor 1” in May 2016 offering the township $48,000 a year over 30 years for the right to erect a billboard in the park, according to the new indictment. Lower Southampton supervisor minutes from May 11, 2016, confirm the Savona told the board he received a proposal from Catalyst for a double-sided billboard at Russell Elliott Park offering $48,000 a year for 29 years and 11 months. It also promised a 10-percent increase in the annual payment every 60 months.
“Mr. Savona said that Catalyst needs to come a long way to match” another company that operated a one-sided digital billboard in the township that paid the township an annual fee of $50,000 with a 2-percent increase annually, according to the May 11, 2016, supervisor minutes.
The Dec. 5 indictment confirmed that “Solicitor 1” and the supervisors thought the offer was too low and wanted $68,000 a year, money it planned to use for capital improvements and the general fund.
In early November 2016, DeGoria sent a revised term sheet to “Solicitor 1” offering $60,000 a year over 30 years, and afterward according to the Dec. 5 indictment. DeGoria, Waltman and Hoopes allegedly entered into an “unlawful arrangement” where the public officials allegedly agreed to solicit, accept and conceal bribes through “Raff’s Consulting.” In return, the public officials agreed to “influence actions taken by, and on behalf of, LST’s Board of Supervisors, LST officers, and ‘Solicitor 1’ to accept the company’s lease offer for the billboard at Russell Elliott park,” according the latest indictment.
The Dec. 5 indictment specifically noted that in early November 2016, DeGoria asked Hoopes if someone could “influence LST’s Board of Supervisors to take a favorable view” of the new lease offer.
“Yeah, I can do that,” Hoopes said, according to the Dec. 5 indictment, adding, “I’ll make it happen.”
Hoopes also allegedly specifically asked DeGoria about being paid to influence the outcome, stating, “We’re going to get money if we make it happen,” according to the Dec. 5 charging document.
The last time the billboard proposal was publicly discussed was the Nov. 9, 2016, supervisors work session where Savona told the board that Catalyst had been reaching out to him about the April presentation involving a digital billboard at Russell Elliott Park, according to the board minutes. “Mr. Savona said this would generate revenue for the Township. If the Board is interested, he will give them a nod to go ahead and present paperwork to him,” according to a copy of the Nov. 9, 2016, board minutes.
Over the next few weeks, the deal started to fall apart after Waltman and Hoopes allegedly balked at the amount of the kickback DeGoria offered, according to the indictment. DeGoria wanted to give Waltman a one-time payment of $3,000 as a consulting fee, but Waltman was expecting annual payments.
The indictment alleges that with the knowledge of Waltman and Hoopes, “Solicitor 1” participated in the reviewing and negotiations of the “consulting fee” that would be paid to Raff’s Consulting. In one conversation with DeGoria, Waltman described “Solicitor 1” as “one of us,” according to the indictment. In mid-November 2016 “Solicitor 1” sent DeGoria a text message stating the lease agreement should be for $55,000 annually for the township and $10,000 “to consultant” and to send him a new term sheet, according to the Dec. 5 indictment.
In a phone conversation on Nov. 16, 2016, “Solicitor 1” told Waltman that he was unhappy with the latest lease offer from DeGoria which would have paid the township $55,020 a year for 30 years because he felt the one-time “consultant” fee to Raff’s Consulting was too low, according to the Dec. 5 indictment.
“If you want to carve out one payment then I am not reducing the rent forever, period,” “Solicitor 1″ allegedly told Waltman, according to the court document.
Waltman responded to “Solicitor 1:” “You have complete control of this. You make the decision okay,” according to the indictment.
Waltman faces five additional counts of Hobbs Act extortion under color of official right, three counts of Travel Act bribery and two counts of wire fraud in the latest superseding indictment. Hoopes faces three additional counts of Hobbs Act extortion under color of official right, three counts of Travel Act bribery and two counts of wire fraud.
The new indictment includes all the previous charges against Waltman and Hoopes, as well as co-defendants Rafferty and Kevin Biederman, 34, of Philadelphia, a former manager at Philadelphia Federal Credit Union. Waltman, Hoopes and Rafferty originally were charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and money laundering in a grand jury indictment released Dec. 16, 2016.
The three officials were subsequently charged in an Aug. 1 superseding indictment with honest service wire fraud, honest service mail fraud, and one count of extortion under color of official right, Hoopes was also charged with witness tampering, and Biederman was charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering, money laundering and bank bribery.
Lower Southampton supervisors did not publicly address the indictments during Wednesday’s board meeting, but afterward Chairman Keith Wesley said no one on the board had any knowledge of alleged conversations or illegal arrangements described in the indictment.
Staff writer Christian Menno contributed to this report. - Breaking - multiple municpalities have cut ties with a Bucks County municipal attorney after he resigned from his firm following release of the latest #LowerSouthampton corruption indictment Wednesday. Stay tuned for our detailed story.
- Eastburn and Gray statement
December 6, 2017
Mr. Savona was the subject of an investigation related to the alleged criminal conduct of certain elected officials in a municipality he previously represented. Mr. Savona assured Eastburn and Gray that he was not involved and had not done anything wrong. Unfortunately, Eastburn and Gray believes as of today that this representation is inaccurate.
Eastburn and Gray has requested and received Mr. Savona’s resignation.
For over 140 years, the attorneys of Eastburn and Gray have been committed to providing the highest level of professional service and ethical standards in the practice of law. We regret that Mr. Savona failed to uphold these standards.
Fortunately, no clients of the firm have been harmed. No other attorney or staff member was involved in the actions which resulted in the request for his resignation.
Any comments or questions about Mr. Savona’s future status or plans should be addressed to him or his attorney.
Eastburn and Gray, P.C.
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