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| John Waltman |
For six years John Waltman spent his days sitting in judgment of criminal and civil defendants who appeared in the Lower Southampton district court that he oversaw.
Now he earns his living laying tile in kitchens and bathrooms.
Later this year, the 61-year-old Lower Southampton resident could find himself spending the rest of his days as a federal prison inmate.
The fall from grace for the former public official ended in a Philadelphia courtroom Friday. Waltman admitted that while he was a district judge he conspired with two other public officials to launder money, accepted a bribe to fix a traffic ticket and tried to extort local businesses with promises of township contracts in exchange for kickbacks.
“I want to plead guilty,” Waltman told U.S. District Court Judge Gene E.K. Pratter, who accepted the plea. “Because I’m guilty, your honor.”
As a convicted felon, Waltman, former chairman of the Lower Southampton Republican Party, can’t run for political office again. The former longtime state constable also cannot possess a firearm.
He was the last defendant in the ongoing federal corruption probe involving Lower Southampton to admit his part in the scheme, which occurred in 2015 and 2016.
Waltman and two co-defendants — attorney and former Lower Southampton Public Safety Director Robert P. Hoopes, 71, of Doylestown and former state deputy constable Bernard Rafferty, 63, of Lower Southampton — were first indicted on the money laundering charges in December 2016, with additional charges of extortion, bribery, and fraud added in two superseding indictments in 2017. Hoopes, Rafferty and three others charged in connection with the federal investigation previously pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing dates.
On Friday, Waltman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering and five counts of Hobbs Act Extortion Under Color of Official Right; in exchange, all other charges against him will be dismissed at the time of sentencing, which was scheduled for May. He faces a potential maximum sentence of 120 years in prison and a $1.5 million fine, according to Richard Barrett, a prosecutor with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Waltman did not offer any explanations for his crimes and gave mostly one-word answers to questions. When Pratter asked him how he was feeling prior to his entering the plea, Waltman answered, “Upset. Nervous.” He also told the judge that he drank a cold beer on Thursday night with his dinner, and promised he would show up for his sentencing hearing.
“I’ll be here, your honor,” Waltman said.
As part of the plea agreement Waltman has also agreed to a notice of forfeiture to the court, meaning that he agrees as part of the deal he would not spend down assets between now and his sentencing. He will be required to submit financial statements to the U.S. attorney to make sure he is only spending money on essential items for his daily life.
In pleading guilty, Waltman admitted that he and his co-defendant Hoopes conspired to divert into their wallets part of an annual lease payment to Lower Southampton’s general fund for an outdoor digital sign to be located at Russell Elliot Memorial Park. The sign salesman pleaded guilty last year to lying to federal investigators about his role in the extortion attempt. The sign deal never went before supervisors for approval.
Waltman also admitted to offering to use his political influence to “make arrangements” to secure towing contracts with the township for several businesses in exchange for a kickback and agreeing to dismiss a traffic ticket issued by Pennsylvania State Police against an undercover FBI agent who was posing as a New York businessman as part of the federal operation for $1,000 payment.
Additionally, Waltman admitted to participating in three money laundering transactions in 2015 and 2016 involving $400,000 that federal undercover agents led them to believe was illegal proceeds from drug sales and health care fraud in exchange for fees of about $80,000 that were split between the three men.
While the indictment contended that Waltman “pocketed” his share of the money laundering fee, his attorney Louis Busico on Friday said while his client admits he participated in the money laundering scheme, he did not profit from it.
“He didn’t personally pocket any money,” Busico said.
After the hearing, Busico declined to comment on whether Waltman received any money for any of the crimes he pleaded guilty to.
Busico said his client decided to plead guilty to spare his family from a trial and emphasized Waltman’s “sole consideration” was the health and safety of his family.
“It was a difficult day for John,” Busico added. “He took it on the chin like a man.”
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