"Most people think, 'No harm, no foul,' " Dembe said.Candidates submit their names to a committee headed by Common Pleas Court Judge William J.Manfredi, a longtime friend of Fumo's.Asked to describe qualifications for the jobs, he said, "I haven't the faintest." He said his committeesimply passes along candidates' names to the rest of the judges, who make the appointments in "asconscientious and as responsible a manner as possible."All the same, he said, most consider this duty a hassle, and would be delighted to be rid of it.Fumo was best man at Manfredi's wedding, and for years the two were partners in a Center Cityapartment building. But Manfredi said Fumo didn't have any more influence than other politicians."Bob Brady, Vince Fumo, John Perzel - you go through a list of all political people, I'm sure they had ortried to have some influence," Manfredi said.BRT members say they indeed seek the blessing of party leaders when trying to win a seat.Meade said she was a political unknown, so she had to contact 90 Common Pleas Court judges and getrecommendations from powerful friends, including Gov. Rendell and former Mayor W. Wilson Goode.Nix, son of a former Pennsylvania chief justice, had it easier."Practically, do I have an advantage?" Nix asked in a recent interview. "Sure, my father was in the judicial system. But I will say this: If Bobby Nix didn't have a business degree from Wharton School,wasn't an attorney, then Bobby Nix shouldn't have been appointed."For his part, Brady says he makes dozens of calls to lobby individual judges but doesn't always getwhat he wants.Sometimes judges assure him they'll support his candidates, Brady said, but then break thosepromises when they vote behind closed doors. The balloting is secret.As far back as the 1950s, critics have said the selection process taints the judges, insulates the BRTfrom public accountability, and allows bosses to pull strings behind the scenes."The public is convinced that some of the court's appointments to that board are made primarily, if notsolely, for political reasons," state Chief Justice John C. Bell Jr. told the state's judges in 1961.The result, Bell said, was diminished public confidence in the "impartiality and wisdom" of judges.
'I didn't know nothing'
Even among the political insiders on the BRT, Russo stands out."He's a soldier in Fumo's army," said former BRT chairman David B. Glancey.In 1999, while a BRT tax assessor, Russo became president of Citizens' Alliance for BetterNeighborhoods, the South Philadelphia nonprofit that was at the center of Fumo's federal corruptioncase.Russo testified that despite his title, he didn't have any real responsibilities. He didn't know Fumo hadbilled the charity for about $133,000 in personal items."I didn't know nothing," he told the grand jury, saying he signed papers without reading them.Given the close relationship with Fumo, Glancey says, he was surprised in 2004 to learn that Russo, aBRT tax assessor, was being given a spot on the board."I thought that was too political an appointment," Glancey said. "My [next] reaction was, 'This wasgoing to happen.' End of story. Nothing I could do about it."For Russo, politics is business. As a city employee, he is not allowed to participate in campaigns. Buthe does."Joe Russo is someone judicial candidates go to for assistance in the various levels of campaigns," saidPhiladelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Susan I. Schulman, who paid Russo more than $6,000 todistribute her sample ballots during the 2005 election.According to BRT employees, Russo also has taken judicial candidates to ward meetings and escortedthem through the BRT offices to get their petitions signed.
Leave a Comment