Is Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown Under Federal Investigation?

Remember the stink surrounding Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown? Earlier this year, we learned that Brown admitted using campaign money to pay off a personal loan (that’s a no-no) and to covering up her misdeed. The Board of Ethics ordered her to cough up nearly $50,000 in fines and repayments. And now the U.S. Attorney would like to have a word with her.

Philadelphia magazine has seen official documentation indicating that Brown has been under investigation by U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger and that John McDaniel, her former campaign manager, has cooperated with the investigation.

Today, McDaniel (seen in the above photos from his Twitter feed) begins a year-and-a-day sentence in federal prison for stealing more than $100,000 from Brown’s political action committee. That sentence could be reduced should the investigation result in an indictment of Brown.

Brown’s office did not respond to messages seeking comment, and McDaniel’s attorney, Charles Gibbs, declined to comment for this article. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office delivered some classic spokespersonspeak when asked about the investigation into Brown: “We don’t confirm or deny the existence or non-existence of investigations.”