Former Aide to Chaka Fattah Admits Role in Diverting Campaign Funds
US Eastern Pennsylvania District Court. Photo | JVinocur
Here’s what we know: Gregory Naylor, the former chief of staff to Congressman Chaka Fattah, today in federal court admitted diverting federal campaign funds to help the son of an unidentified elected official.
But authorities are, so far, being tight-lipped about who that official might be. And who the son might be.
According to court filings, Naylor issued a false $194,000 invoice in 2010 from his management consulting firm, Sydney Lei & Associates, to a campaign involved in the 2007 Philadelphia mayoral race. Prosecutors say he concealed the crime by reporting fake in-kind contributions to the campaign.
And:
Prosecutors also allege Naylor helped launder money used to pay down the college debts of an elected official’s son from 2007 to 2011. Using various federal campaign funds, court documents say, he passed $22,663 through his consulting firm and then onto the son, who he listed as an independent contractor on tax forms.
It’s worth mentioning a couple of things here:
• Naylor worked on Fattah’s 2007 campaign for mayor.
• Fattah is known to have been under the scrutiny of federal investigators for years — and even this spring spoke openly of fighting federal subpoenas.
• And Fattah’s son, Chaka Fattah Jr., was indicted earlier this month on a whole range of alleged financial crimes, to which he pled not guilty.
Naylor’s plea memo is available below.
