Bad Rep

Does the Democratic power broker Chaka Fattah run a crime family?

In late August, a great crack resounded across Philadelphia’s Democratic establishment when Gregory Naylor, a prominent political consultant, entered aguilty plea in federal court, implicating not only himself but also a U.S. congressman and several of his key allies in a sordid and complex fraud scheme involving taxpayer dollars and campaign finances.

The plea memorandum mentions only “Elected Official A,” but numerous details corroborate the identity of Representative Chaka Fattah, one of the most powerful men in Philadelphia. The son of a vocal black nationalist activist, Fattah cut his teeth in politics in the late 1970s when he was just 22, running with a friend for election to the city commission. Though he lost that election, Fattah learned a valuable lesson about political organization and spent the subsequent decades building one of the most effective political machines in Philly, an effort that eventually won him not only local prestige but also ten terms in Congress.

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