Opinion ID: 3026413
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Evidence Concerning Kemp

Text: The government overwhelmingly proved that White showered Kemp with gifts5 and that Kemp permitted White to wield an untoward influence in selecting which companies would be selected for6 or excluded from7 bond teams.8 Kemp 5 White arranged for Kemp to receive tickets to the NBA All-Star Game and concomitant festivities; two $5,000 checks from Hawkins; a $10,350 deck; transportation and tickets to the Super Bowl in San Diego as well as accommodation and meals; four tickets to a USA basketball game; trips to New York and Detroit; and numerous meals. Moreover, White promised to help Kemp advance his post-treasurer career. 6 For instance, in an April 28, 2003 phone call, White and Kemp discussed the composition of several bond teams. Kemp noted that White had been selected as counsel for each deal, so the two focused on underwriters. An excerpt of the telephone call illustrates White’s massive authority: Kemp: And you wanted Loop on there. White: Ah . . . Kemp: On the UBS, First American and Loop. White: Yeah. . . . [A]lso I would like . . . Janney Montgomery Scott. Kemp: Okay. White: All right? Kemp: All right. White: If I gotta take Siebert off, well, if I, we gotta take somebody off I definitely want Janney Montgomery Scott on there. So we addin’ Loop, you say, and Janney Mont. . . Kemp: You . . . wanted UBS, First American, Loop, and you want Janney. White: Yeah. Kemp: Okay, all right. (App. 11983-84.) A February 25, 2003 phone call found Kemp and White gloating about their successes: after White instructed Kemp to offer a spot to a particular individual, Kemp stated, “Not a problem at 8 all. Yeah. So, . . . we got the whole rest of the team.” White responded, “Right. We’re finally doing it the way they use to do us, right? It’s terrible, ain’t it brother?” Kemp replied, “Oh no, it’s life. Oh, it’s life man.” (App. at 11707.) Kemp and White’s mode of operation is clearly illustrated in their conversation about Andre Allen, a principal of a Philadelphia financial advisory firm, who was seeking business from the city. Right off the bat, White asked Allen for a $25,000 contribution to the mayor’s reelection campaign, and Allen promised to consider the request. Soon thereafter, Kemp and White discussed this situation: White: [Allen] called me, today. . . He called me, you know, because I, I asked him . . . if he could raise twenty-five grand. . . . Called me you know, crying, talkin’ about he couldn’t do it. . . . Then he started askin’ me, well, man, if, you know, if you all deliv-, and I said, listen, man, how many times I got to tell you, don’t have that conversation with me. Kemp: Right. White: You know what I mean, don’t have no quid pro quo conversations with me, I don’t have those kinds of conversations. You know, I said listen, I ain’t got time to convince you, man, you know. Like, we sat down and we spent a lot of time with you, and we told you, you know, you was going to be part of the team. Now, you know, yous either, you down or you ain’t with it. Kemp: Right, right. . . . ‘Cause if they don’t, if they ain’t with it they ain’t going to get nothin’. White: That’s right. Kemp: You know, you, you just hate to say it, but that’s the way it is. . . . You know it’s not a hard decision. You know, because that stuff comes, comes back, over and over. (App. 12973-74.) 7 For instance, in the February 25, 2003 phone call, Kemp reported that he had been asked to include Pryor, McClendon, a financial firm, and Schnader, Harrison, a law firm, on the Drexel 9 and White’s relationship was accurately encapsulated by Kemp’s statement, after informing White that White would be paid $35,000 to $40,000 for a city contract, “[Y]ou got your boy sitting in the Treasurer’s seat, man!” (App. at 12473.) The government also presented evidence concerning the asset-locator business that Kemp operated with his friend Anderson. Anderson testified that in November 2002, Kemp told Anderson that the treasurer’s office had received a request from a company for a list of bondholders whose bonds had matured but who had not collected their money. Kemp told Anderson that the two of them should create a business offering the same service. Kemp and Anderson hoped to get paid by the bondholders for facilitating their recovery; Kemp and Anderson agreed that Kemp would receive 40% of the proceeds. Kemp “said that he would have to be paid in cash and that no one could really know about his interest in it because he was treasurer.” (App. at 9006.) According to Anderson, Kemp would receive his share for providing the list of bondholders and generating the forms that had to be filed to permit the banks to pay on the bonds. Anderson ultimately initiated this business, using a company that she co-owned with another friend. She collected fees of $3,700 and $1,000, and paid Kemp, in cash, a total of $1,300 for his services. University bond team. White strenuously objected to these firms, and stated, “[Y]ou tell him Pryor McClendon is out, forever.” White went on to demand that Schnader, Harrison also be excluded, explaining that “they don’t do nothin’ for nobody.” (App. at 11705.) While Schnader, Harrison earned more than other law firms in fees from bond deals while Kemp’s predecessor was treasurer, during Kemp’s tenure, they were not selected for a single deal. 8 Philadelphia assembled a “bond team” to handle the issuance of bonds. This team included, among other professionals, a lead underwriter, other underwriting banks, separate counsel for the issuer and bondholders, and a printer for the financial documents. 10