Ever since the very first forum, it’s been clear that Northampton County DA John Morganelli does not care for Montgomery County Commissioner Josh Shapiro.
Morganelli took it step further on Monday, though, when he accused his opponent of being improperly influenced by campaign donations. He pointed to six instances where Shapiro voted to award contracts to businesses that had or soon afterward donated to his campaign.
“He runs around with ethics and integrity on his sleeve, but where is that same standard when it comes to his own conduct?” Morganelli asked. “Are the folks of Montgomery County paying attention to what is going on here inside this courthouse?”
Meanwhile, the Zappala campaign issued a statement praising their candidate for not doing what Morganelli alleges Shapiro did.
“Stephen Zappala has an eighteen year record as the Allegheny County District Attorney taking on pay-to-play and convicting powerful politicians of corruption, including a sitting supreme court justice,” Zappala Campaign Manager Marty Marks said. “Zappala is the right candidate to take on the Harrisburg status quo.”
As you would expect the Shapiro campaign didn’t take this lying down, hitting Morganelli for his past electoral losses as well as tossing in some allegations of their own.
“It’s sad to see John Morganelli flailing away with these desperate attacks, motivated by his frustration at losing a fourth-straight statewide campaign,” Shapiro Campaign Manager Joe Radosevich stated. “These totally false claims are recycled from the past, and Morganelli was literally laughed at by an audience when he tried to use this same attack earlier this month. It’s hard to take Mr. Morganelli seriously when he takes tens of thousands of dollars from defense attorneys who he negotiates cases with every day in the courthouse.”
After defending his candidate, Radosevich then went after Zappala for seemingly teaming up with Morganelli.
“Furthermore, it’s becoming clear that John Morganelli is running a kamikaze campaign focused on Josh Shapiro,” he wrote. “Why else would he publicly praise Stephen Zappala today, and state at a recent forum, ‘if you don’t vote for me, at least vote for Zappala,’? And why wouldn’t he have brought up today the well-documented fact that Stephen Zappala awarded no-bid contracts to his old law firm, and has then received undisclosed payments from them?”
The Democratic primary is scheduled for April 26th.
17 Responses
Details from John Morganelli’s press release. It is well-argued case with detailed facts.
FTA Shapiro also received a $2,500 contribution from McCormick Taylor, an engineering firm, in 2015, one month before, Morganelli said, the company received a county contract. A principal of McCormick donated $1,000 to Shapiro this month.
Morganelli said Shapiro accepted $30,000 in contributions from the head of Allan Myers Construction Co. between 2012 and 2015, and the company received a multimillion-dollar contract with the county for highway work.
“Josh is great at giving lofty speeches and lecturing everyone in ethics and integrity,” he said. “Meanwhile, he has his hand out to all these vendors.”
Shapiro’s campaign shot back with a statement calling Morganelli’s attacks desperate and “a kamikaze campaign.”
From John Morganellis’ Press release
McCormick Taylor
* February 20, 2015 – $2500 contribution to Shapiro
* March 6, 2015- Shapiro votes for a $400,000 contract award to
McCormick Taylor for engineering services
And another $1,000 from a principal of McCormick on March 7,2016
Matt McTish ( McTish, Kunkel Associates)
* June 18,2014- Shapiro makes the motion and votes for $1 million dollar contract for construction inspection services
* February 23, 2015- Shapiro accepts $5,000 from Matt McTish
Exelon Corporation- energy company in Chicago/subsidiary is Constellation Co.
* June 19, 2014- $2.4 million dollar contract awarded
* February 19, 2015- Shapiro accepts $5,000 contribution from
Exelon
And more recently, Exelon PAC contributed another $2500 to Shapiro on March 7, 2016.
PECO Energy Co
* October 15, 2015- PECO awarded a $73,896 contract
* October 19,2015- Shapiro accepts $1,000 contribution/ he had previously received a $500 contribution on 1/19/15
Gannet Fleming- engineering services
* February 18,2015- Shapiro accepts a $1,000 contribution
* October 15,2015- Gannet awarded a $285,400 contract
Aetna Inc
* January 15,2015- Aetna awarded a $2 million dollar contract for dental services
* March 20, 2015- Shapiro accepts $2500 fro Aetna PAC
Allan Myers
Between 2012 and 2015 Shapiro accepted $30,000 in campaign contributions from the head of Allan Myers Construction Co. Myers was awarded an $11.5 million contract for highway work in Montgomery County- a contract Shapiro voted to increase by $3.4 million in August of 2014.
David-please post your mailing address so we can all mail you lollypops. Maybe that will help you. You are just an angry little boy.
None of these people have any business being Attorney General. What a sad state of affairs.
Best Choice-
1) I haven’t received a nickel by Zappala (though I did enjoy free cheese and wine at his state committee event)
2) While I had hoped to get Josh’s business for a Senate run, when it became apparent that he was interested in AG last August, I told him flat out I didn’t think he was qualified for the job and would vote for Kane over him. I would never even consider offering him my voter services for his AG run, because I have ZERO belief he is even remotely qualified for the job. So, Josh was disqualified from consideration as a customer from the get-go for this this race, as well as for my vote.
3) If had had received money from Zappala (and the charge for my services is only $1500/month), that’s a far cry below the $50,000 Josh got from the charter school PAC. So, why aren’t you concerned about the money Josh received from them and how it might influence him?
4) I think it’s a disgrace that he was planning a run, all the while claiming he wanted to serve 4 more years as Montco Commissioner to get re-elected. It’s essentially a deception to the public, and he should have come clean about his ambitions. Announcing his AG run right after he was sworn in, but denying it for the two months after the election, was insulting.
5) Nothing I’ve said is even remotely “slanderous, libelous, defamatory, malicious”. I was explaining to YOU why just “building” isn’t necessarily a great thing. Duh.
6) Josh does owe an explanation for the allegations by Morganelli as to how Josh would investigate similar allegations of contracts awarded and donations received.
7) Josh has no plans to give back the $50,000 from the charter school people. His campaign manager told me that since Josh got the PSEA endorsement they don’t f*cking care about any heat from the charter donation.
8) I’d happily take business from Zappala for my services, as he meets the threshold of being qualified for the job.
Please tell us David, after reviewing all your slanderous, libelous, defamatory, malicious, disparaging remarks regarding Shapiro- full discloser-are you getting paid by Zappala???
Are you just another paid mouth piece?
What makes you an disgruntled, angry, little boy?
Tell us-tell us the truth????
Did Shapiro refuse to hire you?
Did Shapiro take away your lollypop?
Best Choice
Umm… The (potential) problem is if the builders got picked through bribery to Josh’s reelection campaign.
That seems to be the allegation/consern.
Is the work substandard? Did the county overpay? Was there a better design for the buildings? Better environmental considerations?
Ethics101 Lord have mercy, I am trying to pick up what your laying down but let me try again.
Josh and Marcel are both bad people because they encourage and promote builders and new growth?
HMMMM But won’t that make a better place to live for everyone?
Build and they will come thing???
The builder makes money building, workers make money building, People move in and have a place to live, people pay taxes, people buy goods, People build happy neighborhood’s.
Explain again what makes Josh evil?
And if you want Josh to leave – why aren’t you voting for him? And looking over election results it appears Montgomery County Loves him..
Gosh you sure do confuse me Ethics101 …
Thanks Nick
You know what’s awesome for
Josh? He didn’t have to spend a dime to run for his re-election to County Commissioner because his golfing buddy Mike Vereb rolled out the red carpet for him. Ethics101 has it right; we are sick of Josh down in Montco.
Best Choice. First take a breath. Second if you actually attended our supervisors meeting last week you wouldn’t feel how you do. Josh Shapiro and Marcel have been like tweedle dee and tweedle dumb for years. So we were offended by Marcel’s presence at our meeting. We been dealing with these 2 dopes for years. They’re not above the law even though they think they are. I don’t even know what your talking about with Zappala. I’m voting for Rafferty.
The team Shapiro response amounts to:
“Move along. Nothing to see here. I said, ‘Move along!’ ”
A more thoughtful response, given the accusation of the time proximity of donations and awarded contracts, would be:
How would Josh distinguish between quid-pro-quo and non quid-pro-quo donations if he were AG if the same proximity existed?
Would it warrant an investigation? (and some warrants)
What is Josh’s criteria for investigating the type of relationship that Morganelli alleges, and what’s “different” here?
Morganelli is at least shedding some needed sunshine on the hypocritically brazen tactics of Josh Shapiro.
Ethics101 So lets get this straight and out in the public.
Josh Shapiro and Marcel Groen may know some of the same people in Montgomery County! I am shocked and amazed.
Marcel Groen who is a (Attorney) has clients in Montgomery County! OMG another shocker and true amazement.
Israel Roizmann from Roizmann Properties a builder wants to build homes! Another amazing story line.
Ethics101 how about some other interesting news. That will just Wow you.
Zappala and his family locked kids up for cash. DA Zappala is using and taking that same cash, the same kid blood money to fund his race.
Zappala Father hmmmmmm wasn’t he some sort of person on the Gaming commission??? HMMMMM And now those same gambling rings are feeding Zappala race… HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
Maybe you need to look at the real picture.
But again thanks for telling us and helping me to inform the world that builders want to build in Pa and they also hire law firms that live in Pa.
I don’t know what you think is hypocritical about Doc. You can criticize the man for plenty, but he sure does what he says.
Morganelli/Zappala conversation goes something like this…….
Listen I’ll stay in the race and trash Josh for you. Your inability to speak or even put together a proper sentence will show the voters one of your public weakness.
Once we pull this scam off I want appointed to run the office for you, your Dad promised me. (You know you are lazy and hate work to anyways)
I’ll show up at the debates act like a Trump want-to-be and scream at Josh.
I’ll refuse to put my name into nomination at the State Committee meeting (lets hope you are correct and can count) Darn that didn’t work-I thought you said Burn can control those idiots…. Guess they are on to him.
Ok new plan I’ll just spend the money and time I have attacking Josh. Think you can stop screwing up anything for a month. Just tell people a story, some case has you to busy to campaign and make public appearances. (God we have to keep you out of the public)
And stop sending your gooneys out in public-we have to hide your past and your families dealings with Cash for kids.
Ok got the plan? Attacks on Josh will start on Tuesday. Remember shut up keep your head down. Let me handle fooling voters. Sad part even the voters are smarter then you, Steve.
Tell your Dad I said Hi.
You know what would be refreshing? If Josh Shapiro told the truth. Instead he’s the worst liar and hypocrite out there in the Democratic Party other than of course Johnny Doc. Josh keeps pounding away just like Wolf on ethics and integrity gift bans and legislative reform. But the reality is there worse than those legislators they’re criticizing. Case in point : about a week ago Israel Roizmann from Roizmann Properties waltzed into the East Norriton Supervisors meeting. His agenda, a 200 unit apartment complex. We don’t have condos or apartments here. 200 neighbors came to protest. ( usually we have 6 people at a Supervisors meeting). Guess who Roizman properties attorney was Marcel Groen. Guess how much Roizman has donated to Josh Shapiro 75 k a year since 2013.
So do us all a favor save your golden boy ethic reform load of SHIT. Wolf is no better he appointed this hack Shapiro to the PaCrimeComm so they could use it as there own personal ATM to give grant money to those associations they were gonna ask for support. Look at his campaign reports. THEY CANT GOVERN!! All they know how to do is campaign from McGinty to Isenhour Shapiro and Wolf. This is no FRESH START. It’s a bunch of recycled Rendell hacks. Those of us from the Norristown area have been accepting this trash for too long. Enough is enough
Morganelli is desperate – I wonder what Zappala promised him to be his attack dog.