Mayor's bank records subpoenaed by feds

PHILADELPHIA -- Financial records for Mayor John Street, his wife and eldest son have been subpoenaed by federal investigators in the midst of a wide-ranging FBI probe, according to a published report.

The subpoena was served Friday at Commerce Bank's Philadelphia headquarters and sought bank records for Street, his wife Naomi Post, his son Sharif Street, and Ronald A. White, a lawyer who has been among Street's closest advisers and who has raised more than $250,000 for his campaigns, sources familiar with the FBI investigation told The Philadelphia Inquirer for Saturday's editions.

The mayor, who is running for re-election, refused to confirm or deny the report at a campaign event Saturday but complained about information being leaked to the press that he said was "undermining the electoral process in this city."

"I ought to be able to make my case without having to speak over all this background noise," he said.

Commerce Bank spokesman David Flaherty confirmed that a subpoena and search warrant were served at the bank's headquarters on Friday, but declined to elaborate. The records included deposit and loan documents but it could not be determined why they were being sought, the newspaper reported. A message left with Flaherty on Saturday was not immediately returned.

Arthur Makadon, an attorney representing Street, declined to comment on the subpoena, but told the newspaper he was not surprised. Makadon did not immediately respond to a telephone message left by The Associated Press on Saturday.

White said Saturday that federal authorities took "every record I have."

"Why have they focused this entire investigation on only minority businesses?" White told WPVI-TV. "Are you telling me that minorities are the only people that have contracts in this city? I don't think so."

A federal official, speaking on condition of anonymity, has told The Associated Press that Street is a "subject" in an FBI probe. The legal term is used to describe people whose conduct is within the scope of a criminal probe, although they themselves may not be suspected of breaking the law.

Authorities have declined to say what they are investigating, but in recent months federal agents have subpoenaed city agencies for thousands of pages of records having to do with various city contracts, including a $13.6 million maintenance contract at the city-owned Philadelphia International Airport.

There was no home telephone listing for Sharif Street and a message left at his law offices was not immediately returned Saturday.

Meanwhile, lawyers for Street's Republican challenger in the mayor's race, Sam Katz, asked a court Friday to keep under seal a lawsuit that accused him of deceiving former business partners and participating in an embezzlement scheme.

Philadelphia Newspapers Inc. and an attorney who is a Street supporter have asked for the documents to be unsealed before the Nov. 4 election. A hearing on the request may come within the next week.