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"Breathtakingly Shocking." FBI wiretaps"
Wed Oct 8 22:46:57 2003
64.140.158.74

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Subject: "Breathtakingly Shocking." FBI wiretaps" Incumbent Democrat" Philadelphia Mayor's office in close race with Republican candidate:
Date: Wed, 8 Oct 2003 18:42:04 -0700
From: "7NEVADA" 7NEVADA@sbcglobal.net
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FBI Planted Bugs in Phila. Mayor Offices

By DAVID B. CARUSO ASSOCIATED PRESS

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -

Federal law enforcement officials on Wednesday confirmed
that listening devices found in the offices of Mayor John F.
Street were planted by the FBI - a discovery that touched
off a political furor just weeks before Election Day.

Three federal law enforcement officials, speaking on
condition of anonymity, acknowledged that the FBI was
responsible for the bug, but refused to comment on whether
the Democratic mayor is a target of an investigation or to
provide any details about the nature of the probe.

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, a Democrat, and Sen. Arlen
Specter, a Republican, were among several politicians who
called on the FBI Wednesday to tell the public what it knows
about the eavesdropping equipment, found Tuesday.

"I think given this extraordinary situation with four weeks
to go in the campaign, it is incumbent upon the FBI to say
why they planted the device," Rendell said.

The bug was found during a routine sweep of Street's office
by police. Street is locked in a bitter rematch against
Republican businessman Sam Katz, and the campaign has been
marked by charges of threats and race-baiting. Election Day
is Nov. 4.

At a meeting with reporters Wednesday, Street said for the
second day that he didn't know who bugged his office or why.

"I haven't done anything wrong, and I don't know that
anybody in my cabinet or in my staff around me has done
anything wrong," Street said.

Street's campaign suggested the bugging was instigated by
the U.S. Justice Department for political reasons.

"The timing of the discovery of these listening devices
seems incredibly strange, seeing that we are four weeks out
of the election, and we have a Democratic mayor ahead in the
polls, and we are on the eve of the first mayoral debate,"
Street campaign spokesman Frank Keel said.

"Do we believe that the Republican Party, both at the
federal level and state level, is pulling out every stop to
get Pennsylvania in 2004? Absolutely," Keel said. "Is the
Republican Party capable of dirty tricks? I think that is
well-documented."

U.S. Attorney Patrick Meehan, the top federal prosecutor in
Philadelphia, declined to say what federal agents might know
about the bug but denied politics plays any role in his
office's decisions.

"The U.S. Attorney's office in the Eastern District of
Pennsylvania has a long and proud history of doing its work
without regard to partisan politics. That was the practice
of my predecessors, and it is my practice as well," Meehan
said in a statement.

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson said he
turned the matter over to the FBI. He said the security
sweeps of the mayor's office have been going on for decades.

An aide to Street who spoke on condition of anonymity said
that more than one microphone was found and that all were
within the mayor's office suite. Officials would not say how
long the equipment was believed to have been in place, but
police said a sweep done in June found nothing suspicious.

Katz called the discovery "breathtakingly shocking." His
campaign denied having anything to do with the bugging.

Street beat Katz four years ago by fewer than 10,000 votes
in this city of 1.5 million. Polls also show a neck-and-neck
race in this year's campaign.

In August, someone tossed what was believed to have been an
unlit firebomb through the window of a Katz campaign office.
An aide to Street and a former city employee were charged
with making threats after getting into a confrontation the
same day. Supporters of Street, who is black, and supporters
of Katz, who is white, have accused each other of
race-baiting.

Feds Planted Bug In Street's Office
Mayor Says Bug Part Of Political Attack NBC News has confirmed that it was federal investigators who placed an electronic device in Philadelphia mayor John Street's office.
http://www.nbc10.com/politics/2541019/detail.html

How Did Investigators Get Permission To Bug The Mayor?
http://www.nbc10.com/politics/2541139/detail.html

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