Milton Street’s Trial Has Begun!

Apparently Milton Street isn’t the celebrity I thought he was, as jury selection only took one day. Testimony begins today in the ex-mayor’s brother’s fraud trial.

So here’s the backstory; this is summed up the best I’ve seen it so far:

Later in 2002, court records show, PAS awarded a subcontract to Street’s company Notlim Service Management. The subcontract, worth up to $3.2 million, was to maintain the airport’s baggage conveyor systems, Jetways, and passenger transport vehicles. It was work in which Notlim - Milton spelled backward - had no experience. The solution, prosecutors allege, was for Notlim to hire PAS workers already doing the work and get $166,000 monthly as a minority subcontractor. Notlim then reimbursed PAS $133,000 for using its employees, according to prosecutors, and Street pocketed the $33,000 balance.

But in June 2003, when Philadelphia news media published accounts of the Notlim airport deal, Milton Street announced his withdrawal from the relationship at his brother’s request, saying it would “raise questions about the appropriateness of the subcontract because of my relationship to the mayor.” To replace that lost income, prosecutors allege, Street, aided by Velardi, defrauded Thanh Nguyen, owner of V-Tech Services Inc., a facilities maintenance firm. Street allegedly got more than $80,000 from Nguyen by promising him Notlim’s $3.2 million airport subcontract - despite the fact that the business relationship no longer existed.

Oh, Milton. The trial was scheduled to start at 9:15 this morning, so it should already be rolling! Don’t worry; yours truly will be heading over to the trial sometime next week.

Testimony to start in Milton Street’s federal fraud trial [Inquirer]

Pat Croce Finally Gets Angry

Man, look at former 76ers prez Pat Croce. He’s even in a good mood while pillaging. (I guess if you’re a pirate, getting some booty puts you in a good mood. Actually, I guess that puts anyone in a good mood. Where was I again?)

Needless to say, Pat Croce usually feels great. Whether at the helm of the 76ers, hosting that syndicated show or just being a plain old motivational guru, Croce is always happy.

Except when he invests about 100 large in a fake movie. In the Daily News today, Dan Gross reports that Croce had two screenings of a 15-minute short film The Messenger yanked after learning that, well, pretty much everything in it was fake:

The 15-minute-film, by Quincy Perkins, tells the story of how messenger Thomas E. Jones was held up while delivering Japan’s official surrender in WWII from the Swiss Embassy to the White House on Aug. 14, 1945.

Perkins “deceived me into believing that he had interviewed the real 76-year-old Thomas Jones in his hospital bed,” Croce said, adding that Perkins told him that Jones died last December.

Croce says Perkins, 26, called him Sunday night to reveal not only that he’d hired an actor to play Jones, but that Jones was alive in Maryland.

I used to think Croce was a pretty smart businessman, turning an athletic trainer gig into a motivational speaking career into the presidency of the 76ers. Then he sold high on the Sixers, getting out before they became too horrid.

But, dude, $100,000 on a shitty 15-minute film? Come on, man, open an ING Direct account or something.

Croce doesn’t feel great [DN, 2nd item]
Photo via Pirate Soul, Pat Croce’s pirate museum

Quickies: None of this is good news

• I don’t even know what to think of this. But it’s a little disappointing that a con man under investigation for posing as a death-penalty expert was able to successfully pose as a psychotherapist. Yikes. [DN]

• Speaking of scary things: Being allergic to wheat isn’t as rare as once thought. Yikes. [Inky]

• The kids in Jersey accused of beating up homeless people — the “Bum Hunters,” we’ve all dubbed them — say they’re not guilty. [KYW 3]

• Pierre Robert: Guest co-host of 10! today! Right now! Feel the magic, citizen!