(TriceEdneyWire.com) —Two elected district attorneys who are Black, rarities in law enforcement, are facing significant challenges on their jobs, one for alleged corruption and the other for taking a principled stand.
Rufus Seth Williams, district attorney for the city and county of Philadelphia, the largest prosecutor’s office in Pennsylvania, was recently charged in a 23-count indictment involving bribery and fraud. His office serves 1.5 million residents.
Williams was elected to office twice and had planned to run for re-election a third time before his indictment on March 21. He pled not guilty to the charges.
He said he will remain on the job to complete his term, although Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney has called for his resignation.
The 50-page indictment charged Williams, who was first elected to office in Nov. 3, 2009, and re-elected on Nov. 6, 2013, accepted bribes including a $7,000 check and gifts including a $502 dinner, a $300 iPad, a $205 Louis Vuitton tie and a vacation to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
Williams is also charged with diverting for his own personal use $10,319 intended to pay for a relative’s care in a nursing home, according to the indictment. Williams earned $170,000 a year. In the other case, Color of Change, the online civil rights organization, has launched an online petition drive blasting Florida Gov. Rick Scott for removing Aramis Ayala, the state’s first elected Black prosecutor, from a high-profile case because she has refused to seek the death penalty. Ayala was elected the Orange-Osceola prosecutor in November after defeating the incumbent.
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