documents for the contract and pass them through an intermediary, giving Dougherty a "degree of separation." Regan was told the process was designed to "eliminate competition," court documents state. Regan was also a donor to Pawlowski's mayoral, gubernatorial and U.S. Senate campaigns, according to campaign finance records. The TEN contract was canceled in the wake of the investigation. On April 3, 2017, Mark Neisser, a former business development manager of T&M Associates, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery offenses. The charging documents indicate that Neisser admitted giving thousands of dollars in campaign contributions to Public Official No. 1 and to Public Official No. 3 to "gain or maintain his firm's competitive edge" to receive municipal engineering contracts in Reading and in Allentown. On July 25, 2017, Pawlowski was indicted in a pay-to-play scheme according to his lawyer. Pawlowski has denied any wrongdoing and will not be stepping down or dropping out of the campaign for a fourth term as Allentown mayor. On March 1, 2018, following a federal trial, Pawlowski was found guilty of 47 charges, including multiple counts of conspiracy, bribery, attempted extortion, false statements to federal officials, mail fraud, and wire fraud. He was also found not guilty of seven charges. After the conviction U.S. Attorney Louis D. Lappen said in a statement, Pawlowski "(sold) his office to the highest bidder to fund his personal ambitions". On March 7, 2018, Pawlowski announced his resignation as Mayor of Allentown. On October 23, 2018, Pawlowski was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison. See also List of mayors of Allentown, Pennsylvania References External links Mayor Ed Pawlowski official government site Ed Pawlowski for U.S. Senate official U.S. Senate campaign site Living people Mayors of Allentown, Pennsylvania Moody Bible Institute alumni Pennsylvania Democrats Politicians from Chicago Pennsylvania politicians convicted of corruption University of Illinois alumni 1965 births 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American criminals American prisoners and detainees American politicians convicted of fraud American politicians convicted of bribery American politicians of Polish descent Criminals from Illinois Pennsylvania politicians convicted of crimes People convicted of making false statements Politicians convicted of mail and wire fraud Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government