Rooting Out Public Corruption, Fraud & Economic Crimes: A Systemic Approach

By Daniel P. "Dan" McElhatton

Dan believes that it is critical to have a specialized corps of attorneys, investigators and other professionals to handle the issues of Public Corruption, Fraud and Economic Crimes. The City has been tainted by corruption for far too long and in far too many areas.

The District Attorney's Office should also be in the forefront of prosecuting crimes that drain our economy of valuable resources and use the authority of the office to recover lost funds and make offenders pay for their transgressions. Dan served as the Vice Chair of the City Board of Ethics and is well aware of the challenges in this area.

As District Attorney, Dan will:

• Restructure and reorganize the Investigations Division under the leadership of a Deputy District Attorney for Special Investigation and staff that Division with experienced investigators and professionals in accounting, finance and business.

• Recruit experienced professionals from the business and legal communities to assist the District Attorney's Office in rooting out fraud and corruption and establish the highest ethical standards for the office.

• Secure the technology needed to combat those engaging in economic, cyber crimes and identity theft, and use the most sophisticated methods available to create a zero tolerance policy for fraud, economic crimes and cyber crimes.

• Establish a "whistleblower" hotline for reporting of criminal activity of municipal employees, companies doing business with the City.

• Work with the Office of the Inspector General of Philadelphia to insure that there is no duplication of effort or no area where there is a failure to properly investigates.

• Coordinate with the Board of Ethics that there is ongoing information sharing and proper mutual referrals.