An L&I Inspector assigned to the Nuisance Task Force, operating out of the Philadelphia Police Department, was charged with extortion today in connection with his attempts to force a property owner to sell a property to him, announced Philadelphia Inspector General Amy L. Kurland, U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger and FBI Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Jayne Challman.
The federal indictment alleges that Kenneth Gassman, an inspector with the Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspection, abused his position as an inspector to try to force a property owner to sell his property to Gassman. According to the indictment, after the owner turned down Gassman’s offers to buy the property. Gassman began a course of conduct designed to make it impossible for the property owner to sell his property to anyone other than Gassman. Gassman caused other inspectors to issue false violations on the property, gave false information to other inspectors to justify violations, called bogus complaints about the property into the City’s 311 hotline, and vandalized the property. The indictment alleges that Gassman owned a significant number of properties on E. Thompson Street in Philadelphia, and abused his power to try to acquire this property, which was located between two of Gassman’s other properties.
If convicted of the charge Gassman could each face up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine, a $100 special assessment, and full restitution to the property owner.
Kurland said this indictment should send a message that City employees must uphold the public trust at all times in their official duties.
The indictment is the result of an investigation initiated by the Philadelphia Office of Inspector General and conducted jointly with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
