Hundreds of checks written by Sheriff Rochelle Bilal's office appear to violate the Home Rule Charter, according to records obtained by The Inquirer. No one in City Hall wants to talk about it.
describes her office as dangerously underfunded, to the point that she is unable to buy needed supplies for her deputies.
Instead, for years, the Sheriff’s Office has kept the money, and used it to purchase everything from ammunition, Tasers, and filing cabinets, to the foam mascot and numerous promotional items, such as Rochelle Bilal trading cards. Following the source and final destination of all that money is often difficult and sometimes impossible. Even so, reporters tracked nearly $2 million that was paid using checks that covered more than 700 discretionary purchases, such as the mascot costume.
Some checks are cosigned by Bilal herself, such as a $32,000 payment for advertising written last year to TML Communications, a firm run by Bilal’s former campaign manager who now serves as the office’s contracted spokesperson. A spokesperson for Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration said it was unaware of any special authorization granted to the sheriff for these funds.‘This can’t be real’
“Generally, the body that spends the money should not be the body that’s collecting the money,” said Jayce Farmer, an assistant professor in the School of Public Policy and Leadership at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. “You want checks and balances to make sure the moneys go to where they need to go.”
that both Bilal and her predecessor had been spending this money inappropriately and “operating outside of the checks and balances established in the Home Rule Charter meant to protect taxpayer funds from mismanagement or misuse.” In 2022, the sheriff planned a free, two-day pop-up health care clinic at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. The costs were supposed to be covered by sponsorships, but they fell short, leaving the Sheriff’s Office on the hook for $312,500. The office reported in a year-end review that it had
In the six months before the vote, the sheriff hosted a string of events, running up $26,000 on such costs as catering, DJs and pop-up tents, as well as shirts, trading cards, and pom-poms, some of which were given away at community events. Vargas said this spending could also have another purpose: cultivating support from voters and politicians who control the purse strings.
“I just want to thank you for your hard work and your dedication and working in partnership with members of Council and the city of Philadelphia,” Johnson said.
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