Mayor’s Fund: Questionable Expenses

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A City Controller’s Office review of the Mayor’s Fund for Philadelphia found $219,000 worth of undocumented and unexplained expenses that were incurred in 2015 under then-chairwoman Desiree Peterkin Bell.

Some purchases stood out more than others:

$52,000 for rooms at the Downtown Marriot for Mayor Nutter, Peterkin-Bell, then-Chief of Staff Everett Gillison and others during Pope Francis’ appearance at the 2015 World Meeting of Families.
$45,000 for flights to and hotel rooms in Rome as part of a prior visit to Pope Francis.
$8,738 for Uber rides charged to a Mayor’s Fund credit card that was in Peterkin Bell’s name.
$3,226 for 25 separate Amtrak charges.
$2,195 for a “Purpose Not Position Dinner” at Hyatt at the Bellevue. (Peterkin Bell often uses the phrase “Purpose Not Position” on social media posts.)
$2,095 at the Jefferson Hotel in Washington, D.C.
$679 at Maggiano’s Italian Restaurant.
$56 on purchases at J. Crew and Macy’s.

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Published: March 29, 2017 — 6:39 PM EDT

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