{"id":777,"date":"2026-06-10T17:03:40","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T17:03:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=777"},"modified":"2026-06-10T17:03:40","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T17:03:40","slug":"former-philly-union-leader-chris-woods-found-not-guilty-of-fraud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=777","title":{"rendered":"Former Philly union leader Chris Woods found not guilty of fraud"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<div><audio><\/audio><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Christen \u201cChris\u201d Woods, the former leader of one of Philadelphia\u2019s largest labor unions was acquitted of theft and conspiracy charges Wednesday by a judge who rejected prosecutors\u2019 allegations that he used a union-funded renovation project to secretly funnel money into local political campaigns. <\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=775\">Can NASA really land astronauts on the moon by 2028?<\/a><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>In delivering her verdict, Common Pleas Court Judge Tracy Brandeis-Roman said prosecutors had failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Woods \u2014 who once led District 1199C of the National Union of Hospital and Healthcare Employees \u2014 acted criminally when he hired longtime political operative Tracy Hardy to oversee the renovation of a bar inside the union\u2019s Center City headquarters in 2019. The case against him, she said, relied on circumstantial evidence that did not definitively tie Woods to any wrongdoing. <\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>As the judge declared Woods, 41, not guilty, he lowered his head toward the defense table, overcome with emotion. Behind him, family members and friends sprang to their feet, raising their hands toward the ceiling and shouting in celebration until Brandeis-Roman restored order by rapping her gavel.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>The verdict brought to an end a protracted prosecution by the Pennsylvania Attorney General\u2019s Office that accused Woods of orchestrating a plot to covertly channel money into Philadelphia\u2019s 2019 Democratic primary elections. <\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Prosecutors alleged that Woods used a bar renovation project as a vehicle to steer more than $100,000 in union funds toward political consulting and campaign work benefiting candidates he supported, including one of Woods\u2019 closest friends, Isaiah Thomas, who won a City Council seat.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Rather than rely on traditional campaign contributions, prosecutors said, Woods hired Hardy \u2014 who owned bars but did not work in construction \u2014 to develop fake and inflated estimates for the renovation project, then got one of those bloated proposals approved by the union\u2019s board. Then, they said, Hardy took the excess money and used it to surreptitiously support the candidates.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Woods, who now owns a consulting firm and medical transportation business, was once viewed as a rising star in city political circles, and dozens of supporters sat in the courtroom to watch the case unfold. Thomas was among those who attended the proceedings, making a brief appearance during the trial\u2019s opening phase in February. Brandeis-Roman conducted the non-jury trial over the course of months, before hearing closing arguments in May and issuing her verdict Wednesday. <\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>During the trial, his attorneys blamed Hardy for any issues with the renovation\u2019s cost or the accuracy of its invoices. Woods never intended to use the union\u2019s funds for anything other than construction, they said, and if Hardy overbilled the union, he did so on his own \u2014 and to line his own pockets. <\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Hardy pleaded guilty in federal court last year to charges stemming from the bar renovation, as well as a separate scheme in which he fraudulently obtained $2 million in pandemic relief funds. <\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>He is scheduled to be sentenced in September.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cThis isn\u2019t a case about theft from a union,\u201d Woods\u2019 attorney, Keir Bradford-Grey, said in court. \u201cThis case is about a fraud between Hardy and [his contractors].\u201d<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Among the evidence presented were financial records and witness testimony that prosecutor James Price said showed the renovation project\u2019s cost ballooned from an initial estimate of about $47,000 to nearly $150,000 by the time the board approved it. Price said that was because Woods and Hardy were secretly using the arrangement to fund political consulting by Hardy for candidates of Woods\u2019 choosing.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=773\">An artisan brewery is opening its second outpost | Inquirer Chester County<\/a><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cYou cannot spend union money just because you think it\u2019s for the best,\u201d he said in his closing argument. <\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>But Woods\u2019 attorneys said the initial estimate for the construction project was unrealistically low, and that Hardy did ultimately renovate the bar.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>If Hardy was a sloppy bookkeeper or dubious project manager, they argued, that did not make Woods guilty of knowingly misdirecting his union members\u2019 funds to another purpose.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Woods\u2019 trial also included testimony by Ryan Boyer, head of the politically influential Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council and one of the city\u2019s most powerful political figures. Boyer spent half a day on the witness stand answering questions about his relationship with Woods and Hardy, as well as his assessment of the bar renovation\u2019s costs.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Although Boyer served as a prosecutors\u2019 witness, he delivered testimony that appeared to bolster Woods\u2019 case: He said Hardy was a shady operator who cut corners and spread himself too thin, and suggested that any issues with the bar renovation likely stemmed from Hardy\u2019s conduct.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>On Wednesday, Brandeis-Roman said the evidence left room for competing interpretations, with facts that felt as if they \u201ccould go both ways.\u201d Combined with testimony from 19 character witnesses who vouched for Woods\u2019 integrity, she said, the uncertainty convinced her that prosecutors had not met their burden of proof. <\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cSometimes,\u201d she added, \u201call you have is your good name, and that should mean something.\u201d <\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Among those in the courtroom was Woods\u2019 mother, Valencia, who jumped from her seat after the verdict and repeatedly shouted, \u201cThank you Jesus. Thank you God,\u201d until she embraced her son in the hallway outside of the courtroom. <\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>There, surrounded by loved ones, Woods said the verdict meant \u201cI\u2019m finally able to move on with my life.\u201d <\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Bradford-Grey added: \u201cI am glad people will finally get to see he is not the person he was portrayed originally in the paper. It\u2019s time to put this to bed and let Chris be the man we know he is.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=771\">Philly Music this week with Bleachers, Nick Jonas, Ryan Bingham, Indigo Girls, Tyler Childers, and more<\/a><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The verdict ended a long-running prosecution by the Pennsylvania Attorney General\u2019s Office, which the judge said lacked concrete evidence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":776,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-777","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Former Philly union leader Chris Woods found not guilty of fraud - 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