Prosecutors told jurors in federal court Tuesday in the Philadelphia Traffic Court case that the defendants were responsible for creating a culture of favoritism that, through fixing tickets, robbed the city and Pennsylvania of funding.
Counsel for the defendants, however, told the jury that the case was not about ticket-fixing, because the indictment charged the defendants with wire fraud, conspiracy, and in some cases, perjury. Defense lawyers also noted that the traffic court judges often reduced the penalties for some ticket holders who were present at their hearings, and that the practice should not be construed as ticket-fixing.
