NINO V. TINARI & ASSOCIATES
ATTORNEY AT LAW
FBI Investigating Philadelphia Airport Political Deal-Making
FBI Investigating Philadelphia Airport Political Deal-Making
In Knight's vending venture, for example, her "job" was to take Coke orders from her partner and pass them along to bottlers - and add a quarter a can.
Inspectors from the U.S. Department of Transportation have also been poking into the airport's concession program, hunting for violations of the agency's rules about hiring minorities.
Knight's lawyer, Nino V. Tinari, said that since Knight's conviction, federal authorities had pressed her to become their witness.
According to evidence from her trial, she received a $250,000 loan from Commerce Bank so she could obtain an equity interest in one of the airport bars. But Knight never promised to manage the bar, Tinari said. She thought it was OK to be a silent investor - and no one running the airport said otherwise.
"Was there any time the city said she had to do something?" he said. Airport officials would not grant an interview, although sources say they are rigorously reviewing the city's oversight responsibilities.
The mayor's office has maintained that, although the city could veto any vendor recommended, it had a generally hands-off practice in concession matters.
Knight's firms are no longer certified as legitimate minority businesses, meaning that the city cannot count her contracts toward meeting its minority business goals. But she is still getting paid, Tinari said.
January 12, 2011
By Joseph Tanfani, Marcia Gelbart and Mark Fazlollah
Inquirer Staff Writers via Knight Ridder
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