A former campaign aide to Philadelphia Judge Jimmie Moore, who ran against U.S. Rep Bob Brady in the 2012 Democratic primary, admitted to funneling a $90,000 payoff from Brady's campaign to get Moore to drop out of the race.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Philadelphia announced Tuesday that Carolyn Cavaness, 34, of Ardmore, pleaded guilty by criminal information to making false statements to federal election officials about diverting the money from Brady's campaign funds to pay Moore.
In the governments' information, the candidates are identified as Candidate A and Candidate B. However, Moore was the only challenger running against Brady in the 2012 primary for Pennsylvania's first congressional district, in which Brady has been the incumbent for roughly 20 years.
Brady did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Moore did not immediately return a call placed to his chambers.
According to prosecutors, part of the payment was intended to cover Moore's campaign debt. Moore was elected to the Municipal Court in 1999 and resigned to run for congress. He is currently a senior judge on the court.
Prosecutors say the $90,000 was split into payments and routed through political consultants who produced false invoices to create the appearance of a legitimate paper trail.
As of Tuesday afternoon, neither Brady nor Moore faced charges.
This is a developing story.