A former Philadelphia municipal judge who accepted $90,000 from another candidate to abandon his congressional campaign has been hit with a four-year suspension by Pennsylvania’s high court, according to a new order.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Thursday confirmed the state disciplinary board’s recommendation to suspend rather than disbar Jimmie Moore.
The board agreed with the Pennsylvania Office of Disciplinary Conduct, which said Moore violated professional conduct rules when he accepted more than the federal allowance for his campaign and filed a false campaign report to the Federal Election Commission.
In 2011, Moore entered the race for Pennsylvania’s 1st Congressional District as a Democrat. When his campaign went into debt, his opponent, former U.S. Rep. Robert Brady, agreed to give him $90,000 if he agreed to drop out of the primary race, a disciplinary board filing said.
The money was transferred from Brady’s campaign to Moore’s under the guise of political purchases and consulting contract fees, it said. Moore accepted the money through a shell company and then filed the false campaign reports, for which he was charged in 2017, according to the filing.