2 Ex-Southampton Officials Get Prison On Corruption Charges

LOWER SOUTHAMPTON, PA — A former Lower Southampton police director and a deputy constable for the township were sentenced to prison in federal court Thursday after they plead guilty to corruption charges.

Robert Hoopes, 72, of Doylestown, was sentenced to 4 1/2 years in federal prison on charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and extortion. Bernard Rafferty, 64, of Langhorne, was sentenced to 1 1/2 years for conspiracy to commit money laundering and honest services mail fraud.

Hoopes, who served as director of public safety in Lower Southampton from February-December 2016, pleaded guilty in September. Rafferty, a deputy constable from 1992-2016, pleaded guilty in March 2018.

They were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gene E.K. Pratter.

Lower Southampton Police Chief Ted Krimmel on Friday thanked the state and federal authorities who worked to bring the case to its conclusion.

"Although I was expecting longer prison sentences for these despicable men, justice has been served," Krimmel said in a post on social media.

Prosecutors say that, together with others including former District Judge John Waltman, Hoopes and Rafferty ran a scheme to extort bribes and kickbacks from Bucks County business owners. They also conspired to launder money for people they thought were engaged in drug trafficking and healthcare fraud.

Waltman was sentenced to 6 1/2 years in federal prison earlier this week.

In November 2016, Waltman, Hoopes and Rafferty accepted a $1,000 bribe, along with promises of other payments, for using their authority to "fix" a traffic case that had come before Waltman, U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain's office said.

From June 2015-November 2016, the three conspired to launder money that was represented as proceeds from healthcare fraud and drug trafficking. They laundered $400,000 from June-August 2016 alone, taking money laundering fees totaling $80,000 in cash, prosecutors said.

"The laws of the land apply to everyone — especially to public officials who hold office to serve the public good," McSwain said in a news release. "Hoopes and Rafferty, like their corrupt partner Waltman, chose to flout the rule of law. In doing so, they disgraced themselves and the offices they held.

"Every public official should be on notice after today’s sentence: federal law enforcement is watching and we will hold you accountable if you make the wrong choices."

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, Homeland Security Investigations and the Pennsylvania State Police. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Louis Lappen and Richard Barrett.