PHILADELPHIA _ Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams pleaded not guilty Wednesday to 23 counts of fraud, extortion and other bribery-related charges, a day after federal prosecutors accused the two-term Democrat of repeatedly selling his influence in exchange for travel, luxury gifts and cash.
Accompanied by his lawyer, Williams said little during the brief court appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Richard Lloret and declined to comment afterward. He greeted a crowd of reporters while walking in with only a curt "Good afternoon."
Williams was released at the end of the hearing. No further date was set in the case.
The hearing came a day after federal authorities unsealed a sprawling indictment that accused him of "brazen and wide-ranging" corruption. For years, authorities said, Williams accepted Caribbean trips, free flights and gifts of designer clothing from wealthy benefactors seeking help with their legal woes.
In one case cited in the indictment, Williams offered to help out a friend of one benefactor by putting together a plea deal that would lessen the prison term the man was facing in a criminal case. He allegedly intervened by writing a letter of support for another gift-giver who was fighting California authorities in a dispute over the liquor license for a bar the man owned there.
Prosecutors also accused Williams of misspending more than $20,000 meant to pay for his mother's nursing home care.
Williams, through his lawyer, Michael Diamondstein, has denied the allegations and said intends to fight the case in court.
"This indictment is 24 hours old and yet too many politicians and commentators have already tried and convicted Seth Williams in the media," Diamondstein said Wednesday. "Simply because the government makes explosive allegations in a complaint doesn't mean they're going to prove it in a court of law."
In January, the Philadelphia Board of Ethics assessed the largest fine in its 10-year history for Williams' failure to report for years more than $175,000 in gifts he had accepted including a new roof, luxury vacations, Eagles sidelines passes and use of a defense attorney's home in Florida.
Several of the gifts mentioned in the indictment were among those he listed in his amended financial disclosure forms.
Williams announced last month that he would not seek a third term in office and apologized for the "embarrassment and shame" he had brought on the District Attorney's Office.
He has offered no indication since he was charged whether he intends to see out the remaining time of his term, which ends in December.?
