In 2007, the Ethics Board fined the Appreciation Fund $39,000, the total of $1,500-a-day penalties for failure to file a campaign-finance report on time despite several extensions.
The board alleged in court documents that Municipal Judge Tom Nocella, formerly an attorney for the PAC, and Ernesto DeNofa, its treasurer, had emptied the fund's bank account to avoid paying the fine.
For example, after a court ordered the PAC to pay the fine, the Appreciation Fund paid Nocella $2,500 for his legal services even though he had agreed to represent it for free. It also paid a $13,350 catering bill on behalf of Brady's 2007 mayoral campaign committee.
According to the latest available campaign-finance report, the Appreciation Fund had spent all but $109 by the end of 2008.
Last month, DiVito approved the Ethics Board's request that the court hold Nocella and DeNofa personally liable for the $39,000. DiVito's order, which gives both men 30 business days to pay, was entered onto the court docket Tuesday.
The order also bars Nocella, appointed by Gov. Rendell last year to fill a court vacancy, and DeNofa, assistant treasurer of Brady's House campaign committee, from transferring or spending any property that would prevent them from paying.
"DeNofa's and Nocella's actions have flouted two court orders and wasted the Ethics Board's limited resources for the past two years," said Shane Creamer, its executive director. "The board is pleased that the court has held them accountable for their unacceptable conduct."
In interviews yesterday, both men said they would appeal DiVito's ruling. "We want to go in front of a judge and plead our case, which we never did," DeNofa said.
Contact staff writer Marcia Gelbart at 215-854-2338 or mgelbart@phillynews.com.
