A Wealth of Enemies

"Ongoing, widespread, systematic and occurring at all levels." That is how a 1974 Pennsylvania crime-commission report described police corruption in Philadelphia, whose Democratic mayor, Frank Rizzo, is a tough law-and-order ex-cop. Rizzo's rival in the state capital, Democratic Governor Milton Shapp and his political allies in Philadelphia saw a chance to score two points: clean up the graft-ridden police department and discredit Rizzo at the same time. To accomplish these aims, Shapp turned to a device that is becoming increasingly popular as a way of policing the police and the criminal-justice system. His administration appointed a special prosecutor, a figure above the political squabbles and beholden to no man, the contemporary equivalent of the legendary Western marshal who rode into town to bring law-and-order and rode out again when his job was done.

On the advice of a panel of law school deans, Walter M. Phillips Jr., 36, the son of a prominent Philadelphia family, was chosen. Phillips had been a dedicated, dogged prosecutor of Mafia racketeers in Manhattan as Assistant U.S. Attorney heading up the narcotics unit.

Once on the job in Philadelphia, the new prosecutor found himself in the middle of a factional political war between Rizzo's forces and those answering to the Democratic city committee chairman Peter Camiel. Phillips offended both factions by allying himself with neither and prosecuting malefactors in both camps. Though he has obtained indictments against six cops, he has also bagged numerous state and local officials who have been charged with offenses ranging from bribery to extortion to theft of public property. Fifteen members of the state department of transportation, including the regional superintendent in Philadelphia, were charged with submitting pay vouchers for hours they had never worked. To date, a total of 42 individuals have been indicted. Seven have been convicted or have pleaded guilty; none have been acquitted.

Pay Dirt. Pennsylvania Democrats never dreamed that Phillips would take his job so seriously or do it so well. He has become a threatening figure--too dangerous to keep around. Last summer the state legislature refused to appropriate funds for his office, though Phillips continued to survive largely because of grants from the Federal Law Enforcement Assistance Administration. But if state money is not voted before July 1, the beginning of the next fiscal year, Phillips will lose his federal funding as well.

Scarcely intimidated by the prospect of being fired, both barrels still blazing, Phillips was stalking bigger prey last week. An investigating grand jury has recommended the indictment of Hillel Levinson, Philadelphia's managing director, on a number of charges, including extortion. Complained Levinson's boss, Frank Rizzo: "A raw, naked power play." Retorted Phillips: "The effort to sink us can be attributed to the fact that we are hitting pay dirt. Our investigations have got closer to those who wield political power, and that makes people in power uncomfortable."

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