Harry Jannotti
| Harry Jannotti | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Philadelphia City Council from the 7th District | |
|
In office January 5, 1970 – January 2, 1984 |
|
| Preceded by | Joseph J. Hersch |
| Succeeded by | Patricia Hughes |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 18, 1924 |
| Died | September 3, 1998 (aged 74) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Jeane Groesbeck |
| Children | Four |
| Alma mater | Temple University |
Harry P. Jannotti (June 18, 1924 – September 3, 1998) was a Democratic politician who served as a member of the Philadelphia City Council.
Jannotti graduated from Northeast High School, and attended Temple University. Before running for office, he worked as chief deputy clerk to the City Council for several years.
A protégé of Councilman George Schwartz, Jannotti was first recruited to run in 1969 for the Seventh District seat vacated by Joseph J. Hersch. He was elected successfully, and steadily gained power over the ensuing decade. By the late 1970s, both Jannotti and Schwartz were at the height of their power. Schwartz had been elected Council President, while Jannotti was the Council's Majority Leader, Chairman of its Finance Committee, and Vice Chairman of its Rules and Appropriations Committee. Additionally, he was a member of the City Gas Commission and head the city's gift property program, through which abandoned homes were given to low-income people to renovate and live in. Jannotti had also been elected leader of the Democratic City Committee's 19th Ward, and ran his political operation out of a tavern he owned.
In 1980, Jannotti met with two men at a suite at the Barclay Hotel in Rittenhouse Square. The men claimed to represent an Arab Sheikh who was interested in building a hotel in Philadelphia. The men, who were actually FBI agents, agreed to pay Jannotti $10,000 in exchange for his use of his influence over Council to get the project approved. The scandal would later come to be known as "Abscam" (short for Arab Scam), and would take-down five Congressman, including First District Congressman Ozzie Myers, who would become the first member of the House to be expelled since the Civil War, and two other members of City Council–Schwartz and Louis Johanson.
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