He was the business manager of the powerful IBEW Local 98 and a prominent political figure who helped numerous Democratic candidates get elected by directing donations and volunteers.
[7] He served as the longtime business manager of Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and led the union for over 30 years.
[10][5] During the 2008 Democratic primary for the 1st senatorial district in the Pennsylvania Senate in Philadelphia, Dougherty was dealt a surprising defeat by Larry Farnese, who was heavily supported by Fumo.
[13] In January 2019, Dougherty was indicted in an IBEW Local 98 investigation that charged him with misusing union funds for personal benefit and corrupting a public official, along with other related allegations.
[15][16] City Councilmember and former electrician Bobby Henon, along with several other employees of the electrical union who were close allies of Dougherty, were also indicted.
[18] Three of the other defendants who were union employees pleaded guilty in December 2022, prior to Dougherty's embezzlement case going to trial.
[17] In March 2021, Dougherty and his nephew, Gregory Fiocca, were arrested and charged in another federal indictment with 19 counts of conspiracy and extortion.
[24] In January 2021, following another FBI raid of IBEW Local 98 headquarters, the US Department of Labor filed a civil suit to nullify Dougherty’s most recent election as the union's business manager.