Commonwealth v. Lawton

Opinion by

Rhodes, P. J.,

Appellant, a sewer connection inspector in the Department of Public Works of the City of Philadelphia, was indicted, tried, and convicted on bills of indictment charging him with common law extortion. Appellant does not question the sufficiency of the Commonwealth’s evidence which established that he ex tracted approximately $2,000 from various plumbing contractors by withholding approval of sewer connections until illegal fees were paid to him.

Appellant contends that, under the various statutes and ordinances involved, the office of “sewer connection inspector ” had…