Politically powerful Philadelphia union leader John Dougherty claimed in federal court today that he was innocent of allegations that he ripped off his own union and used a city councilman to advance his agenda.

At the U.S. District Courthouse in Center City Philadelphia on Friday afternoon, Dougherty pleaded not guilty to the charges against him in a grand jury indictment spanning from 2010 to 2016 in which prosecutors allege Dougherty and his co-conspirators cost International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 98 members $600,000.