Koval delivered a resignation letter addressed to Pawlowski and the members of council to the city clerk's office around 3 p.m. Her resignation was effective Tuesday, according to the letter."I feel that my resignation is in the best interest of the city of Allentown and its residents," she wrote.
Koval did not return a call or text seeking comment.
Eric Dowdle, a criminal defense attorney representing Koval, confirmed her resignation but said it was "too early" to comment further.
"She has not been charged," Dowdle said. "She hasn't pled guilty at this point."
The controller's office, a repository for city contracts and a financial watchdog by design, was among several City Hall offices searched during the July raid. The suite of offices that houses the mayor and his top staff was also searched.
Federal agents seized computers, cellphones and other devices and served a subpoena for thousands of documents related to city contracts with more than two dozen people and businesses.Everyone who knows Mary Ellen Koval seems shocked. One would think that this case potentially reaching her means the case is getting close to coming full circle. The only offices left to reach would be the Mayor's and council's at this point, on the government side, and the contractors themselves on the outside. I don't believe the Mayor wishes to plead guilty, so there is the chance this could drag on. I'm not sure the Feds are going to wish to let it drag on forever though.
I continue to hold that this is amongst the saddest things I've seen in my time in politics. Allentown finally had direction and a chance to get better. The government was playing a positive role in re-development. Now that's soiled by public corruption. Everyone loses in this scenario. There are no winners.
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