The document charges Ross with "secretly providing non-publicinformation to Ronald A. White about the process for selecting adeveloper so that White could pass this information to Tower(locally based Tower Investments, headed by Bart Blatstein), thusimproperly enhancing Tower's prospects of being selected as thedeveloper of the main site." White, also a local attorney on themayor's campaign finance committees and a Commerce Bank consultant,was indicted last year in a separate "pay-to-play" case, but diedof cancer just before his trial began.

It also charges Ross with "telling Tower's representatives …(sometimes through White) that its proposal would not likelysucceed, and that Ross would not support it, if Tower did not giveWhite an equity interest in the development." At the same time,according to the filed charges, Ross was "soliciting White toarrange for a $150,000 line of credit … from Commerce Bank so thatRoss could pay a client of his law firm and others … (a debt of)more than $100,000." According to the charge, Ross faced "beingheld in contempt of court" for not passing on to his client all ofthe settlement proceeds from an earlier wrongful death malpracticesuit in which he represented the plaintiff. The document describesRoss' need for a loan as "desperate."

Furthermore, the document charges Ross with "using his positionto attempt to obtain business for Person A … with whom Ross had afinancial relationship, from prospective PLC developers whoseproposals were pending." An elaboration of this charge in thedocument says, "Ross met with a lobbyist retained by BrandywineRealty Trust and expressed his availability to support Brandywine'sbid to be chosen … (and) suggested that Brandywine should givebusiness to Person A." Calls by GlobeSt.com to Tower and Brandywinewere not returned by deadline.