DAILY NEWS: Federal authorities are investigating City Councilman Jack Kelly’s office, the Daily News has learned. The councilman at large — who squeaked back into office in November by 122 votes — has been questioned by FBI agents, as have members of his staff, sources said. Kelly yesterday refused to discuss specifics, but downplayed the probe. “I think it’s much ado about nothing, probably,” he said. “I don’t know what’s going to come out of it. It may not be anything.”
Sources close to the probe said the feds have been asking questions about Kelly’s chief of staff, Chris Wright, as well as the Council office’s relationship with city real-estate developers Hardeep and Ravinder Chawla — longtime friends and supporters of Kelly. His relationship with the two real-estate developers, who have large holdings in Northeast Philadelphia and a growing stock of Center City properties, came under scrutiny last year, when three of their partnerships gave a combined $30,000 to Kelly’s re-election campaign. MORE