Delaware County Man “Celebrity Boxing” Promoter Charged With Bribery & Theft

A self-styled “celebrity boxing” promoter from the Philadelphia area who was initially arrested in April 2009 on charges of rigging fights and staging boxing matches without a valid promoter’s license today had charges filed against him for theft & bribery.

Attorney General Tom Corbett said that Damon Richard Feldman, 40, 2208 Dickins Lane, Broomall, Delaware County, is accused of offering a bribe to an inspector from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission who had raised concerns about unsafe and dangerous conditions at a September 2008 boxing event promoted by Feldman.

Additionally, Corbett said that Feldman is charged with multiple counts of theft related to bogus claims about charitable contributions that would supposedly benefit slain police officers and soldiers from the Philadelphia area.

“Mr. Feldman fraudulently used the names of dead police officers and soldiers to fill seats at his events and put money in his own pocket, dragging these names of these brave men into Feldman’s sleazy world of rigged fights,” Corbett said. “These despicable claims were made without the permission of the dead officer’s families, and in some cases against their strong objections, simply to attract more media attention to Feldman and the dubious ‘fights’ that he was promoting.”

Corbett said the new charges, filed today in Delaware County, include two counts of bribery and three counts of theft, all third-degree felonies which are each punishable by up to seven years in prison and $15,000 fines.

Feldman was previously charged with six counts of staging prohibited competitions and six counts of rigging publicly exhibited contests, all first-degree misdemeanors which are each punishable by up to five years in prison and $10,000 fines.

Corbett said those earlier charges relate to a series of six different events in Philadelphia and Delaware County between September 2008 and December 2009, all organized without a valid Pennsylvania promoter’s license and in violation of the state’s Boxing Act.

Feldman allegedly staged the fights without concern for the health and safety of the participants, a lack of proper medical care and with a disregard for the professional standards of boxing in Pennsylvania.

Corbett said that inspectors from the State Athletic Commission and agents from the Attorney General’s Office observed bouts where boxers were knocked out and did not receive prompt medical attention; situations where doctors were not present at ringside to examine and treat injured fighters; and potentially dangerous matches that included out-of-shape boxers fighting opponents with clearly superior skills.

Feldman is also accused of ‘fixing’ the outcome of many bouts, allegedly picking the winners and losers before the participants had even entered the ring.

Feldman will be prosecuted in Delaware County by Senior Deputy Attorney General John Flannery of the Attorney General’s Criminal Prosecutions Section.

Corbett thanked the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission for their cooperation and assistance with this investigation.

All criminal charges against Feldman were held over for trial in Delaware County following a preliminary hearing today before Folcroft Magisterial District Judge Edward W. Christie.

Feldman remains free on $50,000 unsecured bail, awaiting the scheduling of a trial date. As a condition of his release, Feldman is prohibited from staging any fights in Pennsylvania.

(A person charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty.)

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