Documents released by the city yesterday continue to provide insight into how a city employee and others helped a foreign national, long after she bought the mayor’s home.
City officials released the documents yesterday that had also previously provided to the FBI, after agents asked questions about the sale of the mayor’s home.
Many of the emails released by the city deal with Bob Hsieh, the city's liaison for economic development with the Asian community and Chinese businesswoman Dr. Jianhua Li, who purchased the mayor's former home in 2010.
Though city officials say that Hsieh was the city's liaison, the emails show that there were two other people who repeatedly handled details or was in contact with Li.
10 Investigates talked to the Mayor's former wife - Frankie Coleman - Wednesday. She declined to speak on camera - but says that she lived at the Haddon Road home after it sold to Dr. Jianhua until the summer of 2011.
The realtor who represented both Li and the Colemans was Michael L. Jones – a man Frankie Coleman describes as her “godson.”
Jones did more than sell the home. After the sale, Jones continued to work with Li. Jones helped Li with arrange for care of the Haddon Road home and was a contact for Li and her company officials when they visited.
Hsieh, though, remained at the center of many dealings with Li.
He translated for Dr. Li, talks to Frankie Coleman about her former house, and arranges with Jones from his city email account to get a lawn care company to take care of the Mayor's former house.
That lawn care arrangement lasted until February 2015.
Hsieh is now under investigation by the city for allegedly providing inappropriate assistance to Dr. Li.
Mayor Coleman denies any wrongdoing. In a statement, he says he had no knowledge of any contact between Bob Hsieh and Frankie Coleman about the sale of his home to Dr. Li.
