Zachary Cole-Borghi: 'I never sold drugs'
The Lehigh County commissioner vows to prove his innocence, remain in office and seek reelection.
Zachary Cole-Borghi, a Lehigh County commissioner who was arrested Aug. 28 on drug charges, said he has been wrongly accused and terminated from his job in Bethlehem City Hall.
“I want to be clear, I have never sold drugs to anyone, vehemently deny any suggestion to the contrary, and insist that I will prove my innocence,” Cole-Borghi of Bethlehem said in a statement emailed to Armchair Lehigh Valley on Wednesday evening.
Cole-Borghi was among 22 people arrested in a multiyear investigation that spanned four states. None of the others charged have been identified. He was charged with intent to deliver a pound of marijuana and possession of marijuana, according to the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office.
Court records in the case have been sealed as the DA’s office said the investigation, which grew out of a grand jury, is ongoing and more arrests are expected.
Cole-Borghi had been working as Bethlehem’s right-to-know officer when he was arrested in City Hall. He is free after posting $50,000 bail. He said his due process rights have been violated.
“I, a black man, was arrested and humiliated at my job and paraded through Bethlehem City Offices. I have still not received a shred of evidence or told why I am being charged,” he said.
Cole-Borghi said the charges against him are politically motivated and he vowed to find out who is behind his charges.
“Not only do I intend to prove that I am innocent, I intend to identify and bring suit against anyone who maliciously conspired to destroy my reputation,” he said.
Cole-Borghi said he has no intention of stepping away from his role as a commissioner.
“At this time, I maintain innocence in these matters and intend to continue assisting my community through my position on the Board of Commissioners,” he said.
Cole-Borghi is seeking a second term as a commissioner on Nov. 4 in District 3, which covers parts of Allentown, west Bethlehem, Fountain Hill, Hanover Township and Catasauqua.
“I am staying in the race,” he said in a follow-up email.
Cole-Borghi is facing Republican Jacqueline Rivera. The two squared off in 2021 with Cole-Borghi winning with just under 59% of the vote.
Rivera released a statement after news broke of the arrest, saying, in part, “The recent news of Commissioner Cole-Borghi’s arrest is deeply troubling and disappointing. While he is innocent until proven guilty, this situation makes clear that he has taken his service to our community for granted.”
Cole-Borghi graduated from Liberty High School and attended East Stroudsburg University. He previously was program director at the Northeast Community Center in Bethlehem and is a former Democratic committee person.
Over the summer, Cole-Borghi was involved in the meeting with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, county President Judge J. Brian Johnson, county Sheriff Joseph Hanna, DA Gavin Holihan and others to address concerns raised by residents about masked ICE agents being in the courthouse to detain illegal immigrants.
After the meeting, ICE agreed to not interfere with the administration of justice in the county and provide identification and warrants. Agents will refrain from wearing masks in the courthouses. However, ICE could change its approach to apprehending people in the courthouses, according to an Aug. 13 memo on the matter.
Cole-Borghi sponsored an anti-discrimination bill that was adopted in a 6-3 vote in February. The ordinance broadened the definition of discrimination and created a Human Relations Commission charged with investigating complaints.
He had been endorsed by Pennsylvania Working Families Party and Pennsylvania Stand Up.
Here his Cole-Borghi’s full statement:
The Due Process of Law is the bedrock of the Constitution and American Democracy.
In America, you are innocent until proven guilty. What is happening in Bethlehem to me is a stark violation of Due Process, and intolerable.
I, a black man, was arrested and humiliated at my job and paraded through Bethlehem City Offices. I have still not received a shred of evidence or told why I am being charged. Not even my attorneys have been told what specifically I am being accused of or given an explanation of why I was charged. To date, I have not received an Affidavit of Probable Cause.
Despite this, I have lost my job, been publicly humiliated, and have had my good name- which I spent decades earning, destroyed without due process or explanation. I want to be clear, I have never sold drugs to anyone, vehemently deny any suggestion to the contrary, and insist that I will prove my innocence.
To date, this entire process has been marred in politics and impropriety. The DA specifically noted that I am not a member of any corrupt organization, yet, press reports state otherwise. A press conference was held where my name alone was dragged through the mud. I was not subjected to financial scrutiny in posting bail – which I have been told means there is no allegation that my money came from a crime, and I was released on the same day I was arrested.
However, that did not stop certain members of Bethlehem City Council from libelously labelling me as a leader in a multi-state drug ring, something the DA has explicitly said is not true. This did not stop local news and bloggers from putting my name – so far, the ONLY name released to the public – front and center as the face of an investigation that has nothing to do with me.
I was also fired from my job because of this, without any proof that I had done anything wrong or any specific allegation of who, what, where, or when I am alleged to have committed a crime.
This is wrong, a violation of my constitutional due process rights, and clearly political. At this time, I maintain innocence in these matters and intend to continue assisting my community through my position on the Board of Commissioners.
Not only do I intend to prove that I am innocent, I intend to identify and bring suit against anyone who maliciously conspired to destroy my reputation.
I am an innocent family man, I am a leader in the community, and I am a dutiful public servant who has been damaged by the mishandling of this investigation.
I will make no further comments at this time and direct you to contact my attorneys.