ALLENTOWN (AP) — Character witnesses are asking a federal judge to show mercy on the former mayor of Allentown, Pennsylvania, who’s in court to be sentenced on charges that he traded city contracts for campaign cash.

Democrat Ed Pawlowski was convicted in March on dozens of corruption charges. Prosecutors are asking for a sentence of more than 13 years.

Pawlowski’s lawyer is calling a parade of character witnesses. They say Pawlowski has been a successful mayor who brought hundreds of millions of dollars of investment to the city while extending a welcome to immigrant communities.

One witness, Kelly Planer, says Pawlowski has “selflessly taken care of this city and brought it back from a state that was awful to something that’s thriving now.”

Pawlowski led Pennsylvania’s third-largest city for 12 years.