Updated, March 1, 2018: Ed Pawlowski, the mayor of Allentown, Pa., was found guilty of 47 counts, according to the Morning Call, including conspiracy, bribery and false statements to federal officials, for what prosecutors described as a pay-to-play scheme. Mr. Pawlowski, who was re-elected to a fourth term last fall despite the pending charges, is required to step down.

It was not immediately clear what role the meatball testimony played in jurors’ deliberations.

When is a meatball not a meatball?

That was the question in a federal courtroom in Pennsylvania on Thursday, where the mayor of Allentown, Pa., is on trial for charges wholly unrelated to that beefy fixture of nonnas’ kitchens across the country.

The mayor, Ed Pawlowski, a Democrat, faces charges of fraud, bribery and conspiracy for what federal prosecutors have described as a contract-rigging scheme. They have said he accepted campaign donations — more than $150,000 — in exchange for benefits like city contracts. Mr. Pawlowski’s lawyers say that he is innocent, that there were no explicit pay-to-play agreements, and that the case was built with unreliable consultants to the mayor who were crooked themselves.