Free Republic

PHILADELPHIA — U.S. prosecutors are taking the rare step to appeal the sentence of former Pennsylvania state Sen. Vincent Fumo in his sprawling corruption case. The 67-year-old Fumo is serving a 4 1/2-year sentence for defrauding the state Senate, a museum and a nonprofit of millions. Prosecutors had sought a 15-year term. In an appeal filed Thursday, they call Sr. U.S. District Judge Ronald Buckwalter's decision "unreasonable" and "unduly lenient." They are also appealing the one-year term of ex-Fumo aide Ruth Arnao. Fumo was convicted last year of using the victim groups to maintain his mansion, spy on political rivals,...

Take it from those who have been there: Prison life is hard on people who need to be in control. Especially politicians accustomed to giving orders, cutting deals, spending millions - and getting their way. Former State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo is due to report to federal prison tomorrow, assigned to serve his 55-month sentence at a low-security institution in Ashland, Ky. His attorneys have fought that, wanting Fumo placed closer to family in Philadelphia. What's definite, experts say, is that prisons specialize in turning people like Fumo from kings to peasants. In free society, his dominion included four homes,...

PHILADELPHIA – A former Pennsylvania state senator convicted on fraud charges is scheduled to report to federal prison in Kentucky on Monday. Sixty-six-year-old Vincent Fumo has been sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison for defrauding the Senate and two nonprofits of several million dollars. ... The 66-year-old Fumo was a wealthy Democratic power broker during a 30-year state Senate career.

PHILADELPHIA -- Vincent Fumo, once one of the most powerful figures in Pennsylvania politics, was convicted today of more than 130 counts of corruption for schemes that defrauded the state Senate and others of more than $3.5 million and allowed him to live a lavish lifestyle. The 65-year-old former state senator was found guilty of all 137 counts against him, which also included obstruction of justice for destroying e-mail evidence. The jury deliberated about the Philadelphia Democrat's fate for about six days after a five-month trial. Prosecutors are expected to seek a sentence of more than 10 years under federal...

prosecutors say freewheeling Philadelphia Democrat Vincent Fumo used little of his own money as he took yachting vacations with friends, spent lavishly on a 33-room city brownstone and hired operatives to spy on ex-wives and political foes. Fumo faces trial Monday in federal court on charges alleging he used $3.5 million in what he called "OPM" — other people's money — to keep his political machine well oiled and fund a lifestyle that included three vacation homes and heated sidewalks outside his mansion. The trial is expected to last a full three months, after a week of jury selection.

PHILADELPHIA -- The FBI arrested two men who did computer work for a powerful state senator Wednesday on charges that they permanently deleted e-mails to thwart a federal investigation. Leonard P. Luchko and Mark Eister performed electronic "wipes" of computers at Sen. Vincent J. Fumo's Senate offices, his home at the New Jersey shore and at a nonprofit with deep ties to Fumo, authorities allege. "This was a deliberate, systematic and ultimately successful effort to interfere with a federal investigation," U.S. Attorney Patrick Meehan said. "We have to assume that valuable information is lost forever." The document does not name...