PA Sen. Vincent J. Fumo (D., Phila.) racks up $72,525 in dinner bills in 2 years!

The Philadelphia Inquirer ^ | Nov. 9th, 2003 | John Grogan

[End Times Sentinel]

John Grogan | Dining in style, thanks to you all
By John Grogan
Inquirer Columnist

"Table for two, please," I said.

The tuxedoed maitre d' led us past the wood-fired grill, the slabs of aged beef, and the iced tubs of imported Mediterranean fish to a linen-draped seating overlooking the Delaware River.

We opened our menus.

"Wow!" my wife said.

"Pay no attention to the prices," I told her. "This meal is on the taxpayers of Pennsylvania."

Or at least we could pretend. We were at La Veranda Ristorante, the unapologetically high-end eatery near Penn's Landing. It's where State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo (D., Phila.) managed to rack up $72,525 in dinner bills over a two-year period - 101 visits in all, sometimes with dozens of guests. Fumo charged it all to the people of Pennsylvania through a discretionary fund available to top legislative leaders.

Does this guy have an appetite or what?

The South Philly Democratic heavyweight does not want to talk about his publicly financed meal deals. Nor will he identify the guests he brought to La Veranda, sometimes 30 or more at a time. But he did say through a spokesman that he uses the meals to discuss the public's business.

And as I sat in La Veranda, sailboats bobbing at their moorings outside my window, Sinatra crooning in the background, I could just hear the discourse: "Hmmmm, how should we sock it to the public tonight? The lobster tail with baby Mediterranean shrimp in cognac at $43.95 or the surf and turf at $45?"

If not me, then who?

In a state where the words financial and crisis always seem to go hand in hand, how could one public servant possibly expend such a fortune on fine dining? My assignment - a tough one, but someone had to step forward - was to eat my way to the truth. Waistline be damned, I was going to chow down like a Pennsylvania politician.

Franco, our waiter, started us off with fresh bruschetta and grilled vegetables; he handed me an 18-page wine list. The first bottle I spotted carried a price tag of $350. Whoa! Taxpayers of Chester County, here's mud in your eye!

But wait. Being a responsible steward of the public trust - and because alcohol is the one thing Fumo and other legislative leaders are not allowed to ring up on the taxpayers' dime - I opted instead to slum with the second-cheapest bottle on the list, an Italian merlot for $34. Hey, Vince, how am I doing so far?

Franco suggested we whet our appetites with the grilled langostino, or prawns, grilled over open flames and drizzled with olive oil. Normally, as a civilian cheapskate, I would choke on those two dreaded words, market price. But this was Fumo Fantasyland, and we all know a hungry legislator is a grumpy legislator. C'mon, taxpayers, what do you say? I squeezed my wife's hand to calm her private-sector jitters. "Bring 'em on, Franco," I said.

At $34, I later learned, the langostino worked out to about $3 per bite - but what bites they were. ("A great big Grazie! to the generous taxpayers of Erie.")

A memorable evening

For our entrées, Franco recommended choice selections of imported fish, baked in a heavy salt crust. Again, we faced the mystery market price, but I had stopped sweating the details after the second glass of wine. The fish was divine, and so were the rosemary roasted potatoes and wilted greens.

We ate. We drank. We lingered. We discussed the public's business. ("I wonder what the little people of Scranton are having for dinner tonight.") We let out our belts.

Of course, there was room for dessert ("Thank you, Pittsburgh!"), cappuccinos ("You really shouldn't have, Norristown!"), and a wonderful lemon liquor Franco brought out on the house because we were turning out to be such good, Fumo-worthy customers.

It was a meal to remember. And at just under $200 with the wine and tip on my Inquirer expense account, I'm sure my boss won't let me forget it for years to come. (Note to Finance Department: We had no fun whatsoever.)

On the way out, Franco shook my hand and said, "Please come see us again."

"We sure will," I said. Of course, first I need to get elected.

---

John Grogan writes Monday, Tuesday and Friday. Contact him at 610-313-8132 or jgrogan@phillynews.com.

[End Times Sentinel]

Another Democrap Politician getting fat at the trough.

 

 

Owl_Eagle

" WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
DIVERSITY IS STRENGTH"

[End Times Sentinel]

Did you gents notice this?

 

Owl_Eagle

" WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
DIVERSITY IS STRENGTH"

[patton]

LOL. Great article.

[dirtboy]

Fumo is the worst of the worst in Pennsylvania. The Turnpike Commission and the Delaware River Port Authority, which collects the swag from the toll bridges between Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and both are his personal fiefdoms.

[Mo1]

At $34, I later learned, the langostino worked out to about $3 per bite - but what bites they were. ("A great big Grazie! to the generous taxpayers of Erie.")

LOL! .. Great Article

But I doubt the Dem Voters will get it

[Mo1]

Fumo is the worst of the worst in Pennsylvania.

But .. But .. they are doing all this for the poor folks

[Atlas Sneezed]

...alcohol is the one thing Fumo and other legislative leaders are not allowed to ring up on the taxpayers' dime...

---

Assumption: his grateful guests paid for the booze, and the pig enjoyed it. He would have been criminally doling out state-funded favors in exchange for personal financial benefit. I wonder how many thousands of dollars of "liquid bribes" he took in exchange for dispensing taxpayer largesse.

("Largeasse"?)

[Tribune7]

I was told about it, but I have lost the habit of reading the Inky.

Of course, why shouldn't I have? :-)

Thanks for posting. Grogan did a good job. He even noted Fumo was a major Dem.

[billhilly]

There is an expression to describe this behavior and it has been around for quite a while. It's called, "I'm getting mine." Generally it means, "I have it coming to me and if you other suckers can't find a way to have it, that's too bad."

[crabbie]

"Fumo is the worst of the worst in Pennsylvania."

Actually he is not the worst, his expenditures may be the worst that have been made public to date. Wouldn't it be interesting if Hannity did a piece on the whole Philly mess including the Mayor's wife's ownership of 5 bars at the airport where they charge travelers in excess of $8 for a beer and pay minimum wage to the employees. I suspect that the benefit to the mayor and his family (including brother milton) is substantially in excess of $75,000.

[VadeRetro]

On the way out, Franco shook my hand and said, "Please come see us again."

"We sure will," I said. Of course, first I need to get elected.

A dirty job, but somebody has to do it. Do I have to move first or can I file for candidacy while still living in another state?

[End Times Sentinel]

I was told about it, but I have lost the habit of reading the Inky.

You and me both.  Ever since Amanda Bennett took over, the paper has gotten so bland, I can get through a week day edition in the 40 mins it takes me to commute (and that's including the crossword puzzle). 

I used to be able to count on at least two front page storries skewed beyond recognition and an outrageous far left diatribe on the editorial page.  Now, nothing.  Just the occasional, delusional, Tony Auth anti-Semetic cartoon...  Heck they even quit posting the e mail addresses for those who wrote letters to the editor!

 

Owl_Eagle

" WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
DIVERSITY IS STRENGTH"

[paul51]

Give him a raise. They are all underpaid and if we don't pay them more we will never be able to get 'qualified' people.

[mewzilla]

Does PA state law have any recall provisions?

[twigs]

I didn't know that she owned bars at the airport! I used to meet a friend flying into Philly a lot (probably pre Mrs. Street's bar ownership) and the folks at the bar where we met were so consistently rude and nasty that we nicknamed it the Sunshine Grill. We finally learned to laugh at them. Actually, believe it or not, the person who might be interested in this type of story is Chris Matthews. He is from Philly and has seen the corruption up close. He's a liberal, but he's essentially honest and HATES corruption.

[ladtx]

That's $100 per night every night for 2 years. Talk about pork barrel politics, this one takes the cake.

[blackdog]

In all fairness, stealing from the electorate is a bipartisan effort in Philly. Arlen Sphyncter's wife Joan was a master at fleecing the public. The SBA rip-off's with failed business ventures was her M.O. Remember the pie business? Rendell's wife Midge was a real cash cow too. They are all so corrupt they risk bringing everyone down if they go after one, which is fine by me but it's not the way politics works.

[blackdog]

And as I said before, Street's big mistake was meddling in airport contracts for his gain. The post 9-11 world has background checks being done by the feds on all airport workers. The federal scrutiny was not anticipated by the Street machine. Bad credit, driving records, tax returns, arrest records, back child support, etc.... are all checked out on anyone with an airport job. It may take two years after the hire, but the FBI does it's job. Each time Street pulls a shady deal at the airport, the clock starts ticking. That clock is out of Street's world and influence. He's completely unaware of what is in motion. I would look for him to abandon all airport scams real soon in order to secure his borders.

[Temple Owl]

What is really amazing is that the Inquirer has an editorial today blasting these clowns. This is the same bunch that want to raise our taxes. The Inquirer is in favor of that of course.

[1Old Pro]

State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo (D., Phila.)

How can this be allowed in the first place? State senators don't get unlimited expense accounts.