Fumo Gets Break In Sentencing Range

PHILADELPHIA - Former state Sen. Vincent Fumo caught a break Friday when a judge cut his estimated sentencing range for a sweeping corruption case in half, to about 11 to 14 years.

The sentence could go even lower if the judge rules Fumo's way on several unresolved issues. A sentence of less than about 11 years would make the long-powerful Philadelphia Democrat eligible for a minimum-security prison camp, a defense lawyer said.

A probation officer had calculated Fumo's sentencing range at 21 to 27 years.

U.S. prosecutors on Friday demanded a sentence of more than 15 years for Fumo's conviction on 137 fraud, obstruction and tax-evasion counts.

Over five months, trial witnesses told how the multimillionaire lawyer and banking heir used the state Senate, a museum and a
charity he controlled to fund his lavish lifestyle.

The Senate paid to ship hair spray overnight to Fumo's waterfront Florida estate, while the museum provided yachts for annual trips to Martha's Vineyard and the charity -- funded with $17 million from state-regulated utility Peco Energy -- paid for his luxury vehicles.

"Vincent J. Fumo, through his acumen, savvy, drive, and often sheer ruthlessness, was, without dispute, the leading public official of his time in Pennsylvania," Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Pease and Robert Zauzmer wrote in a sentencing memo Friday.

"As he himself admitted at trial, he gained that influence, in part, through the criminal acts proven in this case."

The judge set Fumo's net worth at $9.3 million, a figure relevant to the calculation of any fines in the case.

Fumo, 66, amassed nearly unrivaled power over three decades in the Pennsylvania Senate. He beat two previous indictments early in his political career but now faces a formidable prison term.

In Friday's ruling, U.S. District Judge Ronald Buckwalter calculated the fraud on the state Senate at about $1.3 million, the
charity at $960,000 and the Independence Seaport Museum of $128,000. That puts the total at nearly $2.4 million, far less than the $4 million estimated by prosecutors.

Fumo would face an added term of about three years if the fraud totals $2.5 million, a threshold that prosecutors would seemingly hit if Buckwalter decides one remaining issue in their favor. The judge is still assessing $150,000 in alleged no-work contracts Fumo gave to former state turnpike commissioner Mitchell Rubin, the husband of co-defendant and top aide Ruth Arnao.

Next week, Buckwalter will also decide if Fumo deserves sentence reductions because of health issues -- including heart problems and diabetes -- or extraordinary good works. Prosecutors argued against both, saying Fumo is healthy and gave little of his personal time or money to charity.

"He has a lifetime of service to the city, to the Commonwealth," said lawyer Peter Goldberger, a member of Fumo's large legal team. "Even considering that he was elected to these positions, ... he did more than the average state senator."

The government's sentencing memo noted that John Carter, the former president of the seaport museum, is serving a 15-year term for defrauding the museum of $2.6 million, while former city treasurer Corey Kemp is serving a 10-year term for selling his office for tens of thousands of dollars in cash and gifts. That amount "pales in comparison" to the Fumo fraud, the memo said.