Rendell Gets Heat Over Fumo Letter

PHILADELPHIA - Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell is taking heat over his letter, praising convicted felon Vince Fumo.

Blog: Sound Off On Vince Fumo's Sentence

Gov. Rendell is among the many people who wrote to a judge seeking a lenient sentence for the former state senator convicted of 137 counts in a corruption case.

Plenty of Mr. Rendell's constituents are outraged by what appears to them to be a case of one politician trying to help his fellow politician out of a legal jam. The governor says he wrote the letter of support only because he was asked.

In it, the governor said Fumo "worked tirelessly to protect the poorest and most vulnerable citizens of Philadelphia."

Judge Ronald Buckwalter cited the letter Tuesday in handing Fumo a 55-month sentence, less than half what federal guidelines called for after Fumo was convicted of all corruption charges.

Rendell spoke to Fox 29's Bruce Gordon Wednesday.

“I said he brought disgrace to every public official who’s honest and decent. I said that he could be ruthless at times," remarked Rendell. "But I also said to the judge that he did a lot of good work...I wrote a letter that I thought presented both sides of the issue to the judge. The judge is in charge of making a sentence."

Rendell is a former prosecutor. He says if he has been the prosecutor in Vincent Fumo's case, he would want to appeal the sentence of four years and seven months. But Rendell notes that "the guidelines call for assessing the good works a person does" and says the sentence is enough to serve as a deterrent.

"If you're a politician and you're thinking of doing something corrupt, a five-year prison sentence is every bit as daunting as a 10 or 12 or 15 year sentence."

("You really think so?” asked Bruce Gordon)

"Nobody wants to go to prison, absolutely,” said Rendell.

("If you were still District Attorney, would you appeal this - I realize this is a federal case - but if you were the prosecutor, would you appeal this sentence?" asked Gordon)

"Yes, if we asked for 15 plus and the sentence came closer down to five, and I had the right to appeal, I would appeal,” Rendell responded.

Fumo wielded vast power over three decades in the state Senate. The Philadelphia Democrat was convicted of misusing millions from the state and two nonprofits.

Governor Rendell stood by Fumo and praised him when Fumo announced he would give up his state Senate seat in the wake of a federal corruption indictment.