According to court files, probate records, and interviews, Marcus came up with the money for Fumo by improperly dipping into his own daughter's trust fund.
There is no indication that Fumo knew where Marcus had gotten the money. For years, the daughter, Julie Marcus Paul, did not realize that her father had reached into her fund.
She learned of it only after her father died at age 73 in 2005. She demanded the money back, and arbitrators agreed the $1 million should not have been taken from her trust fund.
On New Year's Eve 2007, Fumo signed a court paper giving her an additional $300,000 once he sells his 27-room mansion in Spring Garden, records show.
Fumo did not respond to a request for comment. His attorney, Dennis J. Cogan, declined to comment. Marcus Paul did not respond to multiple attempts to reach her. Calls to her home were not returned.
The saga of the gift is part of a larger story about a friendship between two powerful men, one a profane public figure, the other quiet and low-profile.
Marcus once told a friend that he was drawn to Fumo's power "like a moth was to a flame." Fumo told jurors that the relationship was strictly emotional, not physical.
But, he said in court, "We loved each other."
Worth millions
All of this became grist for the trial because federal prosecutors allege that Marcus played a bit part in Fumo's alleged cover-up schemes. They say Marcus provided an additional $35,000 to help mask Fumo's illegal use of farm equipment that belonged to a nonprofit group Fumo controlled.
After four months of testimony, closing arguments in the former state senator's federal corruption case are to start tomorrow.
On the stand this month, Fumo said he believed that Marcus had been worth $100 million or more.
