Federal prosecutors' campaign to sharply increase the prison sentence of Vincent J. Fumo, the once-powerful, now-disgraced state legislator, ended Thursday with a token increase of six months and a scolding from a judge - for the prosecutors.
Fumo was resentenced to 61 months - just over five years - though the government had sought 15 years.
The prosecutors did win a dramatic increase in Fumo's restitution: He now owes an additional $1.1 million on top of the $2.8 million he has already paid.
In sticking largely to the controversial sentence he imposed in 2009, U.S. District Court Judge Ronald L. Buckwalter said the prosecutors had overcharged Fumo. Though Fumo was found guilty on 137 criminal counts, Buckwalter said the former senator had engaged in four main schemes: defrauding the state Senate and two nonprofits, and obstructing justice.
The defense team argued that Fumo, 68, deserved a break because of his age, health, legislative effectiveness, and charitable works, and Buckwalter agreed on the latter two points.
Before Buckwalter imposed his new sentence, Fumo took center stage in the courtroom with an hour-long, often rambling statement bemoaning the daily indignities of prison and the lack of contact with his family.
"I am tired. I am depressed. All I want is peace," Fumo said. "It's not Club Fed. It's not an easy thing to do."
Fumo apologized for his ragged appearance, for the ordeal his family has faced, for being "weak" and abusing drugs and alcohol, and for saying "bad things" about his enemies in a trove of angry e-mails from prison. He complained about the $4 million he has spent paying his lawyers.
What he did not apologize for were the acts that led him to stand before Buckwalter in an olive prison jumpsuit.
Buckwalter joked with Fumo at one point when the South Philadelphia native said he had had a hard time getting used to country music in his rural Kentucky prison, but later had sharp words for him.
He called Fumo arrogant, greedy, and less than truthful, and said he lacked "a true sense of remorse" and had a "complete lack of respect for our legal framework."
But Buckwalter said Fumo had been an unusually effective legislator and had presented convincing evidence of charitable work.
As he did in 2009, when he sentenced Fumo to 55 months, Buckwalter noted that the former senator had not been accused of bribery, extortion, or a crime of violence.
