Fumo

WITH Vince Fumo's conviction on all 137 counts of fraud and theft, Pennsylvanians who believe in honest government can breathe a sigh of relief. Finally, it seems, Fumo will pay for his crimes. There's no better argument for term limits for our corrupt General Assembly than Fumo. He used the power and wealth he accumulated over decades in office as a weapon against anyone who would challenge him, and secured the affection and admiration of his constituents by offering them superb service - with his hand deep in the till.

After his loss to Mayor Goode in November, Republican Frank L. Rizzo vowed he would continue to be a force in local politics. This week, he decided where to test his muscle. At the urging of Republican leaders, Rizzo has decided to throw his considerable political weight behind John J. D'Amico, a former Philadelphia police officer who is seeking to unseat Democratic state Sen. Vincent J. Fumo in South Philadelphia's First District. Rizzo agreed to serve as D'Amico's honorary campaign chairman and yesterday pledged to publicly work to see that D'Amico, 42, is successful in defeating Fumo when they meet in the November general election.

Is city Republican boss William A. Meehan teaming up with state Sen. Vincent J. Fumo, a Democrat, to outmaneuver Mayor Goode and Gov. Thornburgh on next week's convention center vote in the Legislature? Fumo confirmed that he met with Meehan Monday morning and that the convention center was discussed, but he would give no details. Meehan would not return phone calls. But a Senate source familiar with the meeting said Meehan "is cooperating" with the city's Senate delegation in an effort to convince two Republican senators not from Philadelphia to vote for a compromise convention center plan being pushed by Fumo and Sen. Frank A. Salvatore, the city's lone Republican state senator.

Sen. Vincent J. Fumo, who had heart surgery three years ago, was treated for chest pains Thursday while vacationing on Martha's Vineyard. Fumo (D., Phila.) left the hospital later the same day and was doing fine yesterday, aides said. Fumo, 56, will see his cardiologist after returning to Philadelphia tomorrow, said his spokesman, Gary Tuma. The pains apparently dogged Fumo early in the day during his annual summer trip. "He wasn't feeling well in the morning when I talked to him," Tuma said.

The president of Verizon Pennsylvania struck a secret "gentleman's agreement" with State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo under which the phone company agreed to pay millions to a law firm of Fumo's choosing, according to court testimony yesterday. As part of the deal, prosecutors allege, Fumo would drop his push to break up the giant phone company. Fumo (D., Phila.) initially lobbied Verizon to hire his own law firm, Dilworth Paxson, but Verizon rejected that because it "would result in money directly into Fumo's pocket," the firm's general counsel told the FBI, according to testimony at a pretrial hearing in Fumo's federal indictment.

U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, the city's Democratic chairman, has brokered an alliance between state Sen. Vince Fumo, the prince of South Philadelphia Democratic politics, and mayoral nominee John Street. The three men met Monday at Fumo's office, and Fumo agreed to host an event for Street Sunday night at La Veranda, the swank restaurant that is a favorite Fumo haunt. It wasn't the easiest of endorsements to seal, since Fumo was campaign chairman for defeated Democratic candidate Marty Weinberg, who savaged Street in his quest for the party nomination last spring.

The Redevelopment Authority yesterday selected state Sen. Vincent J. Fumo as the redeveloper of a four-story Center City building that Fumo plans to rehabilitate and use as his private residence. Fumo, a South Philadelphia Democrat, was chosen over two other bidders for the property at 253-255 S. Ninth St. The other bidders were the Greek Orthodox Church of St. George, which had submitted plans to rehabilitate the building and construct an adjacent building with apartments and offices, and Nestor Associates, which proposed rehabilitating the existing structure for apartment and office use. Fumo bid $100,000 for the property, which is near Ninth and Spruce Streets.

Former state Sen. Vincent Fumo got another bout of bad news this week when he was notified that he was losing his pension due to his upcoming jail sentence, the Inquirer reported online yesterday. Fumo's pension from the State Employees' Retirement System had been $100,500 a year. He began collecting on it when he retired from the state Senate in December. Fumo, 66, was convicted in March of 137 counts of conspiracy, fraud, obstruction of justice and related offenses.

Sen. Vincent J. Fumo, one of the main participants in the state's budget negotiations, was hospitalized in Harrisburg early yesterday after suffering lower abdominal pains. Fumo, 47, a Philadelphia Democrat who is minority chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, was reported to be feeling better later in the day and talking about getting back to the budget either late last night or this morning. The budget deadline is 12:01 a.m. tomorrow. A spokesman at Polyclinic Medical Center, Jim Mullay, said Fumo had a "minor medical problem, nothing serious at all. " He said Fumo was awaiting test results.

In response to a furor over the low real estate taxes on State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo's mansion, the city tax board said yesterday that it would more quickly reassess Fumo's house and other similar properties. The Board of Revision of Taxes had planned to begin the reevaluations next spring. Its spokesman, Kevin Feeley, said the assessors instead would start their work Jan. 1. Feeley acknowledged the new schedule would have little practical effect. The new valuation on Fumo's house still will not take effect until 2009.