Fumo

IMPRISONED former Philadelphia state senator Vince Fumo has new problems - heart problems. A source close to the onetime South Philly power broker says Fumo was recently taken from his low-security federal prison in Kentucky to a nearby hospital, where doctors found a 90 percent blockage in one artery. The physicians at Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital initially recommended a stent for the 69-year-old Fumo, according to the source, who requested anonymity, but are now looking at open-heart surgery.

Vince Fumo used to be able to move political mountains. Now, he needs his fiancee to campaign to get him a nice piece of broccoli. Still looking after the apple of her South Philadelphia eye even while he's away in federal prison, Carolyn Zinni has launched an online campaign to get her convicted true love and his fellow federal inmates some fresh veggies with dinner. "Because My Loved one is away in a Federal Prison Camp and has NOT had a piece of fruit or fresh vegetable in almost 4 YEARS!

Imprisoned former State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo may well have to pay an additional $800,000 in restitution, judging from the tenor of questioning Friday by appellate judges considering a government appeal of Fumo's financial penalty. The U.S. prosecutors who won his fraud conviction have challenged part of his punishment, in which the sentencing judge ordered a former Fumo aide to pay half the restitution to one of the victims in the fraud. U.S. District Judge Ronald L. Buckwalter ordered Fumo and the convicted ex-aide, Ruth Arnao, to split evenly the payment of almost $1.6 million owed to a South Philadelphia civic organization once known as Citizens' Alliance for Better Neighborhoods.

Imprisoned former State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo may well have to pay another $800,000 in restitution, judging from the tenor of questioning Friday by appellate judges considering a government appeal of Fumo's financial penalty. The U.S. prosecutors who won his conviction have challenged part of his punishment, in which the sentencing judge ordered a former Fumo aide to pay half the restitution to one of the victims in the fraud. U.S. District Judge Ronald L. Buckwalter ordered Fumo and the convicted ex-aide, Ruth Arnao, to split 50/50 payment of almost $1.6 million owed a South Philadelphia civic organization, once known as Citizens' Alliance for Better Neighborhoods.

Jailed former Pennsylvania State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo, already embroiled in multiple legal battles, faced a new adversary Monday: His 23-year-old daughter, Allison. Allison Fumo appeared before an Orphans Court judge to ask that the court bar her father from taking action that her lawyers say would hurt her interest in a trust that was worth more than $2 million. Judge Matthew D. Carrafiello granted her temporary relief, saying no changes could be made to the trust's assets until a new judge was appointed.

A panel of three arbitrators has unanimously rejected as groundless a lawsuit filed by the son of former Pennsylvania State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo against a South Jersey businessman. Last year, Vincent E. Fumo 2d invested $55,000 in a Bassetts BBQ run by Andrew Cosenza in Audubon, Camden County. The restaurant closed after 11 months. Fumo said Cosenza had denied him access to the books and failed to send him revenues from the operation. Cosenza's lawyer, Joseph P. Grimes, said his client had shared the financial information and the business never made a profit.

From his spare prison cell in Kentucky, former Philadelphia State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo is fighting one last high-stakes battle with federal prosecutors, and quarreling once more with former allies-turned-enemies. When convicted of corruption charges in 2009, Fumo had a net worth of $11 million. He has paid nearly $3.5 million in restitution since then, and now the feds want an additional $800,000. Lawyers for the onetime Democratic powerhouse are fighting the restitution increase in court.

Former State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo was charged with spending "other people's money" when he went on trial in 2008 on corruption charges. He found a way to avoid using his own money to pay for much of his unsuccessful criminal defense, as well. Fumo, worth $11 million at the time of his trial, is now in federal prison for his conviction on charges of carrying out a $3.4 million fraud on the state Senate and two nonprofits. While under FBI investigation, the Philadelphia Democrat tapped his campaign fund to pay $1.1 million in fees to his initial defense lawyer in the case, Richard A. Sprague.