Fumo

The eight-year saga of the Vincent J. Fumo federal investigation ended on a subdued note Wednesday when the former state senator's chief accomplice was resentenced - to time served. Ruth Arnao, a former top Fumo aide in the Senate, was resentenced by U.S. District Judge Ronald L. Buckwalter after a hearing in which prosecutors said they do not expect to appeal her sentence or the one given Fumo last week. Ordered by an appeals court to redo sentencing hearings for Fumo and Arnao, Buckwalter simply reinstated Arnao's one-year term.

HUBRIS and omnipotence and unconscionable decision-making by men in power. Penn State is not the only place where it happens. It took place last week in Philadelphia in the inexcusable resentencing of Vince Fumo by U.S. District Judge Ronald L. Buckwalter. You may have missed it because of the Penn State scandal. But in all my days of watching and covering courts (which includes winning a Pulitzer Prize for a two-year investigation of the Philadelphia court system)

The prosecutors of former State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo fired back at the federal judge in the case Saturday, saying that his criticism of them was "fundamentally wrong and markedly unfair. " In a rare weekend court filing, Assistant U.S. Attorneys John J. Pease and Robert A. Zauzmer said U.S. District Judge Ronald L. Buckwalter had improperly chastised them for "overcharging" Fumo, who was convicted of 137 criminal counts. "The number of charges represents not 'overcharging,' but the fact that the defendants engaged in a literal crime spree for more than 15 years, engaging in dozens of separate and lengthy schemes, which are carefully detailed in a minimal number of counts," they wrote.

FEDERAL prosecutors spent untold hours poring over emails Vince Fumo sent from behind bars in an effort to convince a federal judge that Fumo was "wholly undeserving" of leniency. The effort came up short. U.S. District Judge Ronald L. Buckwalter resentenced the disgraced former state senator yesterday to 61 months in prison - a mere six months longer than he originally sentenced him in July 2009 - and well below the advisory guideline sentence of 17 1/2 to 22 years prosecutors had sought.

ON TOP of the six months he tacked onto Vince Fumo's 55-month sentence, Judge Ronald L. Buckwalter also ordered the former state senator to perform 10 hours of community service a week for three years after his release. Given Fumo's propensity for playing by his own rules, we thought we'd suggest some eye-for-an-eye options: 1 Don a reflective vest and sweep litter along Passyunk Avenue, the one-time stomping grounds of his former pet charity, Citizens Alliance, which he looted.

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.

Six months and $1.1 million. After almost 18 months of legal review, with prosecutors seeking 15 years in prison, former State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo was sentenced to just six additional months by U.S. District Judge Ronald L. Buckwalter. The additional half-year appears due not to the government's arguments but to one unbelievably stupid, misguided e-mail Fumo fired off from prison in which he called the jury that convicted him on 137 counts "dumb, corrupt and prejudiced.

A tired, bearded, and resigned-looking Vincent J. Fumo sat silently in U.S. District Court on Wednesday as a federal judge affirmed that the once-powerful state legislator could face a longer prison sentence of at least 17 years. But at the extraordinary hearing to decide if Fumo will serve more than the 55 months imposed on him in 2009, U.S. District Judge Ronald L. Buckwalter also expressed sympathy for Fumo's multiple health problems, a factor that defense attorneys hope would mean little or no extra time.

WHEN VINCE FUMO entered a Philadelphia courtroom yesterday for resentencing, he looked every bit the aging con he is. His hair, more white than gray, was disheveled, and he had grown a beard. A facial tic seemed more pronounced than it was two years ago. He wore prison green jumpers with blue sneakers. He had gained 10 pounds since being incarcerated 26 months ago. For much of yesterday's proceedings, Fumo sat at the defense table, his head hung, at times looking almost devoid of hope.