Federal prosecutors think the 4.5-year sentence given to the Democrat who represented the 1st District in the Pennsylvania State Senate from 1978 to 2008 was too soft and are appealing it , which is a rather unusual thing for prosecutors to do.
The feds wanted the 67-year-old Fumo to get 15 years for his three decades of scam and graft at the taxpayers expense but U.S. District Judge Ronald Buckwalter chose instead to hear to the pleas for leniency from Gov. Rendell and other political luminaries in the state, and hence Fumo has an expectation of one day walking out of the Ashland Federal Prison in Kentucky where he is serving his sentence.
Personally, I’m OK with the 4.5 years since Fumo has also lost his $100 G pension and I don’t think that what Fumo did is any less vile than what Gov. Rendell just did in authorizing $300 million in hand-picked pork projects as bankruptcy looms for the state.
Frankly, I don’t think Fumo’s thievery is any less immoral than protected-from-firing public school teachers making $87,000–plus voting to strike for a raise that will put a few more grains of sand on the back of widow on a fixed income trying to keep the home in which she raised her kids.
Besides, Fumo is still likely to serve more that the 27-months that his 1st District predecessor did for his thievery.
The feds are also appealing the one-year sentence of Ruth Arnao who was Fumo’s aide.
Okay, let’s keep Fumo’s sentence at 4.5 and give Fast Eddie 15 years with Willie Horton as a cell mate. I think that would be very fair.
Wait! Can’t we work Lindsey Lohan into this deal somehow??