Vince Fumo liked the idea of using what he referred to as “other people’s money.”
But he had little use for other people’s justice. That’s the kind of justice meted out to most of us. Not Fumo.
Apparently Judge Ronald Buckwalter agreed.
The judge yesterday stunned a federal courtroom – and in particularly federal prosecutors – by sentencing the former powerful state senator to
55 months in jail.
That’s less than five years.
It came as a shock to many.
I’m guessing it might come as a shock to Corey Kemp as well. Name ring a bell? He was the former Philadelphia city treasurer snared in the federal corruption probe of the Street Administration.
As best anyone can tell, Kemp got a couple of tickets to the Super Bowl and a deal on a deck on his house. He was convicted of conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, extortion and other charges.
For betraying the public trust, Kemp got 10 years in jail, where he sits today.
Then there’s former City Councilman Rick Mariano. When he finally came down from that perch atop City Hall, where some people thought he might have dire plans, Mariano was sentenced to six and a half years in prison for taking bribes.
And maybe most interested might just be John S. Carter. You probably never heard of him. He used to head the Independence Seaport Museum. He was convicted as part of the investigation into Fumo’s shenanigans. He pleaded guilty to stealing about $1.5 million from the museum. For his larceny he was sent to prison for 15 years.
Not the self-proclaimed one-time most powerful politician in Pennsylvania.
Fumo went on the offensive Tuesday during his sentencing hearing in front of Buckwalter.
He said he never intended to steal anything, that he was addicted to his job, and boasted of the things he and his staff got done. They even had a saying for it. They called it WGTD. That stands for “We Get Things Done.”
Too bad that very often WGTD involved OPM. Other People’s Money.
There is no arguing the benefits Fumo brought to the region and his long service to the state.
None of it lessens the seriousness of what he did, the 137 counts that a jury convicted him of without blinking an eye.
The only thing lessened yesterday by Buckwalter’s sentence was the belief that justice is blind, that she does not see who is standing in front of it, that we all get the same justice.
That didn’t happen here.
Most of us get other people’s justice.
Vince Fumo got a break.
He is to report to jail by Aug. 31. He likely will actually do less than the 55 months behind bars.
It’s an outrage.
But he had little use for other people’s justice. That’s the kind of justice meted out to most of us. Not Fumo.
Apparently Judge Ronald Buckwalter agreed.
The judge yesterday stunned a federal courtroom – and in particularly federal prosecutors – by sentencing the former powerful state senator to
55 months in jail.
That’s less than five years.
It came as a shock to many.
I’m guessing it might come as a shock to Corey Kemp as well. Name ring a bell? He was the former Philadelphia city treasurer snared in the federal corruption probe of the Street Administration.
As best anyone can tell, Kemp got a couple of tickets to the Super Bowl and a deal on a deck on his house. He was convicted of conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, extortion and other charges.
For betraying the public trust, Kemp got 10 years in jail, where he sits today.
Then there’s former City Councilman Rick Mariano. When he finally came down from that perch atop City Hall, where some people thought he might have dire plans, Mariano was sentenced to six and a half years in prison for taking bribes.
And maybe most interested might just be John S. Carter. You probably never heard of him. He used to head the Independence Seaport Museum. He was convicted as part of the investigation into Fumo’s shenanigans. He pleaded guilty to stealing about $1.5 million from the museum. For his larceny he was sent to prison for 15 years.
Not the self-proclaimed one-time most powerful politician in Pennsylvania.
Fumo went on the offensive Tuesday during his sentencing hearing in front of Buckwalter.
He said he never intended to steal anything, that he was addicted to his job, and boasted of the things he and his staff got done. They even had a saying for it. They called it WGTD. That stands for “We Get Things Done.”
Too bad that very often WGTD involved OPM. Other People’s Money.
There is no arguing the benefits Fumo brought to the region and his long service to the state.
None of it lessens the seriousness of what he did, the 137 counts that a jury convicted him of without blinking an eye.
The only thing lessened yesterday by Buckwalter’s sentence was the belief that justice is blind, that she does not see who is standing in front of it, that we all get the same justice.
That didn’t happen here.
Most of us get other people’s justice.
Vince Fumo got a break.
He is to report to jail by Aug. 31. He likely will actually do less than the 55 months behind bars.
It’s an outrage.
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