I’m just going to do a little selective cutting and pasting from Pennsylvania State Senator Vince Fumo’s wiki. I think you’ll get the picture.
Vincent Joseph “Vince” Fumo (born May 8, 1943) is a State Senator, lawyer and businessman from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
Fumo holds a B.S. from Villanova University (’62), a law degree from Temple University School of Law (’72) and an MBA (’84) from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Fumo has pursued an array of interests over his life as he is also a a licensed electrician, pilot, and boat captain.
Senator Fumo has represented South Philadelphia’s 1st Senatorial District since 1978 when he succeeded Buddy Cianfrani, who had been convicted of racketeering, bribery and obstruction of justice. Fumo was the Democrat ranking Member of the Senate appropriations committee until his federal indictment in February 2007. He also serves on the Communications & Technology, Consumer Protection, Game & Fisheris, Rules, & Urban Affairs & Housing Committees.
…In 1974, Fumo, along with three associates, was the target of a 44 count indictment for mail fraud. The four men, who included the Majority Leader of the State Senate, the head of the Democratic City Executive Committee, and the Chief Clerk of the State House were accused of helping convicted Senator Cianfrani, add 33 ghost employees to the state payroll. At the time, Fumo was an assistant to Camiel in charge of patronage.
In 1978, Fumo was convicted by a jury of 15 counts. However, a federal judge overturned the conviction in 1981 after motions by the defense to acquit…
Fumo has been the subject of a federal investigation which resulted in his indictment in 2007. The investigation related to a charity run by the Senator called the Citizens Alliance for Better Neighborhoods which was run by a former member of the Senator’s staff. In 2004, PECO, a subsidiary of Exelon, donated $17 million to the organization. Federal prosecutors began an investigation as to whether Fumo had forced the utility to make the donation by initially opposing, then supporting, utility deregulation in the state. There were also allegations that Fumo had used the charity’s funds for personal benefit.
In late May of 2006, two of Senator Fumo’s staffers were arrested and indicted on charges of destroying electronic evidence, including e-mail related to the investigation. The charges were based on e-mails sent by the aides, in which they suggested that Fumo ordered destruction of the documentation.
On 6 February 2007, a Federal grand jury named Fumo in a 139-count indictment, alleging mail fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy, obstruction of justice and filing a false tax return. Charges include using state workers to oversee construction of his mansion, spy on his ex-wife and work on his farm. Additionally, the indictment accused him of misusing $1 million of state funds and $1 million from his charity for personal and campaign use and commandeering yachts from the Philadelphia Seaport Museum for personal travel.
Immediately before the indictment was handed down, Fumo resigned his position as the ranking Democrat on the Appropriations Committee and vowed to fight the charges.
Here’s a little bonus, in case big-city pay to play corruption doesn’t bother you that much.
Fumo infamously called Republican President Pro Tempore Robert Jubelirer a “faggot” on the floor of the Pennsylavania House during a debate on slot machine gambling.
Okay? You can see the kind of representation we’ve had in the first district of Pennsylvania over the years. We elected Fumo to replace a guy that was a crook even though Fumo was indicted the same year. We’ve had crooks representing this district for my entire life. Democratic crooks. And we don’t like that. We want that to change. Fumo is actually running for reelection. We don’t want him to win. Fortunately, we have a netroots candidate that is unafraid to take on the mob-connected Fumo: Anne Dicker.
Philly Weekly explains:
The world’s greatest alpaca farmer/legislator will have a challenge next year: Noted bisexual hottie Anne Dicker recently announced she will run against Vince Fumo for state senate next year.
Dicker, you may know, nearly won a state house seat by running on an anti-casino platform, while Fumo invented the entire concept of gambling and brought casinos to Philadelphia. Fumo was also indicted on 139 counts of corruption earlier this year and has been known to wear a funny hat.
Dicker has a strong anti-funny hat policy, and told the Daily News this: “It’s absolutely ridiculous Vince Fumo is still in office – he should resign. I’ll let a jury decide his guilt or innocence, but his actions have brought a great deal of shame on this city.” Yes! I am certainly shamed by Vince Fumo using state money to install hardwood floors for Frank DiCicco or whatever.
Anne Dicker is expected to lose to Vince Fumo even if Fumo is convicted of murdering a hobo for sport, because that’s how politics work.
Philly Weekly is correct. Funny hats are a menace in the city and politics really do work like that. Anne is an underdog. But she is also a force to reckon with. There’s no question that she can win this race and give Philadelphians honest and decent leadership from this district for the first time in decades. If you want to be a part of the revolution, throw her some change, and she’ll give us some change in return.
