Judge Indicates Fumo Will Get 11-14 Years Behind Bars

by KYW's Steve Tawa

The latest ruling from the federal judge handling the Vincent Fumo fraud case centers on what sort of sentence he will hand the convicted former Pennsylvania state senator when he is sentenced on Tuesday.

After the epic trial that ended in mid-March with a jury finding Fumo guilty on all 137 counts, and post-conviction motions and arguments, Judge Ronald Buckwalter has issued a brief, two-page ruling that reads in part, "As it now stands, the offense level is 33."

That puts the 66-year-old Fumo's sentence in the 11-to-14-year range, a downward departure from federal sentencing guidelines. The probation office calculation was 21 to 27 years behind bars.

The judge has also determined what Fumo should pay in restitution: nearly $1.3 million to the state senate, more than $676,000 to the South Philadelphia nonprofit organizatino Citizens Alliance, and more than $114,000 to the Independence Seaport Museum.