Former Fumo Staffer Says He Was Assigned to Personal and Political Work

by KYW's Tony Hanson

A former budget analyst for Pennsylvania state senator Vincent Fumo has testified that he was asked by the senator to research construction issues on a shore property the senator owned in Ventnor, NJ.  And the witness indicates he wasn't happy about what he felt was the improper work. 

Fumo (in file photo above) is charged with using state senate staff and other resources for his personal gain.

During questioning in federal court on Thursday by prosecutor Robert Zauzmer, former Fumo employee Christian Soura testified that he did research on the shore property, listing endangered plant and animal species on the site, related to how that would impact construction on the wetlands site.

(Zauzmer:)  "About how much time did you spend working on the project, all told?"
 
(Soura:)  "Oh, probably three or four hours."
 
(Zauzmer:)  "And where did you do that?"
 
(Soura:)  "I did it at home."
 
(Zauzmer:)  "Why did you do it at home?"
 
(Soura:)  "It didn't seem an appropriate use of state time or resources."
 
(Zauzmer:)  "Did anyone suggest to you that you do it at home?"
 
(Soura:)  "No."
 
Another time, Soura says, he was among about 15 staffers told to hand out political literature.

(Zauzmer:)  "Was it during normal working hours?"

(Soura:)  "It was."

(Zauzmer:)  "Did you volunteer for this?"

(Soura:)  "No."

(Zauzmer:)  "How was it that you wound up being one of the people doing it?"

(Soura:)  "I forget which person told me, but it was passed around through the office that we were going to to work on this campaign that day."

(Zauzmer:)  "How'd you feel about that?"

(Soura:)  "I wasn't very happy about it."

(Zauzmer:)  ""How come?"

(Soura:)  "It didn't seem like an appropriate use of our time." 

But he says he didn't complain because he didn't think it would change anything.

 
Read Related Stories About "Fumo"