by KYW's Steve Tawa
The longtime secretary of now-jailed ex-Pennsylvania state senator Vincent Fumo will not do prison time after pleading guilty to embezzlement charges. She got probation instead.
Federal prosecutor John Pease says they developed the case against Susan Skotnicki on nights and weekends, in the middle of the lengthy, complex Fumo trial:
"We discovered that Ms. Skotnicki had been embezzling money from the senate."
While the statute of limitations was within weeks of expiring, Skotnicki, who spent 31 years working for Fumo, immediately accepted responsibility. Pease says she pleaded guilty and paid restitution:
"She lost her job, which paid her over $100,000 a year. She lost her state pension, which had a value of over $1 million."
Defense lawyer Catherine Recker:
"Her guideline range was 12-18 months. The judge departed from that level to a probationary sentence."
Skotnicki told the court that "a giant weight has been lifted" from her soul. She said she wanted to do everything she could to "make it right."
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