Prosecutors seek extension for prison term of former state Sen. Vince Fumo

In a rare turn of events, prosecutors in former state Senator Vince Fumo’s federal corruption case are asking the judge to give the defendant more time in prison.

Two years ago, Fumo ­— a 1984 Wharton MBA graduate — was sentenced to 55 months in prison on 137 counts including fraud, conspiracy and obstruction of justice.

Prosecuting attorney Robert Zauzmer explained that Fumo was found guilty of defrauding the Senate of Pennsylvania, stealing from Citizens Alliance — a charity Fumo founded to clean up Southern Philadelphia — and costing the Independent Seaport Museum $115,000 in free luxury yacht trips.

Fumo was also charged with obstruction of justice for destroying electronic records from the Senate of Pennsylvania and Citizens Alliance. All of these actions were to support Fumo’s “luxurious lifestyle,” Zauzmer said.

The prosecution claimed that presiding United States District Judge Ronald Buckwalter sentenced Fumo well below the suggested federal sentencing guidelines without explaining why. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals agreed there were sentencing errors and in August ordered the judge to either change the sentence or clarify the reasons behind the initial sentence.

“So in a sense, we’re starting over,” Zauzmer said.

Co-prosecutor John Pease said the United States is recommending that Fumo be resentenced to at least 15 years in prison — almost three times the length of his current sentence ­— while pushing for 17 to 20 years. According to Zauzmer, this is the length suggested by the federal guidelines.

However, defending attorney Dennis Cogan cited the Supreme Court case of the United States v. Booker, in which the judge found that mandating certain sentences for crimes is unconstitutional. “Judges now have greater discretion in judgement,” he said.

“The judge doesn’t need to follow the guideline,” Zauzmer agreed. “But he needs to make the correct calculations,” he added, referring to factors like that are taken into account in sentencing convicts.

Philadelphia attorney Patrick Artur, who is unaffiliated with the case, said it’s very rare for prosecutors to even be able to challenge a judgment. The prosecution had to receive permission from the solicitor general in Washington, D.C. They also received support from the Obama administration. Artur estimates that this only happens once or twice a year.

“The prosecutors seem to be out for blood,” Artur said. “The man is broken, and they just want to kick him a few more times.”

Artur believes that Buckwalter will either stick with the original sentence or add six to 12 months to “toss [the prosecution] a bone.” But Artur thinks the judge will be able to enumerate properly the reasons for Fumo’s sentence this time.

The hearing is scheduled for today and is expected to last only a day or two.

But if the judge does not resentence Fumo, the prosecution could potentially ask for another appeal and make another request to the Solicitor General. “[The case] could just keep going,” Zauzmer said.

But Artur believes it is unlikely for the prosecution to both ask for and be granted “another bite of the apple.”

“It damages the legal system to do this,” he said.

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