Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Fumo hits the fan

photo of FumoWell, it's been a long time in coming, the federal investigation of Fumo, his employees, and his use of funds from his pet charity. And now it arrives, a 139-count indictment for fraud, conspiracy, tax evasion, and so forth.
"Besides relying on his income and assets to support his lifestyle, Fumo regularly endeavored to gain personal benefits and gratuities from others, including entities over which he had influence, such as the Senate [and] a non-profit organization he established and controlled, Citzens Alliance...."
. . .
U.S. Attorney Patrick Meehan said at a press conference this morning that Fumo "used his power to build an empire" to serve citizens, but "constantly diverted" money to serve his political and private agenda.

"Sen. Fumo didn't just step over the line, he completely ignored it," Meehan said.
(The above piece is quite extensive, including a list of some of the highlight charges and their import.)

Fumo tried to get out in front of the indictment, calling a press conference yesterday afternoon (um, or did he speak from the Senate floor? color me confused) to decry the charges against him, and also to step down from his State Senate leadership positions(s). The press has been happy to cover this story, offering a deluge of looks at Fumo, his character, and his impressive behind-the-scenes influence on everything and everybody:

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