Fumo Finishes Corruption Trial Testimony
State Senator Vincent Fumo
Indicted former state Sen. Vincent Fumo has finished testifying after six days on the stand in his federal corruption trial. The government now plans to call two rebuttal witnesses, former Fumo defense lawyers Richard Sprague and Robert Scandone. They are expected to say they did not advise Fumo that he could destroy e-mail evidence during the FBI investigation.
That testimony would go to the obstruction charges in the 139-count indictment against Fumo. The 65-year-old Fumo is a longtime Democratic power broker from Philadelphia. He spent 30 years in the state Senate. Prosecutors say he defrauded the Senate, a charity and a museum of $3.5 million. Fumo says he was tired after more than a week on the stand in his four-month trial. Sprague, a prominent Philadelphia attorney, is being called to rebut Fumo’s testimony that he was following Sprague’s advice that e-mail messages could be destroyed lawfully. The government says that was obstruction of justice. Sprague was Fumo’s longtime friend, lawyer and a man he has described as a “father figure.” Sprague represented Fumo from the investigation’s early stages in 2003 through the February 2007 indictment, but left the case before trial after an apparent falling out.
2009 The Associated Press
Tags: corruption state
