Former Pa. Sen. Vince Fumo To Be Released From Prison Next Week
By Pat Loeb
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - It's not exactly a homecoming, but former Pennsylvania state senator Vincent Fumo is returning to Philadelphia next week after serving four years in a federal prison.
Fumo still has six months left on his sentence, but his attorney says he'll serve it here.
Fumo's fiancée will pick him up at the gates of the correctional institution in Ashland, Ky. on Tuesday and drive him back to Philadelphia, but not quite home: he'll report to a halfway house in Feltonville.
Prosecutor Robert Zausner says the plan is standard for any federal inmate to get time off for good behavior:
"He absolutely should be treated the same as any other inmate in terms of eligibility for a halfway house and then house arrest at the end of his sentence."
So, Zausner says he has no problem with Fumo's discharge after serving four years of his 61-month sentence.
"It's well known that the US attorney asked for a longer sentence than Mr. Fumo received, but the judge had the final decision and we respect that and we wish Mr. Fumo well," Zausner says. "We hope he now lives a law-abiding life."
Zausner does want Fumo to pay $800,000 more in restitution for the crimes he was convicted of: defrauding the state senate and two nonprofits organizations with which he was affiliated.