Former Pennsylvania State Senator Vince Fumo was convicted yesterday on all 137 corruption related charges in which he had been indicted. The Philadelphia Inquirer has a lengthy story regarding the verdict that can be found here. I am not surpised that umo was convicted, although I am slightly surprised that he was convicted on ALL [...]
Category Archives: Philadelphia
Bad News For Fumo
Another of State Senator Vice Fumo’s former aide’s has agreed to plead guilty and testify against their former boss. Looks like the rats are deserting the ship – with emphasis on the word rat. The Philly.com has the story:
In another blow to State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo, a computer technician who prosecutors said carried out [...]
Philadelphia Sheriff Refuses To Enforce The Law
Anyone who has had the experience of trying to get a judgment enforced in Philadelphia, or has had dealings with the Philadelphia County Sheriff’s Office for any reason, cannot possibly be surprised by the following article, which will appear in tomorrow’s Wall Street Journal, detailing Philadelphia Sheriff John Green’s refusal to perform his duty and [...]
Boy Scouts Sue City of Philadelphia
The Boy Scouts of America’s Philadelphia chapter has sued the City of Philadelphia in federal court to block the city’s May 31 deadline for the scouts to open membership to gays and atheists, or vacate their historic 1928 headquarters off Logan Square.The civil rights lawsuit, filed Friday in federal court in Center City, contends that [...]
Barnes Foundation Headed For More Litigation
Seems like the saga of the Barnes Foundation, a venerable institution in the art world, isn;t over quite yet. Three years ago a Pennsylvania state coirt judge gave the institution, which has been on financial life support, permission to move from its location in the Philadelphia suburbs to new, as yet to be constructed quarters, [...]
Former Villanova Star Howard Porter Dies After Beating
While not strictly “criminal law” related,” I post this because it is a significant Philadelphia story. For those who are Villanova graduates, as I am (Law, ‘92), we are grieving this tragic, tragic death. below the fold is today’s Philadelphia Inquirer story.
Pier 34 Defendants Avoid Retrial, Take Pleas
The Inquirer reported on the Philly.com website this morning that the owner and the operator of Pier 34, the collapse of which led to the drowning deaths of 3 youg women 7 years ago, have entered pleas of no contest and guilty, respectively, thus avoiding a re-trial on the same charges on which a Philadelphia [...]
Key Hearing for Mumia Approaches. So Does Death
The Inquirer reported in yesterday’s paper on a critical argument that will be held in the US Third Circuit Court of Appeals this Thursday in the long running case of convicted cop killer Mumia Abu Jamal (and truthfully, have there been more than a handful of hot Broadway shows that have run longer than this [...]
Prosecution Will Not Seek Death Penalty in the Rafael Robb Case
Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor, who evidently intends to prosecute the case himself, announced on Thursday that the Commonwealth will not seek the death penalty in the case of Penn professor Rafael Robb, who is accused of brutally bludgeoning his wife to death. Interesting decision. Castor said that its not a death penalty case [...]
Feds Move to Disqualify Fumo Lawyers
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported earlier this week that federal prosecutors have filed a motion asking US District Court Judge William Yohn to disqualify Vince Fumo’s defense lawyers. Fumo is represented by the legendary Dick Sprague and other lawyers from his firm, Sprague & Sprague. I’ve not yet had an opportunity to read the motion papers, [...]