Fumo: The Jury was Tainted
Updated 11:00 PM EDT, Thu, Jul 2, 2009
Former Pennsylvania state Sen. Vincent Fumo is seeking a new trial on corruption charges, alleging the jury was tainted.
In March, a jury found that the Philadelphia Democrat defrauded the state Senate, a charity and a museum of $3.5 million.
In court papers filed Thursday, defense lawyer Dennis Cogan says he discussed the case with a magazine reporter after the trial. He says reporter Ralph Cipriano told him he'd interviewed jurors and they knew during the trial about Fumo's previous prosecutions on corruption charges. He says one juror was getting updates from a co-worker on news coverage of the trial.
Cipriano's article is to appear in Philadelphia Magazine on Aug. 1. Editor in Chief Larry Platt declined to comment.
Fumo is free on bail until his sentencing, which is scheduled for July 14.
Copyright Associated Press / NBC Philadelphia
First Published: Jul 2, 2009 9:39 PM EDT
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