The courtroom was packed in anticipation of fireworks in the Vince Fumo trial. The former state senator didn't disappoint.
After two days of showing his sensitive side and telling jurors everything he did was for the "greater good," Fumo's tone got testy when he was cross-examined. The prosecutor started to hammer away on ethics and BOOM, Fumo launched an unforgettable verbal salvo.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John Pease: "It's a violation of state law for you to have your employees using state facilities, state equipment to work on campaigns, correct?"
Fumo: "It is also a violation to spit on the sidewalk, but I don't know that it's enforced."
Philly.com blogger Robert Moran described the cross-examination as contentious, but civil. He said at one point Fumo told Pease to "calm down."
Before his cross-examination started on Wednesday, Fumo was asked about emails that were destroyed. He testified that he sought advice from longtime friend and lawyer Richard Sprague and his firm about destroying e-mails. The testimony makes it likely that Sprague will now testify as a government rebuttal witness against Fumo. The two powerful men were long friends and confidantes but are now estranged.
