Prosecutors Want More Jail Time for Fumo

Attorneys for long-powerful state Sen. Vincent Fumo are battling efforts by federal prosecutors to increase his 4-year prison sentence in a corruption case - even as they seek a new trial, saying he was denied an impartial jury.

Defense attorneys argue that U.S. District Judge Ronald Buckwalter was on solid legal ground in imposing the sentence, which federal prosecutors called “unreasonable” and “unduly lenient” in an appeal filed last summer.

The defense urges the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to rule that “If the convictions are not reversed, the sentence must be affirmed.”

Prosecutors had sought a much longer term for the 67-year-old Philadelphia Democrat, who was convicted last year of 137 fraud and obstruction counts after a five-month trial. Authorities said Fumo defrauded the state Senate, a museum and a nonprofit of millions.