Another break for Philomena is a terrible break for justice

As Visiting Judge Richard Markus considers a motion from James A. Philomena to be spared a two-year stay in state prison, we would remind his honor of the comment he made in 2001 when he handed down a six-year sentence: "I have difficulty perceiving any form of bribery worse than that of the chief prosecuting officer who controls the criminal justice system."
So impressed were we with Judge Markus' understanding of Philomena's putting up a "Justice for Sale" sign in Mahoning County that we expected the judge would throw the book at the former prosecutor.
Imagine our surprise when, instead, he sentenced the former prosecutor to six years in state prison to be served concurrently with the four-year federal prison term he began serving in January 2000. He is scheduled to be released from the federal pen June 30, after receiving credit for good time. Judge Markus could have punished Philomena with an 11-year sentence in state prison to be served after his federal time, but his bark turned out to be worse than his bite.
Given this kid-glove treatment of one of Mahoning County's most despicable officeholders, it is not surprising that the judge is now being asked to grant Philomena "judicial release" from the two years remaining on the state sentence.
In other words, Philomena wants to walk out of prison a free man June 30, as opposed to being driven to a state lockup to serve the two years.
But it isn't only Judge Markus' comment at the time of sentencing that causes us to insist that the former prosecutor be required to serve the two years. It is his own comment that leads us to the conclusion that the punishment -- three years and six months -- doesn't fit the crime.
Mea culpa
"I've helped pollute the Mahoning Valley, and I feel I must cleanse it. I've embarrassed my friends and family and the voters who voted for me. I betrayed justice," he told Judge Markus during his sentencing on state bribery and perjury charges.
His federal time stems from his guilty plea in 1999 to federal bribery charges stemming from his role in a case-fixing scheme that involved an assistant county prosecutor, defense lawyers and a county court judge. He was subsequently indicted on 15 state charges relating to case fixing and agreed to plead guilty to three counts of bribery and one count of perjury. Prosecutors agreed to drop 11 charges.
That is a definition of a huge break. He does not deserve another.
There is also a humanitarian reason for sending Philomena to state prison that should appeal to the soft-hearted Judge Markus: The former prosecutor still needs to complete a residential drug treatment program that he had begun in federal prison in Alabama. Philomena contends, in his motion for leniency, that the drug rehabilitation treatment was interrupted when he was moved from a minimum-security to a higher-security facility.
He also contends that being among violent criminals -- he originally was housed with low-level, first-time offenders -- has caused him, as a former prosecutor, to be threatened, accosted, assaulted and injured.
Philomena says a similar fate awaits him if he is sent to a state prison.
But that isn't a reason to give him another break. We are confident that state corrections officials would keep the former prosecutor out of harm's way.
What Philomena and members of his criminal enterprise did to Mahoning County's criminal justice system was so egregious that in every case the maximum penalty should have been imposed.