Feds want longer sentence for ex-Pa. Sen. Fumo

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Federal prosecutors are set to argue the 55-month corruption sentence imposed on former state Sen. Vince Fumo is too lenient.

A federal appeals court in Philadelphia is scheduled to hear arguments today from prosecutors who want a harsher sentence for the former Pennsylvania lawmaker.

Fumo’s attorneys deny any errors were made at sentencing and are asking for a new trial, claiming he was denied an impartial jury.

Fumo was convicted in 2009 of defrauding the state Senate and two nonprofits of several million dollars. But prosecutors say the trial judge erred in giving Fumo a sentence well below federal guidelines after the jury found the former lawmaker guilty on all 137 charges against him.

Fumo is currently incarcerated at a federal prison in Kentucky.