Home
Contact Us
Powerful Pennsylvania State Senator’s Trial Begins
10/22/08
He was one of Pennsylvania’s most powerful and wealthiest lawmakers, but on October 22, 2008, Vincent J. Fumo was just another defendant in federal court, facing charges of fraud, conspiracy and obstruction of justice. The Philadelphia RCFL is providing expert digital forensics expertise in support of this high-profile investigation which began in 2003 when the FBI and the IRS began looking into allegations against Fumo. He was indicted on February 6, 2007 on federal charges he used a nonprofit group for personal and political gain and defrauded the state out of $2 million. Press reports have also stated that Fumo "raided the coffers" of the nonprofit agency started by his own aides, after using his political influence to direct $27 million in corporate donations to the same charity.
Digital evidence is playing a key role in the trial, as the government is accusing Fumo of creating a cover-up by having his staff delete thousands of e-mails and removing data from BlackBerrys and computer servers. In a court filing, Fumo claimed the e-mails were destroyed after being advised that it was legal to do so. It’s not. Federal law requires that anyone who has good cause to think they may be under investigation, should not knowingly destroy documents.
If convicted, Fumo likely faces a minimum of two years in prison, though he could receive a sentence of 10 years or more if found guilty on the more serious charges of conspiracy to defraud state taxpayers. The trial is expected to last several weeks.
[Philadelphia RCFL web site ]