Vince Fumo, it hard to admit, is my Senator. Happily, I didn't vote for him. He is still running for the Democratic nomination for State Senator this year, and is widely seen as the most powerful politician in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He is also the subject of a 139 count indictment that ranges from fraud to conspiracy to obstruction of Justice to tax evasion. (You can read about the Vince Fumo indictment story here in a special section at the Philadelphia Inquirer, and there's even a copy of the indictment itself.) Now we find that the records concerning Mr. Fumo's tax assessments on his $6MM home here in Philadelphia have been. . . lost (that's the house there on the left). Gee, there's not a soul who is surprised. From the Inquirer's story today:
The mystery of how State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo came to have a remarkably low tax bill for his Spring Garden mansion may never be fully solved.
The reason: the city's real estate tax board says it lost its Fumo file."They moved heaven and earth to try to find it," said Kevin Feeley, a consultant for the Philadelphia Board of Revision of Taxes. He said it was probably lost in a recent move.
With the documents gone, Feeley says the board cannot provide complete answers to a lingering puzzle about Fumo's 27-room Victorian showplace: Why is it valued at $250,000, sparing Fumo a huge tax hit, when the senator is trying to sell it for $6 million?
"It's like the fourth grader saying the dog ate his homework," said Ed Goppelt of Hallwatch.org, who also sought the mansion's tax file.
"To lose 13 years of records from one of the most powerful elected officials in Pennsylvania? That's pretty weak."
Lost file notwithstanding, Feeley said the agency was confident that Fumo had been treated like any other taxpayer.
It should be noted that while the Board of Revision of Taxes claims confidence that Mr. Fumo was treated like every other taxpayer, there are a couple of his friends on the Board of Revisions of Taxes. Instead of a tax bill of $6,611, he should be paying around $165 per year for that property. This sounds very much like what Republicans do. And it's not hard to fgure that out. A Culture of Corruption" springs from the notion that one can't be beat. That was the situation that bred the Republican "Culture of Corruption" under Bush, Abramoff, etc. Well, Vince Fumo has felt that his position is secure for a long, long time. Perhaps this is because of the power he has amassed, but it is also because he's never been challenged on the Democratic side before, not seriously. And we all know a Republican can't win in South Philly. It is time to challenge the man, and it is also time for all Philadelphia politicians to wash their hands of Vince Fumo.
Anne Dicker is mounting a campaign to challenge Fumo. She's definitely a darkhorse, but with more stories like today's she just might have a chance. My wife and I hosted a fundraiser for Anne Dicker at our house Saturday. A lkittle wine, a few guests, and some money in Anne's coffers. I urge you all to host a fundraiser for Anne, and if you are not in Philly, I urge you to send her a contribution anyway. This is a case of getting rid of corruption within Democratic ranks, and to my mind that is just as important as getting rid of Republican corruption.
Post new comment