Judge presses Fumo to hire a new lawyer

A federal judge yesterday briefly floated the possibility of revoking bail to get State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo to pick up the pace of hiring a new lawyer to defend him at his forthcoming corruption trial.

U.S. District Judge William H. Yohn Jr. said he didn't intend to opt for such a measure just yet, but the message he sent across the courtroom was clear: Don't try to drag this out.

Fumo told the judge that federal prosecutors have had four years to prepare the case against him. "It is, for me, a life-or-death decision to have to make," said the South Philadelphia Democrat.

Not quite, Yohn said.

It might be a matter of Fumo's "public life or death," the judge said, but others have survived. Yohn expressed concern that further delay would affect the new lawyer's time to prepare for trial, now set to begin in late February.

Fumo, who is scheduled to have back surgery on Tuesday, told the judge he had interviewed six lawyers, four from Philadelphia and the others from New Jersey, and also was considering counsel from New York.

The question of who will represent Fumo has been a topic of interest in the legal community, especially among lawyers in the white-collar crime defense bar.

Fumo had been represented by Richard A. Sprague, a longtime friend, but told Yohn last week that he believed it was in his best interest to find a new lawyer because Sprague's firm has conflicts of interest that could hinder his defense.

Lawyer Robert Scandone, a longtime friend of Fumo's who accompanied the state senator to court yesterday but is not in the running for the defense job, met with the judge and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert Zauzmer and John Pease at sidebar to tell more about the lawyers under consideration.

By the end of the brief hearing, Yohn said, he was satisfied that Fumo was making a "good-faith effort" to find a lawyer - but made it clear that he doesn't want to wait much longer. He ordered a phone conference for next Friday and perhaps a hearing the following week.

Fumo's decision to seek a new lawyer surprised many in the legal community because Sprague has long represented the senator and because the two had fought an effort by prosecutors to force Sprague and his firm out of the case.

Fumo, 64, is charged with using Senate employees for personal and political errands and with defrauding the South Philadelphia charity Citizens' Alliance for Better Neighborhoods of more than $1 million.

He also is accused of defrauding the Independence Seaport Museum and engaging in a cover-up to thwart the FBI-IRS investigation.