A legal recommendation from Attytood

by Will Bunch | Columnist

Published Jul. 16, 2009, 2:54 p.m. ET

Not all came to praise Fumo. Among the perhaps five letters urging a tough sentence was one from Mark D. Schwartz, a Paoli lawyer.

"I have a real sense of rage over the fact that not one public official has spoken out against Vince Fumo," he wrote.

In passing, Schwartz said he was angry at Rendell for writing to seek leniency. When Rendell was Philadelphia district attorney, Schwartz wrote, he called for a hard line against criminals.

"There is no such tough talk now from Ed," Schwartz wrote.

If you're looking for a good attorney out that way, Schwartz may be your man. Bruce Marks, the former state senator whose election was nearly stolen by the Philly Democratic machine, also wrote a good letter against leniency for Fumo. I wish, in hindsight, that more of us outraged everyday taxpayers had written to the judge. This is why they say hindsight is 20-20, huh? (One of the pro-Fumo legion, Pops meistro Peter Nero, is pictured at top.)

Fumo's doling out of good deeds was the political equivalent of a mob boss distributing turkeys at Thanksgiving: Hey, if ya keep your mouth shut and look the other way the rest of the year, you'll get a free bird next time, too.