Others rely on his smarts, staff, drive

WHEN THE state Senate convened for an opening prayer and other formalities in Harrisburg yesterday, state Sen. Vince Fumo wasn't in the chamber.

He was in private meetings with top legislative leaders and Gov. Rendell's senior staff on the state budget, transit funding and other critical matters before the legislature this week.

Fumo has been a key player in negotiating a wide range of issues in recent weeks, including a billion-dollar transit-funding package as the Legislature approaches its June 30 budget deadline.

It's not what you might expect of a man facing corruption charges that could end his political career and land him in prison for up to 10 years.

But it's clear that lawmakers, lobbyists and administration officials have continued to deal Fumo into the Harrisburg power game, and he remains one of the most influential figures in the state capital.

"He's a player," Gov. Rendell said in an interview yesterday. "If you didn't know he was indicted, it would seem the same as last budget season."

Cynics might think Fumo's enduring influence is rooted in the capital's tolerance for misbehavior by politicians.

But most say Fumo is powerful because he has the knowledge, staff, and work ethic to make himself a force.

"These are complicated issues, and guys in the Legislature like to have somebody who can help them sort it out and tell them what to do," said one Harrisburg insider.

"Vince and his staff know this stuff, and he's willing to work harder than most of them. He kind of makes himself indispensable in a budget crunch."

"I wouldn't say I'm indispensable," Fumo said in an interview yesterday.

"I do think I add value."

Fumo said there was a period after his indictment when he wondered if he could function as usual in the Capitol.

"I was so embarrassed, I didn't want to be seen anywhere," Fumo said. But after he got the support of friends in the Senate and in his district, he managed to get back to work, he said.

Fumo said he's spent a fair amount of time on his criminal case, reading grand jury testimony and notes of FBI witness interviews.

Even when he's working on legislative matters, it weighs on him.

"No matter what I do, where I am," Fumo said, "that never leaves me, the thought that it's there."

Rendell said Fumo's energy on the job is probably therapeutic.

"When you're under that kind of pressure, the best relief is to get out and work," Rendell said.

Part of Fumo's enduring influence lies in his staff.

When he was indicted, he was stripped of his minority chairmanship of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

So most of the experts on his staff now technically work for state Sen. Gerald LaValle, of New Castle, Pa. But their offices remain in Fumo's suite, two floors below LaValle's office.

Fumo is careful to note that his staff serves the committee, not himself. LaValle is in on key meetings, but it's understood that it's Fumo's people - Randy Albright, Paul Dlugolecki and others - who get things done.

"They're valuable," Fumo said. "They've got credibility all over the Capitol."

Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware County, said it's Fumo as much as his staff that makes him a go-to guy.

"He's developed relationships in the chamber over many years, and his colleagues look to him for advice, judgment and direction," Pileggi said. "My observation is that his status within his caucus is not diminished."

Fumo said yesterday he's the one who first came up with a transit-funding alternative to Gov. Rendell's idea of leasing the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

And he argued that SEPTA will probably end up with a permanent funding solution because he understood what was needed and what was possible.

"I don't like saying 'me' a lot, but anymore, if I don't say it, nobody writes it," Fumo said. "and I'm getting tired of everybody taking credit for what I do."

Fumo said he plans to run for re-election next year, even with the indictment hanging over his head.

"It's not a pleasant undertaking," Fumo said. "But I think we'll win. I think people in the district still respect and like me." *