EDITORIAL: Indicted: The Current Culture In Harrisburg: WE DESERVE BETTER THAN SECRETS, ARROGANCE AN

Feb 07, 04:12 AM

Current Headlines: By Philadelphia Daily News

Feb. 7--A HARRISBURG hand grenade rolled into the room a few weeks ago with the news of $4 million in bonuses paid to legislative aides in the House and Senate.

U.S. Attorney Patrick Meehan just pulled the pin yesterday, when he released the indictment of state Sen. Vincent Fumo.

That explosive 267-page document paints a picture of entitlement, a lack of accountabilty and a stunning disregard for the public trust that, if true, indicts not just a single senator, but an entire culture of arrogance, secretiveness and corruption that must be cleaned up.

The General Assembly's legislative bonuses -- lists of which are now being released by both caucuses -may in the end be defensible, though just looking at how widely they range, from $65 to $40,000, and how quickly some leaders suspended the practice, gives a foul smell to them all.

The attorney general may be investigating whether or not those bonuses were used to pay for campaign work, which is illegal.

And the bonuses may be small potatoes compared to the 139 counts the government outlines on how Fumo "systematically, routinely, and improperly used the funds and resources of the Senate for his personal and political benefit... [directing] that Senate employees and contractors employed by the Senate serve him in any manner he desired throughout the regular workday and at all hours of the day and night, to further his political goals and attend to his personal wants."

But both suggest something is very wrong in Harrisburg: a disconnect not only from the reality of the lives of taxpayers, but also from the jobs these lawmakers are supposed to be doing: working on behalf of the public.

The Fumo indictment is a stunning document that says Fumo had Senate staffers handle his personal life, such as cleaning his house and organizaing the renovations on his Green Street mansion.

It says he defrauded the nonprofit group he established, Citizens Alliance for Better Neighborhoods, by using $1 million from that group for a wide range of unrelated spending. The indictment lays out in excruciating detail purchases made by Executive Director (and Senate-paid staffer) Ruth Arnao, also under indictment. Numerous shopping sprees bought household items, food, clothing, DVDs, tools and an inexplicable 19 Oreck vacuum cleaners using Citizens Alliance funds. It says Fumo also used Alliance funds for political work, including polling.

Fumo also engaged in a coverup after the FBI and IRS began to investigate him, the indictment says. And it questions his free use of yachts owned by the Seaport Museum, on whose board he sits, during his Martha's Vineyard vacations.

The indictment paints a picture of a man whose boundaries between his personal life and professional responsibilities have completely dissolved.

And while that may feel familiar to some workaholics, the charge that taxpayers footed the bill for a shocking amount of personal comforts and political benefits is a sickening outrage. (Daily News sources say Fumo could face up to 15 years in jail.)

Harrisburg lawmakers have lately made a lot of noise about their new reform efforts. Indeed, Fumo himself not long ago released his list for reforming the way laws are heard and passed.

But all that is a light dusting compared to the thorough house-cleaning that must be done.

Citizens should demand a clean house in Harrisburg. And we know just where they might find a few extra vacuum cleaners to do the job.

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Copyright (c) 2007, Philadelphia Daily News

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