Philly imam’s wife sentenced to prison

A federal judge today ordered the wife of a prominent Philadelphia Muslim to return to federal custody by May 1 to serve another year in prison on her conviction for stealing $270,000 from the Philadelphia Community College.

The resentencing of Faridah Ali, 59, wife of the imprisoned Imam Shamsud-din Ali, was ordered by a federal appeals court panel, which ruled that U.S. District Judge John P. Fullam improperly interpreted federal sentencing guidelines when he sentenced Ali to house arrest and probation in 2005.

Calling the case and its sentencing issues one of the most unusual he's encountered, Fullam today said he still felt Ali was initially motivated by a desire to do good. He said he would "welcome" a motion to reconsider the sentence if defense attorney Andrew D. Kessler could find legal precedent justifying another look.

Ali, who was just released from a prison halfway house on Feb. 8 after serving most of a two-year prison term in a different criminal case, wept as she apologized to the community that supported her husband's mosque and their Sister Clara Muhammad School.

"I'm just so sorry the community still has to go through this with me," Ali said.

Fullam also resentenced Ali's daughter, Lakiha Spicer, 31, to six months in prison.

Ali and Spicer were convicted of fraud in 2004 in what the jury found was a scheme to steal $270,000 from the Philadelphia Community College.

Ali and her daughter were accused of charging the college for adult education classes at the Sister Clara Muhammad School in West Philadelphia, classes that were never taught.

Fullam sentenced Ali and Spicer to probation and home confinement, agreeing with defense claims that the loss to the taxpayers had been exaggerated.

Federal prosecutors, who sought four years in prison for Ali and two for Spicer, appealed. In November, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit vacated the sentences and ordered Fullam to apply provisions of federal sentencing guidelines more favorable to the government.

The Community College case was related to the separate racketeering case against Shamsud-din Ali and Faridah Ali. Both Alis were convicted and sentenced by a different judge, he to seven years and she to two.

Shamsun-Din Ali, 68, is imprisoned at the federal prison in Fort Worth, Texas, with a tentative release date of December 2013.

Wiretaps conducted during the federal probe of the Alis led in turn to the City Hall corruption probe, which became public Oct. 7, 2003 when an FBI "bug" or recording system was found in Mayor Street's City Hall offices.

The former mayor was never accused of wrongdoing, but two dozen others, including former City Treasurer Corey Kemp, were sent to prison on corruption-related charges.