Vincent J. Fumo will be sentenced today

Former State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo is set to be sentenced today for his corruption conviction, and his defense lawyers sent along nearly 90 more letters of support yesterday to the federal judge deciding his fate.

Fumo, 66, a long-powerful Democrat in Philadelphia and Harrisburg, is widely expected to receive a prison term, though U.S. District Judge Ronald L. Buckwalter is free to impose any sentence he believes is fair.

The letters sent to Buckwalter yesterday were on top of more than 250 letters - including one from Gov. Rendell - that were sent to the judge earlier by the defense team.

Included in the new batch are letters from Philadelphia lawyer Arthur Makadon, City Councilman Frank DiCicco, Philly Pops conductor Peter Nero, former Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson, and former Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Sandra Schultz Newman.

DiCicco, a longtime ally, said he did not have access to a copy of his letter last night but that he had told the judge it would be a shame to let Fumo's mind go to waste "behind the walls of a penal institution."

The Inquirer renewed its request for Buckwalter to make all the letters public, and the judge was said to be contemplating releasing them after the sentencing.

Former State Sen. Bruce S. Marks, a Republican who won a court fight to become senator from the Second District in Philadelphia after a battle against a Fumo-backed candidate, wrote his own letter to the judge, asking Buckwalter to ignore the pleas of Fumo's "cronies and cohorts."

In the letter, a copy of which was e-mailed to The Inquirer, Marks said that Fumo's entire political career involved the use of government or "other people's money" to "support his political agenda."

The sentencing - set to begin at 10 a.m. and likely to last at least several hours - will include the final round of arguments by the prosecution and the defense in the case, which has been closely followed, especially by lawyers and political figures across the state.

Fumo also will be given an opportunity to make a statement to the judge.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys John J. Pease and Robert A. Zauzmer are seeking a sentence of more than 15 years behind bars, while defense lawyers are hoping for a sentence substantially shorter than the 11 to 14 years that could be imposed under federal sentencing guidelines calculated by the judge.

In a final sentencing memorandum filed late Sunday, defense attorneys Samuel Buffone, Dennis J. Cogan, and Peter Goldberger asked Buckwalter to "reject the government's plea for an excessively punitive sentence, no matter how adamantly expressed."

Pease and Zauzmer have told the judge that the sentence "will echo in every corner of the state" and must convey the message that it is "impermissible for an elected official to use public money . . . for personal and political gain" and then try to thwart the investigation.

In addition to announcing the sentence, Buckwalter will decide - if prison is ordered - whether Fumo should be taken into custody immediately, allowed to surrender sometime in the next one to two months, or remain free pending the outcome of his appeal.

Several political sources said Fumo's friends were trying to line up as many supporters as possible to attend today's hearing.

The courtroom is expected to be crowded in any event, with lawyers, law clerks, news reporters, and friends and family members of Fumo, including his fiancee, Carolyn Zinni.

Buckwalter's courtroom deputy, Matthew Higgins, who will be the gatekeeper of the event, said the 14th-floor courtroom would be open at 9:45 a.m.

Fumo also has gotten some advice from former City Councilman James J. Tayoun, who, one source said, recently gave Fumo a copy of his advice book, Going to Prison? Tayoun served time at a federal prison camp on a 40-month sentence in the early 1990s after pleading guilty to racketeering, mail fraud, and tax evasion.

Starting at 10 a.m. today, visit philly.com for live blogging from the Fumo sentencing.EndText