Judge replaced in Fumo corruption case

The federal judge presiding over the trial of State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo (D., Phila.) has been replaced, apparently because of an illness that has had the trial on hold for two weeks.

U.S. District Judge Ronald L. Buckwalter will hear the trial in place of William H. Yohn Jr. The trial is expected to resume as scheduled on Oct. 20.

Yohn put a freeze on the trial two weeks ago, just before the final selection of a jury and opening addresses. Yohn said he was suffering from a virus and needed to take a break for medical care. He had postponed the trial for a month because of his illness.

Yesterday's one-sentence court order putting Buckwalter in charge of the trial gave no reason for Yohn's withdrawal. Yohn's staff declined to comment.

The two judges are much alike. Both are in their early 70s and are serving as senior judges. Both were appointed to the federal bench by President George H.W. Bush almost two decades ago.

And both Buckwalter and Yohn began their public careers as Republican officeholders in the suburbs. Buckwalter was a Republican district attorney in Lancaster County; Yohn was a Republican member of the state House from Montgomery County.

A native of Lancaster, Buckwalter graduated from Franklin and Marshall College, and earned a law degree from the College of William and Mary. After serving as district attorney in the late 1970s, he was a Lancaster County Court judge for a decade.

Fumo was indicted 21/2 years ago on charges of misusing his staff for personal and political reasons, defrauding two nonprofit organizations, and attempting a cover-up to thwart an FBI probe.

He was originally scheduled to go on trial in February, but the trial was pushed back seven months after Fumo switched lawyers.

Buckwalter's judicial assistant, Sharon Lippi, said he was not presiding over a trial now and could get up to speed in time for the Oct. 20 restart of the Fumo case.

Fumo's prosecutors, Assistant U.S. Attorneys John J. Pease and Robert A. Zauzmer, declined to comment yesterday. Dennis J. Cogan, leader of Fumo's defense team, said he was pleased with Buckwalter's selection.

"I think everybody, government and defense lawyers alike, thinks a lot of him," Cogan said. "Like Yohn, he's a terrific judge."