Former Fumo ally Rubin sentenced over no-show job
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER Mitchell Rubin, who for years was an ally and a friend of former State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo's, was sentenced Wednesday to six months of house arrest and ordered to return $150,000 to the state, money that federal prosecutors said had been for a no-show job.
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
Mitchell Rubin, who for years was an ally and a friend of former State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo's, was sentenced Wednesday to six months of house arrest and ordered to return $150,000 to the state, money that federal prosecutors said had been for a no-show job.
U.S. District Judge Ronald L. Buckwalter told Rubin that he was getting "a huge break, in my mind, by not going to jail." Rubin, 58, pleaded guilty to obstructing the FBI's investigation into Fumo, a Philadelphia Democrat.
Rubin rose to become chairman of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. Gov. Rendell fired him last year after disclosures about state payments during Fumo's trial.
Fumo and Rubin's wife, Ruth Arnao, a former Fumo aide, were convicted last year on federal charges of conspiracy, fraud, and obstruction of justice. Fumo, once one of Pennsylvania's most powerful Democrats, is serving a 55-month sentence, and Arnao is serving a one-year sentence, both in Kentucky prisons. Arnao, 53, is to be released in May.
Among the charges was that Fumo rewarded Rubin's loyalty by arranging for the Senate to pay him $150,000 in a no-work contract.
Rubin repaid the $150,000 just before Wednesday's hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney John J. Pease said. Rubin did not admit defrauding the Senate, despite the repayment.
Rubin's attorney, Barry Gross, said Rubin would not comment on the sentence.
In court, Rubin said he had not graduated from high school but obtained a GED and took some college courses.
He co-owns a well-known firm among local lawyers, B&R Professional Services Inc., which delivers legal papers, provides court reporters, and conducts private investigations. The firm has about 40 employees. Another firm that Rubin leads has long had a contract with city courts to serve legal papers.
Rubin and prosecutors dispute the facts of the case. While Rubin pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and gave FBI agents and prosecutors two different versions of what he did for the money, he still contends he spent "significant time" acting as an adviser to Fumo and liaison to other groups.
Fumo and Arnao and Rubin were once close, though in recent months they have had a falling out.
Arnao and Rubin met at a fund-raiser in the 1990s for judicial candidate Russell Nigro, whom Fumo supported. From 1999 through 2004, the couple traveled to Martha's Vineyard with Fumo during the summer, and regularly had dinner with him in Philadelphia. Typically, either the Senate, Fumo's bank, or his political campaign committee picked up the tab, prosecutors said.
Rubin is the last Fumo associate to be sentenced, but Buckwalter's sentence of Fumo is under appeal by federal prosecutors. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert A. Zauzmer said he and Pease were awaiting a schedule from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which will hear the case.
Buckwalter appeared to refer to that controversial sentencing, saying that while he had a reputation as a "lenient" judge, Rubin's five years on probation will be revoked and he'll be jailed if he violates the sentence.
Rubin will be confined to his home for the first six months but will allowed to go to work from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.