Fumo as ward leader?

A VINCE FUMO rumor flew over South Philly's Democratic 39A Ward this week like a UFO and, although completely denied by the authorities, some folks are not convinced.

The former state senator, home a month now from federal prison and still cooling his heels on mansion arrest, will not be taking over as ward leader.

Ward Leader Roseanne Pauciello said her phone has been ringing all week with committee members wondering if she is preparing to step down and hand power to Fumo.

Not true, Pauciello said.

"Absolutely not true," added Fumo attorney Dennis Cogan.

Pauciello has run the 39A Ward, which hugs the east side of South Broad Street south from Fumo's former headquarters on Tasker Street, since 1985.

Here's how the Fumo rumor caught fire:

The Philadelphia Public Record last month speculated that Pauciello was willing to hand over control of the ward to Fumo.

Pauciello issued an email to her committee members this week declaring that she plans to make a "major announcement" at an upcoming ward meeting.

Pauciello and Fumo are so tight, they have been known to refer to one another as brother and sister.

Then, a staffer for state Sen. Larry Farnese, who took over the 1st Senate District in 2008 from Fumo with his blessing, sent invitations by text message to an upcoming meeting at Fumo's Green Street mansion in Spring Garden.

The Farnese staffer, Mary Ann Quartullo, previously worked for Fumo and was treasurer for a political-action committee he ran.

Domenick DeMuro, the 39A Ward chairman and a former Fumo staffer, said he wasn't invited to the mansion meeting, and Pauciello wouldn't tell him what her announcement was about.

That has caused confusion and concern among committee members, DeMuro said.

"I didn't fall out of a tree," said DeMuro, who considers himself next in line for the ward leadership. "I'm 66 years old. I've been in this business 43 years."

Pauciello told us her "major announcement" was a gimmick to make people show up at the next ward meeting.

"I'm getting phone calls all over the place," she said. "Good. That's what I wanted to do. Stir things up. Well, maybe not this much."

A spokesman for Farnese said Quartullo used her own time and resources to invite former Fumo staffers to a social event.

U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, chairman of the city's Democratic Party, said Fumo is looking for help from his old staffers in organizing his many files from his days in public office.

"Vince is not going to become a ward leader," Brady said.

Pauciello said she and Fumo have never discussed him taking over the ward.

"The only thing I discuss with him is his health at this point and how he's adjusting to life outside," she added.

Mayor Nutter is holding a political fundraiser in three weeks.

Nothing surprising there.

He had just $66,315 in his campaign bank account as of Dec. 31 and a long way to go until his second term ends in January 2016.

Plus, we expect that Nutter will take another shot at running for elected office someday.

The invitation for Nutter's Oct. 3 fundraiser was put out this week by Lindsey Perry, a political consultant who worked on his 2011 re-election campaign and then spent a year working as an assistant city solicitor.

Perry moved on to Fleck Consulting, an Allentown-based firm that did something curious on Dec. 10, the Monday after Pennsylvania Society, the annual political soiree in Manhattan.

The firm registered two websites, Nutter2016.com and NutterforSenate.com, while Perry was working as a paid consultant for Nutter.

U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, a Republican, will be up for a second term in 2016. Former U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak, who lost the 2010 Senate race to Toomey, made clear back in May that he wants to be the Democratic nominee in 2016.

Perry, who left Fleck last month to start her own firm, declined to comment on Nutter this week.

Nutter, through a spokesman, said he was "unaware" of the websites, did not authorize their creation and is "not considering any run for the U.S. Senate."

"I screamed at him Monday night. I said: 'Stop blocking.' He said: 'I can't.' " - U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, who has struck up a friendship with Eagles quarterback Mike Vick, who made Birds fans very nervous during the Monday Night Football season opener by blocking downfield on run plays.