The fate of former democratic Pennsylvania State Senator Vince Fumo is now in the hands of a jury. He is charged with defrauding the Senate, his neighborhood  non-profit and the Seaport Museum out of about $4 million.  No one is expecting a quick verdict because jurors will have to decide on 139 counts against Fumo and his co-defendant Ruth Arnao.  The Philadelphia Inquirer says there will be a lot of things to work through.

Both sides are bracing for possibly lengthy deliberations in a trial that is in its fifth month and has featured more than 70 witnesses, 1,500 exhibits, and nearly 26 hours of closing arguments that spanned more than a week.

Fumo, who did not seek re-election last year, was one of Pennsylvania’s most powerful politicians.

One of the interesting things in this case is that Fumo admitted to many of the things the prosecution are charging him for, like receiving perks from a non-profit that he says he money towards. His defense has been somewhere along the lines of “Yeah, so what?.” So, as a juror, what do you do with that? Do you think that Fumo’s betting that he will be found guilty but hoping his 30 plus years of bringing home the bacon will get him a light sentence?

Also take a look at these two photos. The one on the left was taken off his senate website (admittedly he used an old photo) and a picture taken by the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Laurence Kesterson during the trial.

Is anyone else noticing how old Fumo is looking?  Do you think his graying is just the trial taking a toll on him (he did have a heart attack last year) or do you think this is just a sly move to create a little sympathy from the jurors?