Morning Headlines: Inquirer Bashes Fumo’s Mansion Arrest

Most prisoners, when released, go straight to a halfway house to begin a process of reentry and make a transition back into the non-criminal lifestyle. But not all prisoners are created equal. Former state Sen. Vince Fumo spent about two minutes in his designated halfway house before catching a ride with his fiancee and driving back to his Green Street mansion in Fairmount, where he’ll be under mansion arrest instead.

When asked about what seemed like special treatment, the Bureau of Prisons explained that post-prison arrangements were made at its discretion and depends on its assessment of each prisoner. Yesterday the Philadelphia Inquirer published an editorial condemining the BOP’s decision, in part because of the luxury to which Fumo was returned:

Fumo’s mansion has an elevator, servants’ quarters, a shooting range, and a total of 33 rooms – enough to spend each week of the remaining six months of his term in a different one. It lies in the city’s serene Fairmount section, five miles and a world away from the North Philadelphia halfway house where many of Fumo’s fellow felons prepare to reenter society in spartan dormitories. The fallen power broker got the latest in a long line of breaks when he was allowed to repair instead to stately Fumo manor.

The house Vince Fumo built [Inquirer]

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