A FEDERAL CASE

0 Comments | Philadelphia Daily News, February, 2007 | by MICHAEL HINKELMAN

STATE Sen. Vince Fumo touts his membership in the American Mensa Society, a society for people with very high IQs.

But Fumo wasn't smart enough to avoid being charged yesterday with 139 felonies by a federal grand jury.

The feds said Fumo, 63, one of the state's most influential power brokers, used his Senate workers to clean his house and provide personal services, and tapped a charity he helped organize to provide him with cars, tools and other goodies.

The charges include conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, obstruction of justice, and aiding and assisting the filing of a false tax return.

If convicted of all charges, Fumo, a state senator since 1978, could face from five to 15 years behind bars, sources said.

Ruth Arnao, 50, a longtime...