Stopping just short of directing the district court to double the restitution owed by former state Senator Vincent Fumo to a nonprofit organization from which he stole hundreds of thousands of dollars, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit gave the district court strict instructions for resentencing.
A three-judge panel on the appeals court held that the district judge had abused his discretion under the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act, or MVRA, when he split the amount owed to the Citizens Alliance for Better Neighborhoods between Fumo and his aide, Ruth Arnao. Both Fumo and Arnao were convicted on fraud charges. They were each ordered to pay $792,802.42 in restitution to the organization, which was started by Fumo.
