Palermo former Penn Pike staffer, consultant pleads guilty to fraud

Former Pennsylvania Turnpike staffer and "consultant" S Michael Palermo, 69, pled guilty to fraud today in US District Court in Philadelphia. Charged with receiving $290k in state funds through phony work contracts arranged with Democrat Senate leader Vincent Fumo, Palermo admitted receiving the payoffs and agreed to repay the money to the state in return for 12 months house arrest and five years probation.

Minding senator Fumo's Harrisburg 'farm' was Palermo's main work in recent years.

Palermo had a $120k contract with the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission in addition to the work as a purported transportation consultant to the state Senate. He claimed today in US Court he did some work for the Senate, but agreed it was nowhere close to the near 2,000 hours he billed at $150/hr.

Palermo's sponsor Vincent Fumo from the state Senate is serving a 55 month jail sentence. He was convicted earlier this year on over 100 counts of thievery along with his assistant, Ruth Arnao the wife of the Turnpike Commission chairman at the time, Mitchell Rubin.

Rubin is also up on US charges of corruption, accused of enriching himself with lucrative no-work contracts like Palermo.

Rubin was reportedly placed in the top position at the Turnpike by racketeer-in-chief Fumo from his former perch in the state Senate.

TOLLROADSnews 2009-10-20