Ruth Arnao Gets One Year And One Day, Plus Requisite Nutter “I’m Pissed” Quote
Ruth Arnao, the nice lady in South Philly that Vince Fumo treated as both his personal secretary and partner-in-graft, has received a sentence of one day and one year for her crimes related to Fumocracy. And as you might expect, Michael Nada is pissed all over again:
“This is some form of kind of a Robin Hood defense or something, that somehow any number of good deeds somehow overwhelms if not obscures all the bad that took place. And I just think it sends the absolute wrong message.”
Damn straight it’s some Robin Hood shit, Dude. And Arnao was just Friar Tuck — she’s pictured at right giving somebody a check — so maybe you should leave the lady alone. Do you know how hard it is to keep up with your soaps in jail?
Previously: LiveBlog: Conor Corcoran At Vince Fumo’s Sentencing
July 21st, 2009 at 3:46 pm
Nutter: “This is some form of kind of a Robin Hood defense or something, that somehow any number of good deeds somehow overwhelms if not obscures all the bad that took place. And I just think it sends the absolute wrong message.”
Philebrity: “Damn straight it’s some Robin Hood shit, Dude. And Arnao was just Friar Tuck — she’s pictured at right giving somebody a check — so maybe you should leave the lady alone.”
Nutter: “In light of other cases like this, it’s difficult to look at the verdict and fully understand the rationale behind the length of the sentence and designated restitution amounts.”
Philebrity: “And it might tell us a lot about what Nutter could never get — and for that matter, the Inquirer, which Judge Buckwalter blasted in his decision for basically having too sensational and too self-righteous a hard-on for Fumo from the outset — about characters like Fumo, who’ve been part and parcel of Philadelphia politics for decades at least. What the often self-righteous and wonkish Nutter and the Inky could never quite get — and yes, we’re very much lumping them in together here — is why people sympathized with the likes of Fumo, who bilked charities, corporate interests and his constituents. But here’s the thing: If you don’t understand that, you don’t really understand anything about the allure of the lawless, especially here in Philadelphia. Which, for better or worse, is part of our civic character.”
Nutter: Plus 2
Philebrity: Zero
July 21st, 2009 at 3:50 pm
Yep, that’s what we said. Just don’t shoot the messenger, Smitheee.
July 21st, 2009 at 4:59 pm
Tipsy: what exactly is the message behind the two excerpts that Mr. Smithee has provided? To me, both read as ‘Yeah, Politics in Philly sucks and will always suck; get over it.’ Am I way off the mark here?
For all the righteous indignation that Philebs offered regarding John Yoo’s column (which is hilariously trivial in comparison with Fumo’s blend of corruption), I would hope that I’m misinterpreting these snippets.
July 21st, 2009 at 5:07 pm
@ A Feculent Rainbow: You’re not off the mark at all. I guess what I’ve been driving at is that this Robin Hood shit is real — a lot of Philadelphians really think this way — and for Nutter to feign surprise that it exists at all, at this point, is pretty disingenuous. And rather than him issue some indignant quote (which is seriously the easiest thing to do), why doesn’t he go after Buckwalter or… anything, really, other than this grandstanding, no-shit-Sherlock tact he’s taken. It’s the same thing as what we were talking about in the Goon Squad post yesterday: It’s easy for people in power to act affronted, but what is anyone REALLY doing to change the culture that produces shit like this. Ruth Arnao is an old dog. She will not learn new tricks. But what is anyone doing to make sure these people don’t spawn?
July 21st, 2009 at 5:17 pm
re: But what is anyone doing to make sure these people don’t spawn?
I guess that’s why I voted for Anne Dicker and not Larry Farnese.
July 21st, 2009 at 6:15 pm
@ Tips:
“this Robin Hood shit is real — a lot of Philadelphians really think this way”
This Philly.com poll would indicate otherwise – http://www.philly.com/philly/polls/50790352.html?results=y – 85% thought the sentence was weak. (yes, I realize that this poll reflects that attitudes of a very specific blend of Philadelphian citizen, however I would argue that this particular blend of citizen is the kind most likely to actively participate in our city’s democracy).
“rather than him issue some indignant quote (which is seriously the easiest thing to do), why doesn’t he go after Buckwalter”
Of course it’s easy to do. You and I know both know that the press was all over Nutter the instant the sentence was handed down – he did not go running to the press. Would you prefer that he reply, “no comment?”
As far as going after Buckwalter is concerned, I would argue that his statement directly calls into question Buckwalters judgment in the most diplomatic manner possible. Buckwalter is a FEDERAL JUDGE (appointed by a president – Daddy Bush to be specific). What can Nutter do to Buckwalter? Right now, the matter is in the hands of the Federal Prosecutors and the US Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit. Nutter’s indignant quote may even end up in the prosecutors’ Notice of Appeal.
“But what is anyone doing to make sure these people don’t spawn?”
Assuming your quote is a euphemism concerning curbing Philly’s corrupt patronage system, I would argue that whipping up public frenzy via publicity (e.g. Nutter’s statement and the Inky’s self righteous rants) is one way to fight off such offspring. I would also argue handing fair sentences down to convicted criminals would help. Finally, I would argue that when media figures in Philly adopt the ‘get over it’ stance, those media figures are merely encouraging politics as usual.