Headhunting in the Urban Jungle

by Lisa Poe

A few years ago, I worked for a headhunter - not the savage, jungle kind, but the savage, corporate kind. Executive positions are not advertised in the newspaper, they are contracted out to headhunting firms. The headhunter repeatedly contacts executives he or she knows, trying to get them to leave their current jobs to take the job the headhunter has contracted to fill. In my work there, I saw a lot of resumes, all of them high-level executives.

Most of the resumes were pretty boring, straight historical stuff; Head of Purchasing, Regional Head of Sales for Western Europe, “in my position at ABC Company I was able to reduce labor union membership,” “the invoice tracking system was installed under my authority,” you get the idea. I didn’t know at the time that the spice I was missing was a politician’s resume.

Fun with Politics
If you had told me a month ago that I could have fun while fact-checking a resume, I would have thought your idea of fun needed some help. But oh, the joy of a politician’s resume. A man born with a family name, wealth and power. A man who has unusual hobbies, certifications and licenses. A man running for re-election this year, who has been re-elected every term for 26 years and will probably die in office. And the Senator can’t seem to keep himself out of trouble. What fun!

I never cease to be surprised (or amused) at how flustered some poor administrative assistant becomes when I call to confirm that Vincent J. Fumo is on their Board of Directors. It is a simple yes or no question, but I am invariably routed to some upper level titled person such as the Vice President of Corporate and Public Affairs. This is after a fearful, “who are you, and why are you calling?” My reassurances that I am merely a graduate student doing a class project with the Senator’s consent seem only to calm them slightly.

Cloak and Dagger
My favorite response was from the City of Philadelphia’s Licensing and Inspections Unit. I had to confirm that the Senator, oddly enough, is a licensed electrical contractor and has been since 1969. Indeed, it is true, but the reply stated, “we have a licensed electrical contractor by the name of Vincent J. Fumo. I can not [sic] verify if this is Senator Fumo.” As though I were Deep Throat, and revealing that Vincent J. Fumo was indeed the same Senator Fumo would have lasting repercussions for the state of the government. Good stuff.

My contact at the Atlantic City Country Club, Mary, didn't even want to give me her last name or the name of her department, because the confirmation she gave me of the Senator's grandfathered in, lifetime membership at the Club was something she was not supposed to discuss.

In fact, there seems to be an unspoken consensus among these individuals that they are protecting the Senator from some imagined scandal by refusing to confirm his membership with their organization.

Lisa Pfettscher, of the Urban League of Philadelphia, was not only unhelpful; she was downright hostile and flatly refused to confirm that Senator Fumo is a member of the League. She indicated that the only way she would confirm his membership was in response to a request “in writing from his Chief of Staff.” When I asked if their membership list was a matter of public record, she agreed but continued to refuse to confirm or deny his membership. This is absurd, especially when Senator Fumo posts this information on his personal web page.

Repeated attempts to confirm the Senator’s membership in several societies, such as his Masonic Lodge and the Order of the Sons of Italy, were met with silence. This secrecy among institutions with whom the Senator is affiliated publicly can only serve to increase suspicions that he is up to no good behind closed doors with his cronies. It is especially reprehensible in an association that claims to be a public-spirited service organization, as many of these groups do.

Almost Famous
On the lighter side, when I contacted Villanova University to confirm Senator Fumo’s Bachelor of Science in Biology in 1964, the Transcript Coordinator, Lindy Rustam, had to ask me to repeat his last name twice and then asked me to spell it. She also volunteered that he had come back for two classes in 1981 – macroeconomics and calculus – which he did not site on his resume. By her casual manner, Lindy did not appear to have the slightest idea that Vincent Fumo was a locally prominent politician. Apparently, word of their former student’s notoriety has not reached the Philadelphia suburbs.

And when Diana from the Membership Records Department of the Knights of Columbus called me back, she said that she didn’t have anyone by the last name of Sumo, but she did have a Vincent Fumo in Philadelphia.

Ancient History
I did have some trouble confirming his older biographic information. Several companies have been bought out or disintegrated. The Locust Club is now defunct. The Catholic high school he first taught at has been merged with another school whose administrator had trouble locating the Senator’s employment record from the late 1960s.

Mr. Fumo’s resume could also use some updating. I have discovered that he is no longer a Commissioner of the Delaware River Port Authority, though his replacement as Commissioner took place earlier this year. He is no longer a member of the American Bar Association, though he is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association. He is part of the National Sheriff’s Association, but no longer on the Board of Governors of the Justinian Society.

There are also a few errors of omission, things that apparently the Senator does not find important enough to list. Then again, why you would include your honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the Pennsylvania College of Podiatric Medicine, but fail to note that you were an Elector for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (yes, in the Electoral College) in 1992 is beyond me. I think that being an Elector is much cooler.

Stranger in Town
As the saying goes, I’m not from around here. I moved to Philadelphia from central Florida four years ago, and I have no particularly strong feelings about any of the local politicians; I tend to focus nationally. I chose Senator Fumo for this project because I am a friend of his son, Vincent Fumo II. He is not a junior, because he is named after his grandfather, Vincent P. Fumo. Remember, this is a wealthy family; wealthy families can afford everything but original names for their children.

I had, of course, heard of Senator Fumo; as I mentioned earlier, he seems to have trouble staying out of the papers, so he has name recognition, even if you’re not quite sure why. I did not know about him from his son, however. In fact, I had met Vince several times before I knew he was a Fumo. I suppose the child of any celebrity becomes accustomed to the spotlight and learns not to pay attention to their parent’s picture in the paper or spot on the evening news. He was extremely obliging about getting me his father’s resume, and the Senator had no qualms about forwarding it to some woman he has never met, so apparently he is comfortable with his notoriety.

Who is Senator Fumo?
In researching the Senator, I find myself creating a picture of him in my head. He must be an interesting man. He’s a member of the American Civil Liberties Union and the Knights of Columbus. He has degrees in biology, law and business (a Wharton M.B.A., no less). He is also technically a member of the prestigious law firm Dilworth Paxson, although when I called their office and asked for him the receptionist asked, “Who?” quickly followed by “Oh! I’ll transfer you.”

Senator Fumo is quite a mix of accomplishments: he is a licensed boat captain, he has practiced law before the Supreme Court, he has maintained his Chairmanship of First Penn Bank (founded by his grandfather) after it was acquired by PSB Bancorp, and he is a licensed electrical contractor, presumably so he can do some of his own work on the properties he renovates. He was also named Crime Fighter of the Year for his work with the Crime Commission of the Delaware Valley in 1999.

He began his career as a high school biology teacher and is now arguably one of the most powerful Democratic members of the state Senate. He is Democratic Chair of the Appropriations Committee, but he does not list on his resume that he is also a member of the Communications and Technology Committee, Consumer Protection Committee, Ethics (irony is not dead) Committee, Game and Fisheries Committee and the Rules and Urban Affairs Committee.

South Philly Appeal
I infer from the fact that Senator Fumo has been re-elected every term since his first special election in 1978 that he must be very involved in his district, the kind of local politician whose constituents can count on when they have a problem. That’s why they keep him in office despite the public outbursts and implications of financial impropriety. His district is in south Philly, and you have to wonder if he could do anything that would make them turn against him. Maybe if he murdered someone, but only maybe. After all, this is south Philadelphia we’re talking about.

Senator Vincent J. Fumo is a fascinating man on paper. Researching his background has made me truly appreciate the draw of a dynamic politician. I’m not saying that I’m planning to move to south Philly just to live in his district, but I might consider it.