The Vince of Darkness - PhillyBlog

eldondre · #1 (**permalink**) 05-15-2005, 11:30 PM

A crook by any other name...

Quote:

It(the bank) is ranked in the bottom 5 percent of 1,000 comparable banks for profits and efficiency. While its assets have grown and its stock price has climbed, shareholders haven't seen a dividend in nine years. It mended "multiple deficiencies" last year to satisfy federal regulators...
The bank paid Fumo $709,800 last year. For a few years, it provided him a Mercedes-Benz roadster. He also has received $950,000 in reduced-rate loans, a "golden parachute" estimated at $4.2 million to $6.4 million if the bank is sold, and stock worth millions more.

Now, PSB Bancorp, owner of First Penn Bank, is up for sale. If it is sold, the Philadelphia Democrat stands to receive about $20 million...This full-time political leader has done well by his second job:

• The PSB board doubled Fumo's compensation for last year to $709,800, though he had given up one of his posts. He stepped down in 2003 as chief executive, staying on as board chairman.

In contrast, $30,000 is the average pay for chairmen of comparable banks. The average for chairmen who also serve as chief executive is less than half of Fumo's pay.

• The board awarded Fumo 600,000 shares and options last year - a package worth about $3.2 million at Friday's stock price. This doubled his stake in the bank, giving him control of up to 18 percent of it.

One compensation expert said that's remarkably generous. "It's extreme and it's at the high-end," said David Delves, a Chicago compensation consultant whose clients include Fortune 500 firms. "That is as far into ugly territory as I've seen in a long time."

• If the bank is sold, experts estimate that Fumo's "golden parachute" will be worth $4.2 million to $6.4 million.

Most banks in First Penn Bank's local peer group provide their chairmen with parachutes, but none is as generous as Fumo's.

• Fumo personally invested in a smaller Bucks County bank that PSB was eyeing for takeover, and made as much as $208,000 in profit in 2001, the year the merger was completed.

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/11648318.htm

lawmummy · #2 (**permalink**) 05-16-2005, 08:20 AM

Ironically, the bank will take a tax hit for issuing an excessive golden parachute plan - too bad for the shareholders, great for ol' Vince, huh?

He is the epitomy, to me, of the absolute worst in politics. He's used the system to pad his own pockets. He appears to be greedy and self-serving and is unapologetically so. You're either "with" him or against him, so it would seem.

What I don't get is this: How can he sleep at night? How can anybody who profits that much off of the backs of others sleep at night?

I just don't get it.

Winston · #3 (**permalink**) 05-16-2005, 11:28 PM

So Vince Fumo is a crook. In today's other headline news: two plus two equals four, cats and dogs don't get along, men think about sex a lot, and gravity makes stuff fall down.

I'm impressed with the Inquirer for digging up all that dirt but the real question is, can we ever get rid of him? Take it for granted that he's too wily and powerful to go to jail. But why can't someone actually beat him in an election? Has he really bullied and bought off every constituency in town? Jeez, even the Iraqis have fair elections these days — why can't we?

eldondre · #4 (**permalink**) 05-17-2005, 09:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winston

So Vince Fumo is a crook. In today's other headline news: two plus two equals four, cats and dogs don't get along, men think about sex a lot, and gravity makes stuff fall down.

I'm impressed with the Inquirer for digging up all that dirt but the real question is, can we ever get rid of him? Take it for granted that he's too wily and powerful to go to jail. But why can't someone actually beat him in an election? Has he really bullied and bought off every constituency in town? Jeez, even the Iraqis have fair elections these days — why can't we?

it's so frustrating. he's essentially bought off all fo south philly. otherwise upstanding and reasonable people defend him b/c he puts them in on the take. it's jsut distrubing that you can be so blatantly unethical and still be reelected ad infiitum. ah well, between him, Street, and Bush you have to wonder if dmeocracy is really all it's cracked up to be.

seand · #5 (**permalink**) 05-17-2005, 10:38 AM

Fumo is epitome of the Philly politics being dominated by "bosses" instead of issues. Its all about encouraging a sense of indebtedness in the voters to the power brokers for the good things they do, even though in reality its the voters who should be the "boss". At the public meeting I recently went to with Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell she said in aside "People say I take a lot of money but I also give out a lot of money", what she meant is she that she distributes public money to a lot of good projects but that money was ours in the first place. Meanwhile the money she takes is ours again - i.e. very often largely from people who profit off of doing business with the city, who simply pass on the costs of "making nice" with local politicians, wrapping the "campaign money" into inflated costs to the taxpayers. It all boils down to making people thankful for recieving money services that they have already paid for.