PHILADELPHIA — Former state Sen. Vincent Fumo, a once-powerful Democratic Party figure who is finishing a federal sentence for corruption, is considering running for one of the hundreds of seats on the Democratic State Committee as the first step in a potential political comeback.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Thursday that Fumo confirmed his consideration in a sworn deposition filed this week in his lawsuit against New Jersey restaurateur Andrew Cosenza, a former friend and former chairman of his campaign committee.

The lawsuit claims Cosenza drained Fumo’s campaign fund by paying $250,000 to himself or his companies. Cosenza contends the payments were proper reimbursements for political events held in Fumo’s absence and payments to himself as a political consultant.

In a Nov. 8 deposition, Cosenza’s lawyer asked Fumo whether he had been a candidate for office in 2012 — the year Fumo filed his lawsuit and his fourth year in prison.

“I was contemplating and continue to contemplate running for party office,” Fumo said.

Asked to elaborate, Fumo said, “I can give you an example — state committee, a member of the Pennsylvania State Committee, is an elected office.” He said winning a seat on the 392-member committee is was what he had been “most concerned about.”

Fumo, who represented his Philadelphia district in the Senate for three decades, was convicted in 2009 of all counts in a sweeping federal indictment that charged him with defrauding the Senate and two nonprofit organizations of more than $4 million.