Justice was done in the Philadelphia courtroom when a jury found former state Sen. Vincent Fumo, D-Phila., guilty on all 137 counts of public corruption. But a great injustice was done this week when a federal judge slashed the sentence for Fumo from a potential 27 years to just 55 months.

Federal prosecutors should appeal the overly lenient sentence.

Across the state, most people who have followed Fumo's case are reacting with shocked disbelief at the light sentence for the once-powerful state lawmaker and infamous Philadelphia power broker.

While the potential maximum sentence of 27 years did seem excessive, federal prosecutors had sought a sentence of at least 15 years. The defense was hoping for something less than 11 years, which would allow Fumo to serve his time in a minimum-security prison camp.

With the argument focusing on sentences of a few years more or less than 10 years, it was stunning to see Fumo receive a sentence of less than five years.

By issuing such a lenient sentence, the judge is sending a message that corruption in Pennsylvania state government is not taken seriously. That message is supported by the fact that state prosecutors didn't go after the powerful Fumo; it took federal prosecutors.

Christopher Borick, a political science professor at Muhlenberg College, said, "It's not (even) a slap on the wrist."

Federal prosecutors proved with mountains of evidence that, for decades, Fumo used his political power to have state employees do work for him — from picking up his dry cleaning and shoveling the sidewalk at his mansion to managing the renovation of his 100-acre farm near Harrisburg — while on the state payroll. He also took advantage of a nonprofit organization to which he had close ties and helped secure funding, by having it buy hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of materials for his personal use.

His systematic and intentional fraud misused close to $3 million in taxpayer funds or assets of nonprofit organizations.

And for all that abuse of power and corruption, U.S. District Judge Ronald Buckwalter sentenced Fumo to just 55 months.

A comparison of related crimes and sentences puts Fumo's sentence in perspective — and illustrates how inadequate it is.

A Fumo staffer who was convicted only of erasing computer hard drives (at Fumo's direction) as part of Fumo's desperate attempt to destroy all evidence of his crimes was sentenced to 30 months.

Former Philadelphia City Treasurer Corey Kemp was convicted on 27 counts of conspiracy and fraud and received a sentence of 10 years.

A former Philadelphia city councilman was convicted on 18 counts of corruption and received six years.

Yet Fumo, convicted on 137 counts of corruption, gets less than five years.

Fumo's crimes far outweighed the corruption of these other politicians in scale, scope and dollar value. It's also worth noting that Fumo engaged in an aggressive effort to destroy evidence once he learned the FBI was investigating him. He also expressed no real remorse or even admission of crimes, saying only he "never intended" to steal anything and made "errors in judgment." He can't see, or won't admit, that what he did was theft of several milion dollars of other people's money.

The judge said he considered all of Fumo's good works and public service as a politician to benefit the people of his district and the state.

Using that logic and slashing jail time for good works, Ponzi-scheme swindler Bernard Madoff might have cut his jail time from 150 years to 10 years if he had been a Boy Scout troop leader or built houses with Habitat for Humanity.

Fumo's crimes of abuse of power, corruption, and spending what he liked to call "other people's money" for his own personal enrichment represented a stunning arrogance and disregard for not only the law but also the people and their tax dollars.

For decades, Fumo behaved as if he was above the law. The 55-month sentence handed down by Buckwalter suggests that Fumo still is above the law, or immune from being treated like other people who have committed similar crimes.

The widespread public outrage over Fumo's light sentence should encourage federal prosecutors to appeal the sentence and fight to put Fumo behind bars for 10 years or some period of time more reflective of his crimes.