Fumo has been the subject of a federal investigation which resulted in his indictment in 2007. The investigation related to a charity run by the Senator called the Citizens Alliance for Better Neighborhoods which was run by a former member of the Senator's staff. In 2004, PECO, a subsidiary of Exelon, donated $17 million to the organization. Federal prosecutors began an investigation as to whether Fumo had forced the utility to make the donation by initially opposing, then supporting, utility deregulation in the state. There were also allegations that Fumo had used the charity's funds for personal benefit. Fumo also suggested that Verizon hire a law firm called Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel for a 3-year, $3 million retainer to handle legal work. The chair of Obermayer's litigation committee Thomas Leonard (and a prominent Democrat who served as the city's controller in the 1990s) attended law school with Fumo at Temple University in the 1970s and both have remained friends since then including working on fundraising for Democratic candidates.