Vince Fumo and fiancee Carolyn Zinni split

They hung together through the toughest of times, a sweeping federal investigation, health problems, and a prison term of more than four years.

But the end has come for former State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo and his longtime fiancee, Carolyn Zinni, two years after she picked him up at a federal prison in Kentucky and drove him to the 33-room Victorian mansion they shared in the Spring Garden neighborhood of Philadelphia.

"Regrettably, Carolyn and I have split," Fumo, 72, wrote Monday in an email. "Our reasons are personal, and since she is not a 'public figure' she is entitled to her privacy."

Zinni, 57, did not respond to an email or a message left at the dress shop she runs in Springfield, Delaware County.

News of the split was first reported by the Philadelphia Daily News.

Federal prosecutors have taken notice in the past of Fumo's financial dealings with Zinni.

Fumo listed Zinni in 2011 as co-owner of his $2.3 million, Spanish-style villa in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. She paid $10 for that stake, which was worth just over $1 million when the house was sold six months later for $2.3 million. The federal government, which had a lien on the house, took $1.1 million from the sale as restitution for Fumo's crimes.

Zinni also paid Fumo $10 for farmland just north of Harrisburg that had cost him $515,000.

Zinni also paid $10 for half-ownership of Fumo's house in Margate, N.J.

Fumo's attorney, Dennis Cogan, said at the time that the real estate moves were designed to avoid an increase in federal gift taxes that was due to be implemented on Jan. 1, 2013.

Cogan called Zinni "probably the best thing to ever happen to" Fumo.

Zinni was a fixture at Fumo's side during his federal trial. He threw a party at a South Philadelphia restaurant in August 2009 to celebrate their engagement, just 12 days before he reported to prison.

Fumo has had three heart attacks, the second while he was awaiting trial and the third while he was in prison. Zinni launched an online petition drive to get federal inmates at his prison more fresh fruits and vegetables.

Fumo asked the media for "respect for our privacy during this very tough emotional time," adding, "We are now and will continue to be close friends, and I also remain close to her family."

215-854-5973

@ByChrisBrennan