Judges reject bizarre bail pleas from reputed mob associates
Judges generally grant requests to defendants around this time of year to attend Easter parties and graduation ceremonies, but they've drawn the line at some recent doozies.
Reputed Genovese associate Peter Pace, who is free on $1.5 million bail on racketeering and extortion charges, wasn't satisfied when Judge John Gleeson loosened his house arrest to allow trips to Sunday Mass and visits to his 100-year-old grandfather.
Pace's lawyer, Elliot Wales, recently complained that his client's electronic bracelet doesn't permit him to stroll on his outdoor patio deck or garden in his backyard.
"Move your tomatoes inside," Gleeson barked back. "I don't want to be bothered with this."
Judge Dora Irizarry didn't buy reputed Gambino associate Emmanuel Garofalo's appeal that he needed to get to Florida to attend traffic school.
A traffic conviction required Garofalo to complete a four-hour course by May 1 or lose his license in the Sunshine State.
He planned to drive south because his wife is afraid to fly. Irizarry put the brakes on the entire plan, court papers show.
"The circumstances underlying defendant's need to take a basic driver course must have arisen prior to his arrest in this case and he should have addressed it sooner," the judge said.
In another case, reputed Bonanno associate Neil Messina scored a huge victory when he won his release on $3.1 million bail - despite being charged with a role in a home invasion murder.
He then tried to switch his brother's bail posting of $200,000 connected to a property with $200,000 in penny stocks. When Judge Kiyo Matsumoto shot down the arrangement, Messina's sister stepped in with blue-chip IBM stock.
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