Judge refuses to let Colombo family prince out on bail during appeal

Judge refuses to let Colombo family prince out on bail during appeal

  August 31, 2017    Dapper_Don

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A Brooklyn federal judge isn't cutting the son of a notorious mob boss any slack.
A month after Judge Dora Irizarry hit Michael Persico with a five-year sentence for his loansharking conviction — exceeding the approximately three years suggested by federal guidelines — the Daily News learned she’s refused to let Persico stay out on bail during his appeal.
The judge said Persico, 60, has to show up at prison on Oct. 20 — which could make for a family reunion on the inside.
Persico’s 84-year-old pops, Colombo boss Carmine "The Snake" Persico, is locked up on a 139-year sentence.
Meanwhile, Persico’s brother, Alphonse "Allie Boy" Persico, the onetime acting boss, is serving a life term.
Prosecutors opposed Persico’s efforts to stay out pending his appeal. He’s been out on $5 million bond since 2010, court records show.
When Irizarry tossed Persico’s bail bid last week, part of her reasoning was that Persico “poses a danger to the community.”
Persico’s conviction for extortion qualified as a “crime of violence,” the judge noted.
Secondly, Irizarry said Persico’s role in uncharged crimes — top among them his connection to a 1993 whack in a bloody power struggle within the crime family.
In the run-up to sentencing, a Colombo turncoat said Persico helped with weapons and told him that someone had a lead on mob underboss Joseph Scopo’s whereabouts.
In July, when Irizarry sentenced Persico for his 2012 guilty plea, she said the slaying of 47-year-old Scopo was “part of protecting your family and your family’s role with the Colombo crime family.”
Irizarry also noted the rubout in her recent decision.
She said the court concluded that Persico, in addition to the loansharking, “directed the commission of and participated in a murder.”
A lawyer for Persico could not be immediately reached for comment.
Alphonse "Allie Boy" Persico is locked up at a medium security federal correctional institution in Lewis Run, Pennsylvania. Carmine "The Snake" Persico is housed at a medium security federal correctional institution in Butner, North Carolina.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-judge-won-loansharking-mobster-bail-appeal-article-1.3449148

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Son of Colombo boss rallies community support after prison sentence

Son of Colombo boss rallies community support after prison sentence

  August 02, 2017    Dapper_Don

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The arts community in Saugerties, NY, has rallied in support of Carmine “the Snake” Persico’s son Michael Persico, who was just sentenced to five years in prison.
Michael, 60, is beloved in the Catskills town — where his Brooklyn-based family has owned property for 40 years — for donating a building as a visitors center, providing space for art shows and hosting Chamber of Commerce mixers on his 54-acre estate.
“Michael Persico is kind of a hero up here,” Jennifer Dragon, of the Cross Contemporary Art gallery, told me. “He was instrumental in turning this town around. He bought buildings, fixed them up and created housing.”
Jen Hicks, who owns two commercial buildings, said, “He’s an enormous patron of the arts, and he’s done a lot for the village.”
Carmine, 83, the onetime head of the Colombo crime family, is serving a 100-year sentence on racketeering charges. Michael’s brother Alphonse “Allie Boy” Persico, 63, is serving a life sentence.
Michael copped a plea to a single count of “extortionate extension of credit” in 2012, expecting a sentence of three to four years.
Instead, despite 200 letters in support of leniency, Chief Judge Dora Irizarry gave him five years in Brooklyn federal court.
“To us it doesn’t seem fair, they’re making him pay for the sins of his father and his brother,” Dragon said.
Several people shed tears when the stiff sentence was handed down. Dragon said, “All of us are like, ‘No! You can’t do that to Mike.’ ”

http://pagesix.com/2017/08/01/support-swells-for-colombo-familys-michael-persico/

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Son of Colombo family boss is slammed with five year sentence for loansharking and links to murder during mafia war

Son of Colombo family boss is slammed with five year sentence for loansharking and links to murder during mafia war

  July 22, 2017    Dapper_Don

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The son of a mob boss will be getting an extended prison stay after a Brooklyn federal judge went beyond the sentence length that even prosecutors were seeking.

Federal guidelines said Michael Persico, the son of Colombo boss Carmine "The Snake" Persico, deserved about three years for his 2012 loansharking plea, but Judge Dora Irizarry slammed the scion Friday with a five-year sentence.

Irizarry also factored in uncharged acts, like Persico’s link to the 1993 murder of Joseph Scopo during a power struggle inside the Colombo family.

An acting Colombo capo-turned-informant said Persico helped with weapons for the hit and told him someone knew where to find Scopo.

Scopo’s murder was “part of protecting your family and your family’s role with the Colombo crime family,” Irizarry told Persico, sitting stoically in the courtroom.

Irizarry said prosecutors proved Persico’s role in the rubout by “more than a preponderance of the evidence” as well as other criminal acts, like buying and selling stolen handheld video games.

Persico had a chance to address the court before sentencing, but he chose not to.

It’ll be a family affair behind bars.

Carmine Persico, 83, is serving 139-year sentence.

Carmine Persico, 83, was convicted in the famous mid-’80s Manhattan federal “commission” trial, which convicted three of the five crime family bosses in one fell swoop. Papa Persico’s serving a 139-year-old sentence.

Persico, 60, will also join his 63-year-old brother, Alphonse "Allie Boy" Persico, the onetime acting boss who’s serving a life sentence.

Persico’s friends and family submitted almost 200 letters in support. One of those missives came from Persico’s 80-year-old mother, Joyce, who wrote, “I am getting older and need my son around.”

The letters “speak volumes” about Persico’s family life, help to the community and ability to stay on the straight and narrow, said lawyer Maurice Sercarz.

Irizarry said said she didn’t doubt the sincerity of Persico’s family and friends who spoke up for him. Some wiped away tears when they heard the stiff sentence.

Still, Irizarry said she’d seen people come through the courthouse living two lives — “like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.” There was the upstanding side and then there was “criminal conduct the family can’t even fathom.”


Sercarz declined to comment outside the courtroom.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/son-mob-boss-extended-prison-stay-loansharking-plea-article-1.3346316

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Mother of Colombo family prince begs judge for leniency

Mother of Colombo family prince begs judge for leniency

  October 17, 2016    Dapper_Don

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Reputed mafia prince Michael Persico has enlisted his 80-year-old mother to beg a federal judge not to send her son to prison.

“I am getting older and need my son around,” Joyce Persico wrote to Brooklyn Federal Judge Dora Irizarry.

“He helps me with everything. I am scared that if he is sent to prison I will never see him again outside of that place.”

The matriarch of the mobbed-up clan has seen a lot of family members go off to prison. Her husband, Carmine "The Snake" Persico, 83, the boss of the Colombo crime family, was convicted in 1987 in the so-called Commission trial and is serving a 100-year sentence for racketeering and murder.

Her son Alphonse "Allie Boy" Persico, 62, is serving a life sentence for murder. A third son, Lawrence, 61, did time for a no-show union job, but is out now and was recently employed as a pizza deliveryman in Brooklyn.

Joyce Persico's letter was part of an 88-page filing of letters to Judge Irizarry from friends, family members, and business associates of Michael Persico.

Michael Persico, 60, pleaded guilty to loansharking more than four years ago — it was his first felony conviction — and will finally be sentenced on Nov. 2.

Federal prosecutors say he is a powerful associate in the crime family and participated in the 1993 conspiracy to kill Colombo rival Joseph Scopo during the Colombo civil war, but Perscio was never charged with Scopo’s murder.

The judge is not bound by a plea agreement for Persico in which the sentencing guidelines were 37 to 46 months in prison.

Irizarry could slam Persico with up to five years in prison if she takes into account the uncharged Scopo murder.

Joyce's husband, Carmine "The Snake" Persico, the boss of the Colombo crime family, was convicted in 1987.

Joyce Persico’s letter was buried on page 68 of an 88-page filing of letters to Irizarry from friends, family members, and business associates of Michael Persico filed last week in Brooklyn Federal Court.

“Throughout his life, Michael has been a loving son to me and our family and a doting father to all his children,” she wrote.

A sentencing memorandum from Michael’s lawyers states that Joyce Persico suffers from emphysema and severe rheumatoid arthritis.

“It is clear from these letters that Mr. Persico has always endeavored to conduct himself in a law-abiding manner and has struggled to overcome the infamy of his last name and blood relations,” his lawyers told the judge.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/exclusive-nyc-mobster-runs-mom-prison-article-1.2833044

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Son of notorious boss of the Colombo crime family now delivers pizza in Brooklyn

Son of notorious boss of the Colombo crime family now delivers pizza in Brooklyn

  April 24, 2016    Dapper_Don

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He's a mob prince and a pauper.
In yet another sign of the decline of the Mafia, the son of the boss of the beleaguered Colombo crime family is delivering pies for a Brooklyn pizzeria, the Daily News has learned.
Ex-con Lawrence Persico, 60, the son of Carmine "the Snake" Persico, was observed making deliveries for Mia’s Pizza Shop on 13th Ave. in Dyker Heights on a busy Friday evening this month.
Persico would park his black Nissan Altima on 85th St. near a fire hydrant, walk inside the pizzeria and emerge minutes later carrying a plastic bag of takeout or an insulated bag for carrying pizza boxes.
“My, how the mighty have fallen,” observed a law enforcement official who viewed photos of the pizza bag man taken by The News. “I guess that’s how he gets his dough.”

Carmine Persico, 82, was convicted in 1986 of murder in the historic Commission case. Eight mobsters — including the heads of the Genovese, Lucchese and Colombo families — were found guilty of racketeering, extortion and other crimes. Persico is due to be released in 2050 if he lives that long.
The FBI says he is still the official boss of the family, having held the reins despite his long incarceration and a bloody civil war in the early 1990s.

Lawrence is the middle of Carmine Persico’s three sons. Former acting boss Alphonse "Allie Boy", 62, is serving a life term, and Michael, 59, described by the feds as a powerful associate of the family, will soon be sentenced for a loansharking conviction and will be going away for at least three years.
Lawyer Mathew Mari, who is representing Carmine Persico in a motion to reduce his sentence, insisted that Lawrence does not actually work at the pizzeria.

“He hangs out there,” Mari said. “He knows the owner and he’s helped out a few times. It’s not a job.”
Mari said Lawrence Persico has had a tough time since he was convicted more than a decade ago of holding a no-show operating engineer job in the Colombo labor racketeering case. He was sentenced to 21 months in prison and hasn’t been able to find work.
“He’s down on the b---s of his ass,” said a family friend.

According to court papers, Lawrence was diagnosed with bipolar disorder as a teenager, and his ups-and-downs with mental illness have left him, at times, estranged from his biological family.
He is on the hook to the government for a $759,000 forfeiture judgment from the criminal conviction. His last payment of $50 was made in January, according to court records.
“I never felt a sense of freedom ... Instead I felt this tremendous frustration with my pending debts to the government, as well as my legal, personal, and family debts,” Lawrence wrote to Judge Sterling Johnson in 2005 after he was released from prison.
The owner of the pizzeria did not return a call for comment.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/son-mob-boss-delivers-pizza-brooklyn-article-1.2612348

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Son of Colombo family boss battles prosecutors before sentencing

Son of Colombo family boss battles prosecutors before sentencing

  January 19, 2016    Dapper_Don

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Mob prince Michael Persico isn’t going down easy.

After a judge rejected his bid to yank a guilty plea last year, the reputed Colombo associate and son of jailed family boss Carmine Persico is still battling prosecutors before sentencing.

Persico pleaded guilty to loan-sharking in 2012, a deal that gave him immunity for involvement in two murders and set sentencing guidelines of 37 to 46 months in prison for the lesser rap.

But the Mafia scion later wanted the deal scrapped, claiming prosecutors implicitly pushed for a stiff term in a court filing by making mention of the killings and Persico’s alleged role in them.

Judge Sandra Townes shot down his bid and ordered that the sentencing proceed.

With his guilty plea made permanent, Persico and his lawyer, Marc Fernich, now want to block prosecutors from referring to the crimes in pre-sentencing submissions to the court.

Persico and his lawyers appeared in Brooklyn federal court Tuesday to set a timeline to submit arguments.

Prosecutor Allon Lifshitz hinted at the hearing that the government staunchly believes that Persico was involved in the murder of mobbed-up union official Joseph Scopo.

“As the defense knows, our position is different,” he said. “It’s that this defendant did participate in ordering it.”

Judge Dora Irizarry held out the possibility that the issue might require a special hearing to sort out the matter.

Persico declined to comment to The Post outside court.

The Mafia royal copped to loaning $100,000 to trucking-company businessmen — while sticking them with a whopping 45 percent annual interest rate.

Irizarry had set the status conference for 11 a.m., but a calendar error listed it at 10 a.m.

Quickly realizing that no one was present for the hearing at 10 a.m. — aside from a pair of reporters — the judge briefly issued a bench warrant for Persico before the snafu came to light and the proceeding was held.

http://nypost.com/2016/01/19/mob-prince-battles-prosecutors-over-loan-sharking-sentence/

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Judge rejects Colombo prince's bid to retract guilty plea

Judge rejects Colombo prince's bid to retract guilty plea

  November 14, 2014    Dapper_Don

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A Brooklyn federal judge rejected a Colombo crime family scion’s bid to pull back his plea deal for loan-sharking because the feds decided to get tough with his sentencing guidelines, Brooklyn federal court papers show.

Mafia prince Michael Persico claimed prosecutors breached their 36- to 47-month sentencing deal by pushing for a stiff term in a pre-sentence report, his lawyers said in court papers.

He also claimed to have not fully understood what he was pleading to and wanted the deal torn up.

But no-nonsense Brooklyn federal Judge Sandra Townes dismissed his request and said the accord was binding.

Persico, 57, had repeatedly said he understood what he was admitting to and there was no legal basis to allow him to back out of the deal, her ruling states.

Persico copped to loaning $100,000 to trucking company businessmen and sticking them with a whopping 45 percent annual interest rate.

Persico wanted his sweetheart plea deal yanked despite facing the prospect of life in prison if he’s convicted at trial.

http://nypost.com/2014/11/12/judge-rejects-mob-scions-bid-to-retract-plea/

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Son of longtime Colombo crime family boss wants to take back his guilty plea

Son of longtime Colombo crime family boss wants to take back his guilty plea

  September 29, 2014    Dapper_Don

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The reputed prince of the Colombo crime family wants to rip up his guilty plea, the Daily News has learned.

Michael Persico, who pleaded guilty more than two years ago to loansharking in a sweet deal that also gave him immunity from prosecution for several murders, is accusing the government of breaching an agreement in which he would face only 37 to 46 months in prison when he's sentenced by hard-hitting Brooklyn Federal Judge Sandra Townes.

Persico, 57, the son of jailed Colombo boss Carmine "The Snake" Persico, is blanching at the possibility that he could get up to five years in prison. "He should just man up and do his time," said a disgusted law enforcement official.

Prosecutors argue that Persico is stuck with his guilty plea, but if he gets his wish he better be careful — he would go to trial facing murder conspiracy and extortion charges that could put him away for more than 20 years if he's convicted.

Defense lawyer Marc Fernich declined to comment on the legal strategy.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/son-colombo-crime-boss-guilty-plea-removed-article-1.1940903

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Genovese mob rat gets break on prison sentencing

Genovese mob rat gets break on prison sentencing

  October 06, 2013    Dapper_Don

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A mob rat sulking over the nine-year sentence he received for his role in the murder of a Staten Island jeweler got some time shaved off his term.

Former Genovese associate Christopher Prince, 30, was seeking his release from prison after serving five years for acting as the lookout in the fatal robbery of Louis Antonelli in 2008. Instead, he got a year knocked off the 45 months remaining on his sentence.

Federal prosecutors were in Prince’s corner, arguing that he had testified against Genovese capo Anthony Antico, who was acquitted of ordering the robbery. Prince was also prepared to testify against Colombo mob bigshot Michael Persico before he pleaded guilty to a deal of the century offered by the government.

Meanwhile, Prince was slapped with more jail time than more murderous mob rats like Bonanno heavyweights Salvatore Vitale, who has 11 murders on his résumé, and Richard Canterella, with three.

U.S. District Judge Carol Amon said she was not persuaded that Prince had earned a get-out-of-jail card.

“To what extent is any of this new or wasn’t known at the original sentencing?” Amon asked in Brooklyn federal court.

The judge noted Prince had faced 30 years in prison, so the term he received was a significant reward for his cooperation.

Prince will likely be released into the witness protection program.

“I don’t think ‘time served’ would be appropriate in light of the very serious criminal conduct he was involved in before he cooperated,” Amon said.

Prince shrugged in the direction of family members, indicating the reduction was better than nothing.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/mob-rat-break-role-staten-island-jeweler-murder-article-1.1473453

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Colombo family wife requests judge's permission to fly to LA to buy clothes

Colombo family wife requests judge's permission to fly to LA to buy clothes

  January 07, 2013    Dapper_Don

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Alicia DiMichelle, reputed wife of a Colombo associate, leaving Brooklyn Federal Court after pleading guilty to stealing money from a truckers union.

The sexy mob wife of a Colombo gangster needs a judge's permission to fly to Los Angeles for some serious shopping.

Alicia DiMichele, who pleaded guilty last year to embezzling union funds from the trucking business she ran with hubby Edward Garofalo, has reinvented herself as a fashionista while out on bail.
DiMichele operates a women's boutique called Addiction in Cherry Hill, N.J., and purchases merchandise from manufacturers and wholesalers on the West Coast, according to a letter her lawyer wrote to Brooklyn Federal Judge Sandra Townes.

Mob moll Alicia DiMichele with husband Edward Garofalo. Both were convicted for their involvement in an embezzlement scheme.

The boutique's motto is, "Always dress like you are going to see your worst enemy."
DiMichele's traveling is restricted to New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania while she awaits sentencing so she is seeking permission for several buying trips for "business purposes."
The raven-haired beauty faces up to six months in prison, but prosecutors have indicated they would not oppose a term of home confinement.
She was a candidate for a role on a Philadelphia spinoff of the popular cable reality show, "Mob Wives."
Her jailed hubby is considered an associate of the Colombo family. DiMichele guilty by association to her husband, not the mob, prosecutors said, as she worked as a bookkeeper at the trucking company and aided her husband in the embezzling.
The couple was arrested in 2010 with reputed Colombo capo Theodore "Teddy" Persico, Jr., and Michael Persico — the son of official Colombo boss Carmine Persico — as co-defendants.
Her father-in-law Edward Garofalo, Sr., was murdered by infamous Gambino underboss Salvatore "Sammy Bull" Gravano. DiMichele's husband was depicted as a violent thug by prosecutors and couldn't make bail even after his lawyer argued that Garofalo, Jr., never sought revenge against his father's killers.
Nonetheless, federal prosecutors do not object to DiMichele's travel request, but the judge has not yet made a decision.

Interior of Addiction Boutique, located in the Tuscany Marketplace on Route 70 in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.  Addiction Boutique is owned by Alicia DiMichele, the wife of Colombo gangster Edward Garafolo.

DiMichele's boutique offers trendy party clothes and accessories — in fact she calls herself a "trendsetter" on Twitter and she models some of the items on Addiction's Facebook page.
A quilted purse is listed as a "must have" gift to be purchase for men "trying to redeem themselves for being naughty this year."
There’s also a hot photo of DiMichele straddling a chopper.
Defense lawyer John Wallenstein scoffed at the Daily News' interest in his client's traveling plans. "It's not a secret that she's making an effort to support her children as best she can while her husband is in jail," Wallenstein said.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/mob-wife-fly-article-1.1234303#ixzz2HLeF5g3v

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Colombo associate refuses plea deal and causes his fellow wiseguys deals to be taken away

Colombo associate refuses plea deal and causes his fellow wiseguys deals to be taken away

  August 10, 2012    Dapper_Don

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Photo of Dennis Delucia, Colombo soldier, was entered into evidence at the trial against Colombo Acting Boss Thomas "Tommy Shots" Gioeli.

Suspect Andrew Russo, escorted by FBI agents.

Angelo Spata, an alleged Colombo crime family associate, leaves Brooklyn Federal Court on January 20, 2011

WHO'S the boss?
A seemingly low-level mobster put the kibosh on plea deals that four Colombo wiseguys — including the crime family's acting boss — were ready to take Friday.
Then again, Angelo "Little Angelo" Spata is no ordinary mob associate.
Spata is the son-in-law of the crime family's official boss Carmine "The Snake" Persico, who is serving a life sentence.
He’s charged with wire fraud in connection with Feast of Santa Rosalia in Bensonhurst and illegal gambling. He blew off federal prosecutors on Thursday and had a deadline of Friday to accept the deal.
He told them to stick it.
His hard-nosed bargaining left acting boss Andrew Russo, capo Dennis Delucia and soldiers Ilario Sessa and Joseph Savarese in the lurch.
“Everything has broken down,” Delucia's lawyer Robert LaRusso glumly informed Brooklyn Federal Judge Kiyo Matsumoto.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Geddes said in court that Spata’s move means everyone's plea offers were off the table.
The men can either go to trial or try to negotiate new deals on less favorable terms, officials said.
Since Spata is a member of the Persico royal family, the other gangsters have no choice but to abide by his decision and keep their mouths shut, sources said.
The sources also said Spata is gunning for the same sweet deal that his brother-in-law Michael Persico recently wrangled — which gave him protection from the guilty plea being used against him in any future prosecution.
“The government is going to regret (Michael Persico's) plea agreement for a long time because now everyone is going to ask for it,” a source said.
This is Spata’s first arrest, and he faces about 20 months in prison.
Spata operates a company that rents amusement park rides to neighborhood Italian feasts and carnivals throughout the city. While he's co-defendants stew in jail, he's been free on $1 million bail. Prosecutors last year agreed to allow him to jet to Venice and Paris for second honeymoon with his wife Barbara.
Mob rat Anthony Russo testified in June that Spata was eagerly looking forward to becoming a made man in the crime family. Spata's lawyer Joseph Corozzo declined to comment.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/mobster-refuses-plea-deal-leaving-wiseguys-lurch-article-1.1133883#ixzz23BWZIAks

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Colombo crime prince accepts an offer he couldnt refuse

Colombo crime prince accepts an offer he couldnt refuse

  June 09, 2012    Dapper_Don

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Colombo crime prince Michael Persico is a royal loanshark.
The mob scion copped a plea to a lowly extortion charge Friday on the eve of his racketeering and murder trial in Brooklyn Federal Court.
Persico, 55, became a first-time convicted felon when he admitted lending $100,000 to the owners of a trucking company and charging over 45% annual interest.
Facing less than four years in prison, it seemed Persico was granted the deal of the century — the racketeering and murder charges in the indictment carried a life sentence if he was convicted.
“The government made Michael Persico an offer that was too good to refuse,” defense lawyer Sarita Kedia said.
The son of Carmine "The Snake" Persico, longtime boss of the Colombo crime family, Michael Persico had portrayed himself as a successful businessman who owned a limousine company, pizzeria and bagel store in Brooklyn. He’s depicted in court papers as a doting father who takes his daughters to school every day.
But federal prosecutors contend that he is a powerful mob associate although he never became a made man in the crime family.
There was no press release issued by Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch announcing Persico’s guilty plea nor that of his cousin, capo Theodore "Teddy" Persico Jr. who faces only 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to the 1993 murder conspiracy of Joseph Scopo.
Michael Persico walked out of the courthouse wearing Versace sunglasses and declined comment.
“A 20-year-long investigation of Michael Persico ended today not with a bang but a fizzle,” co-counsel Paul Schectman said.
The trial would have been a doozy. Teddy Persico was going to represent himself. Prosecutors claimed Kedia and Michael Persico, a widower, might be romantically involved.
Kedia, a tough-as-nails lawyer, fought the prosecutors to the last minute, even getting them to modify Michael’s bail conditions so he can speak to his father and brother Alphonse — who are both serving life sentences — on the telephone.
She also insisted that despite language in the plea agreement that calls Michael “an associate of the Colombo crime family,” her client is not admitting mob ties.
“The plea agreement speaks for itself,” Federal Judge Sandra Townes said.
Michael Persico told the judge he suffers from high blood pressure and high cholesterol, but offered no other glimpse what he was thinking behind his steely façade. Asked if he understood the ramifications of the proceedings, he replied, “I’m good.”
Sources said he would not agree to the plea deal on Thursday because he wanted to discuss it with his daughters first.
No Persico family members attended the hearing.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/mob-guy-takes-offer-refuse-article-1.1092549#ixzz1xGfec81k

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Lawyers seek separate trial for their clients as mobster plans to represent himself at murder trial

Lawyers seek separate trial for their clients as mobster plans to represent himself at murder trial

  June 06, 2012    Dapper_Don

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Fearing the negative fallout from Colombo capo Theodore Persico Jr. playing lawyer at his upcoming racketeering and murder trial, the lawyers for two co-defendants have asked for a separate trial.
Gerald McMahon, who represents reputed mob associate Francis "B.F." Guerra, said he was making the request because Persico Jr.’s self-representation would be “prejudicial” to his client. Paul Schectman, the lawyer for reputed Colombo prince Michael Persico, joined in the application.
Brooklyn Federal Judge Sandra Townes rejected the motion and ordered jury selection to proceed, with opening arguments scheduled for Monday.
Persico Jr. is eager to cross-examine the mob rats the government has lined up to testify against the three defendants. Court-appointed counsel Elizabeth Macedonio will assist him.
“He [Persico Jr.] doesn’t have any hard feelings,” about his cousin Michael and Guerra wanting to get as far away from him as possible, she said.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/co-defendants-separate-trial-colombo-capo-plan-defend-racketeering-murder-charges-article-1.1090565#ixzz1wzsWcclR

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Violent Colombo captain to represent himself at upcoming trial

Violent Colombo captain to represent himself at upcoming trial

  May 27, 2012    Dapper_Don

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A violent Colombo capo who prosecutors say vowed to exterminate mob rats announced Friday that he will represent himself at his upcoming racketeering and murder trial.
Theodore "Teddy" Persico Jr., thinks he’s mastered the facts of the case better than any lawyer, so he’s going it alone, just like his uncle Carmine "The Snake" Persico did in the 1986 Mafia Commission trial.
Carmine Persico, 78, still the official boss of the Colombo crime family, was convicted and is serving a life sentence at a federal prison hospital in North Carolina.
While the elder Persico earned praise from the federal judge for his courtroom style, expectations are much lower for Teddy, who has a reputation for being more of a hothead than a scholar.
Next month, the jury will hear from turncoats that Persico Jr. wanted a list drawn up in 2010 of people suspected of cooperating so they could be rubbed out.
“Teddy said to give him the list . . . there is no doubt he is going out in a blaze,” prosecutors said in court papers.
One can only imagine how Persico Jr. will explain to the jury this ominous rant, captured on a secret tape recording: “I can get physical all day long. I got nothing to lose, I can get crazy, I don’t give a f---.
What are you going to do, put me in jail? I don't own nothing. I got no wife, I got no kids. I can act like a fool. . . . ”
The prospect of Persico Jr. acting as his own lawyer raises the reality TV show quotient of the trial. Prosecutors have alleged that his cousin and co-defendant, Michael Persico, may be romantically involved with his lawyer, Sarita Kedia.
Federal Judge Sandra Townes said the defendant has the absolute right to act as his own lawyer but questioned his motives.
“I could be wrong, but you want to handle your case because you want to cross-examine cooperating witnesses and you’re angry with them,” Townes said.
“You’re right on the first part,” Persico Jr. replied, “but I’m not angry with them; I’m just disappointed they’re lying.”
Persico Jr. 48, has spent most of his adult life in prison. He is charged with passing the order to kill a rival gangster while attending his grandmother’s funeral while on a prison furlough.
A court-appointed lawyer, Elizabeth Macedonio, will assist Persico Jr. on evidentiary matters.
The judge asked Persico Jr. how studying the federal rules of evidence was coming along. “Pretty well,” he said confidently.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/teddy-colombo-represent-murder-trial-article-1.1085231#ixzz1w2kvlAIa

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Feds say Colombo family prince might be fooling around with his lawyer

Feds say Colombo family prince might be fooling around with his lawyer

  May 16, 2012    Dapper_Don

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A PRINCE of the Colombo crime family may have found his princess — but she will have to get him off the hook on murder charges if he wants to live happily ever after.
Federal prosecutors confronted reputed mob associate Michael Persico last week on allegations he’s romantically involved with his defense lawyer, legal eagle knockout Sarita Kedia.
Persico, 55, the suave, soft-spoken scion of Colombo crime boss Carmine "The Snake" Persico, goes on trial next month in Brooklyn Federal Court charged with racketeering, murder and extortion.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicole Argentieri and Allon Lifshitz filed a letter under seal to Judge Sandra Townes in which they revealed that underworld informants claim Persico and his comely counsel are an item.
“If such a romantic relationship exists between you and your attorney, that relationship could potentially affect her decision-making and her representation in this case,” Townes said, according to a transcript of a May 11 court hearing obtained by the Daily News.
“In other words, her professional judgment, the government argues, could be affected by her emotional feelings for you,” Townes explained.
Townes did not ask the attorney and her client directly if they’re an item — but Kedia didn’t exactly deny it.

“I can absolutely assure the court that I do not have or have I ever had any relationship with Mr. Persico that would in any way compromise my professional responsibility in representing him in his own best interest,” she told the judge.
Persico, a Brooklyn businessman, also told the judge he wants to keep Kedia on his defense team.
Kedia has represented him since his March 2010 arrest and fought all the way to the U.S. Court of Appeals to get him released on $5 million bail.
Previously, she defended Michael’s older brother, former Colombo acting boss Alphonse "Allie Boy" Persico, who was convicted of murder and is serving a life sentence.
Sources told The News the feds do not have proof the couple are lovers, but wanted to deal with the issue before trial so it does not become an appealable issue if Persico is convicted of the 1992 gangland killing of then-underboss Joseph Scopo.
Kedia fired back at the government, calling its actions “unprofessional” and “reprehensible.”
“Michael Persico is a client and a friend. But the government’s allegation that I have a personal relationship or concern that could affect my representation is not only false, it’s desperate,” she said in a statement on Wednesday.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/feds-wiseguy-michael-persico-canoodling-counsel-sarita-kedia-article-1.1079538#ixzz1v5ngstly

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Michael Persico pleads not guilty to ordering the murder of a Colombo member

Michael Persico pleads not guilty to ordering the murder of a Colombo member

  August 26, 2011    Dapper_Don

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Mob scion Michael Persico pleaded not guilty yesterday in Brooklyn federal court to ordering the rubout of a fellow Colombo member -- the 12th and final murder in an internal family war in the early 1990s.
Persico, 54, is accused of having his henchmen whack Joseph Scopo, a mobbed-up concrete-union official, in 1993, during a war for control of the family.
He is the son of Carmine “The Snake” Persico, a gangster serving life in federal lockup.
The younger Persico was arrested last year on racketeering charges connected to debris-removal contracts at Ground Zero. He remains free on $5 million bail.
Co-defendants Francis Guerra and Theodore “Skinny Teddy” Persico, Michael’s cousin, also pleaded not guilty and were returned to their cells, where they await trial on other charges.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/plea_in_mob_hit_fteZVG03DZ80qObOK3bm5O#ixzz1W92Kz11p

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Son of jailed mob boss Carmine "The Snake" Persico indicted for ordering hit

Son of jailed mob boss Carmine "The Snake" Persico indicted for ordering hit

  August 19, 2011    Dapper_Don

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Michael Persico, outside court last year, has long groomed a reputation as a legit businessman who owns a limousine service and a restaurant.

The son of jailed mob boss Carmine "The Snake" Persico was indicted Thursday for ordering the 12th and final killing in the bloody Colombo family mob wars.
Michael Persico, 54, was indicted in Brooklyn Federal Court along with two associates for taking out rival mafioso Joseph Scopo in 1993.
The younger Persico has no prior convictions and has long groomed a reputation as a legit businessman who owns a limousine service and a restaurant.
His first arrest came last year, when he was accused of racketeering involving debris removal contracts at Ground Zero. He was released on a $5 million bail package.
The new indictment says he went after Scopo because he sided with the Orena faction of the Colombos.
"Persico also arranged the firearms to be used in the Scopo murder," prosecutors charged in court papers.
Wiseguy John Pappa was convicted in May 1999 of taking out Scopo as he left a car outside his Ozone Park, Queens, home - as well as three other mob hits. The Scopo murder was carried out to "secure the power of the Persico family," court documents say.
Secret recordings made by a Mafia turncoat who claimed to be in a nearby car when Scopo was gunned down tied Michael Persico to the murder, court papers said.
In the car with the informant, the feds claim, were Persico's co-defendants, Francis "B.F." Guerra, and Persico's cousin Theodore "Skinny Teddy" Persico.
Guerra is also charged with killing Michael Devine in 1992 with a coup de grace bullet to the groin for dating the wife of acting boss Alphonse "Allie Boy" Persico.
Alphonse, Michael Persico's brother, was in prison at the time. Alphonse and Carmine Persico are serving life sentences.
Guerra's lawyer, Gerard McMahon, claimed the government's snitch is Anthony "Big Anthony" Russo, who flipped six months ago, and blamed him for making up lies to save himself.
"He gives them the one guy they don't have," the lawyer said. "[Guerra] has nothing to hide on these murders."
Michael Persico's lawyer did not return requests for comment. While Theodore Persico is incarcerated, prosecutors will ask to remand Guerra and Michael Persico in a hearing scheduled for next week.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/the_mob/2011/08/19/2011-08-19_son_of_mobs_snake_also_has_fangs_say_feds.html#ixzz1VVFncgel

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Colombo Family Hitman Turned Informant's Son Runs For Elected Office, Mob Tied Donors

Colombo Family Hitman Turned Informant's Son Runs For Elected Office, Mob Tied Donors

  October 24, 2010    Dapper_Don

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An assembly candidate whose father was a mob hit man has taken thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from car dealerships owned by a reputed Colombo soldier, records show.
Republican Frank Sparaco says he has nothing to do with "the life," yet he makes much of his livelihood from those mob-connected dealerships, where he services candy and soda vending machines through his company, Pop's Vending.
"He has put me in a precarious position," Sparaco said, referring to his father, Frankie "Blue Eyes" Sparaco. "I wasn't a part of that life."
Sparaco also has gotten hundreds more campaign dollars from a company run by Michael Persico, the indicted son of the Colombo family boss.
"I always knew Michael [Persico]. He was the good one. He was the businessman," Sparaco said.
Sparaco's father was a soldier in the Colombo family. He pleaded guilty to several murders, turned informant and is a protected witness, officials said.
Though he insists he's had nothing to do with the mob, members and associates of his father's crime family have had something to do with Sparaco, a Rockland County legislator running against incumbent Democrat Kenneth Zebrowski.
Sparaco has gotten $10,000 in campaign money from Long Island car dealerships owned by reputed gangster John Staluppi, records show.
The FBI has identified Staluppi as a member of the Colombo family. Informer Salvatore Micciotta told the FBI Staluppi switched sides during an internal family war in 1992 after the boss he'd been aligned with was arrested.
The same year, New Jersey casino regulators rejected Staluppi's request to let his company, Dillinger Charter Services, run helicopter flights to Atlantic City due to his mob ties, records show.
Asked about Staluppi, Sparaco said, "I don't know John Staluppi. I never heard of the man."
He acknowledges his company services vending machines at several of Staluppi's dealerships, a job he says he got through "word of mouth" - not his father's "connections."
Sparaco says he asked the dealerships for contributions because he'd heard they made donations. He said he met with a manager for many of the dealerships, but never met Staluppi.
"One guy was manager for about 20 auto dealers. I only got money from like 10," he said.
On July 1, 2009, his Assembly campaign got six checks from Staluppi dealerships totaling $10,000. This "bundling" skirts campaign laws that bar donations of more than $2,000 every two years.
"There was no wrongdoing. These people have given thousands of dollars to candidates," he said.

He got another $1,000 from a Brooklyn limo company owned by Persico, son of jailed 77-year-old mob boss Carmine "The Snake" Persico.
Michael Persico was indicted in March on racketeering charges and prosecutors called him a mob associate. He has pleaded not guilty.
Sparaco says he's known the younger Persico and his partner in Romantique Limousines, John DiLeo, since he was 9.
When Sparaco was running for county office in 2007, he says he reached out to DiLeo and wound up with two donations of $500 each - one from DiLeo and one from Romantique.
Persico is listed as vice president of Romantique in business documents, DiLeo as president. Sparaco said he believed DiLeo - who has not been identified as a member or associate of organized crime - owned Romantique.
Despite all these connections, Sparaco has never been identified as a mob member or associate.
Still, Sparaco's vending business has surfaced in an ongoing FBI investigation of vending machines operating at mob-run auto dealers, sources familiar with the probe told the Daily News.
In March, the FBI said Michael Persico was involved in getting hidden payments from an unidentified vending company (not Sparaco's) that serviced machines at "mob-connected" auto dealers.
The unidentified vendor told the FBI Persico "facilitated" the placement of his vending machines at the dealerships.
An FBI affidavit says "most if not all of these businesses are owned and controlled by members and associates of the Colombo family."
Sources said Staluppi owns some of the dealerships, and that Sparaco's dealings with them are under scrutiny.
Persico's lawyer, Sarita Kedia, declined comment. DiLeo and Staluppi could not be reached.
Sparaco, who says he's selling Pop's Vending, insisted he's never discussed his business or campaign donations with his father.
"I don't think I could even if I wanted to, once they go into the [witness protection] program," he said. "I wasn't talking to him before, so why would I talk to him now?"

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2010/10/24/2010-10-24_assembly_hopeful_frank_sparaco_says_hes_not_connected_even_though_mobtied_firm_i.html?page=1#ixzz13If6GEqA

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Persico Celebrates Release From Jail With Pizza And Pasta

Persico Celebrates Release From Jail With Pizza And Pasta

  May 20, 2010    Dapper_Don

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Colombo crime scion Michael Persico had at least two things on his mind as he was released from jail on Wednesday night: pizza and pasta.
Of course, he planned to celebrate his freedom - secured with $5 million bail - at his own Bay Ridge restaurant, Bella Luna.
Persico, 53, spent more than two months behind bars on extortion charges while his lawyers battled with federal prosecutors over bail.
"I lost weight," he said outside Brooklyn Federal Court after changing from drab prison duds into a dress shirt with colorful stripes.
Asked if he was looking forward to sleeping in his own bed, Persico replied, "Of course. I was in a dormitory with 120 guys."
A successful businessman with no prior criminal record, Persico is the son of Colombo crime boss Carmine Persico and brother of acting boss Alphonse Persico - both serving life for racketeering and murder.
Brooklyn federal prosecutor Michael Tremonte filed a letter yesterday with a list of people Persico can't see while free on bail and reminded him to get the government's permission before meeting with anyone older than 17.

 

 http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2010/05/20/2010-05-20_pizza__pasta_for_released_mob_guy.html#ixzz0oTJtfeqR

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The Colombo Family Prince Is Sprung

The Colombo Family Prince Is Sprung

  May 19, 2010    Dapper_Don

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Image via Wikipedia

Michael Persico -- son of reputed Colombo boss Carmine "The Snake" Persico and brother of reputed ex-acting boss Alphonse "Allie Boy" Persico -- is getting sprung from jail on $5 million bond "after the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that another judge had made a procedural error at Persico's earlier bail hearing" as reported by John Marzulli for the Daily News.  Persico was indicted last March on federal racketeering charges for allegedly participating in a kickback and extortion scheme involving debris removal at the World Trade Center ground zero site.

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