Colombo gangster is sentenced to 70 months in prison despite plea from deceased firefighter's wife

Colombo gangster is sentenced to 70 months in prison despite plea from deceased firefighter's wife

  November 05, 2015    Dapper_Don

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A plea for mercy from the widow of a hero firefighter didn't do much good for a reputed Colombo gangster who was sentenced Thursday to 70 months in prison for drugs and money laundering crimes.

John Cerbone, 43, who does double duty as a plumber and a goodfella, tried to portray himself as a good guy, too, in his bid for a five-year sentence.

Linda Graffagnino had written to Federal Judge Nicholas Garaufis that Cerbone had helped take care of her two young children after her husband Joseph was killed in the Deutsche Bank fire in 2007. Cerbone is a longtime friend of Linda Graffagnino and is dating her sister.

"He's a good guy, that's wonderful," Garaufis said. "But he also had to do what he has to do to be law-abiding in other respects."

Linda Graffagnino said Cerbone had helped take care of her two young children after her husband Joseph was killed in the Deutsche Bank fire. Here, firefighters respond to the 2007 blaze.

The widow of Firefighter Joseph Graffagnino, killed in 2007, is friends with Cerbone and made a plea to the judge for mercy.

Assistant Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Geddes stated in court papers that Cerbone is a member of Colombo capo Joseph Amato's crew, and had suggested to an informant last year that he had been inducted into the crime family as a made man.

Cerbone is a triplet and his two brothers attended the sentencing. Last year Cerbone tried to pass himself off as his brother Joseph when a Drug Enforcement Administration agent handed him a subpoena.

The mobster shed his blue dress shirt and donned a red T-shirt in a pathetic attempt to confuse the media outside Brooklyn Federal Court. Linda Graffagnino declined to comment.

Cerbone pleaded guilty to distributing cocaine, marijuana and oxycodone pills, and laundering the illicit proceeds after he was caught in a sting operation.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/mobster-70-months-despire-plea-fdny-widow-article-1.2424706

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FDNY widow asks judge for leniency for Colombo gangster

FDNY widow asks judge for leniency for Colombo gangster

  October 11, 2015    Dapper_Don

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The widow of a hero firefighter who died in the Deutsche Bank blaze in 2007 is asking a federal judge to show mercy to a reputed Colombo mob associate facing sentencing on drug and money laundering charges.

Linda Graffagnino wrote the letter on behalf of John Cerbone, a plumber and alleged member of Colombo capo Joseph Amato’s crew. He’s facing a mandatory minimum term of five years in prison and up to 87 months under federal guidelines when he is sentenced next week in Brooklyn Federal Court.

Linda Graffagnino wrote a letter to a judge asking for mercy when sentencing John Cerbone, who pleaded guilty to drug and money laundering charges.

Cerbone is the longtime boyfriend of Graffagnino’s sister, and often took the widow's two young children on outings to the park, the beach and the zoo after their father, Joseph Graffagnino, perished in the building that had been damaged in the World Trade Center attack.

"We are family in every sense of the word," she wrote to Judge Nicholas Garaufis. "John is not an angel and I am not excusing the crime he has committed. I am simply asking you to please consider leniency when you sentence him."

Linda Graffagnino received a $10 million settlement from the city and the Deutsche Bank contractor that was demolishing the building when a fire broke out. Cerbone's lawyer, John Meringolo, was a childhood friend of the deceased firefighter and also represented his wife in the multi-million dollar wrongful death lawsuit.

Cerbone claims that he thought the laundered funds were proceeds of loansharking, not drug distribution — a contention the government disputes.

Cerbone pleaded guilty to the charges in July.

Her father-in-law, Joseph A. Graffagnino also sent a "good character" letter to the judge.

"John has been there for my family and has been selfless since I have known him," the elder Graffagnino wrote to the judge.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/exclusive-fdny-widow-seeks-mercy-family-mob-member-article-1.2389615

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Brothers of Colombo gangster surrender their passports

Brothers of Colombo gangster surrender their passports

  May 13, 2015    Dapper_Don

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The Cerbone triplets, John (right), charged with drug-trafficking and who feds say tried to pass himself off as identical twin Joseph (center), and Anthony.

A set of triplets and another brother were ordered to surrender their passports to ensure their brother — a reputed Colombo gangster arrested on drug charges — doesn't try to flee the country posing as one of his siblings.

John Cerbone, 43, has already tried to pull the impersonation act once before, Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Geddes said Tuesday in Brooklyn Federal Court.

When Cerbone was handed a subpoena by federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents more than a year ago, he falsely claimed that he was Joseph Cerbone, his brother, according to the prosecutor.

“He bragged about it to a confidential informant who was secretly recording him,” Geddes said.

On Monday, Cerbone was arrested and carrying a driver's license in the name of Joseph Cerbone.

Geddes said that in light of John’s past use of his brother’s identity and their strong resemblance, the government is concerned he could get on a plane and go on the lam posing as Joseph or Anthony, the third member of the Cerbone threesome.

Brooklyn Magistrate Marilyn Go agreed and not only ordered the triplets to surrender their passports, but a fourth brother, Andre, as well, who strongly resembles the trio.

“I’ll give them my f------ passport, I don’t care, I look like him too,” Andre Cerbone said outside the courtroom.

John Cerbone, an alleged member of Colombo capo Joseph Amato’s crew, is indicted on charges of distributing cocaine, oxycodone, and amphetamines.

He is also charged with using his plumbing business to launder the proceeds of illicit drug proceeds.

John Cerbone was allegedly planning to make a $68,000 purchase of cocaine on the day he was arrested, Geddes said.

The judge approved Cerbone's release on $500,000 bail pending the signing of the bond by all the suretors.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/brothers-give-passports-brother-bail-article-1.2220779

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