Showing posts with label Peter Lovaglio. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Peter Lovaglio. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 13, 2019
Jury finds acting Bonanno boss and his consigliere not guilty in under a day
He may look like a mobster — but he’s not guilty of being one.
Two reputed mobsters, including Joseph “Joe C” Cammarano Jr., the dapper reputed acting Bonanno crime family boss, were acquitted on all charges in a racketeering and extortion case on Wednesday.
Cammarano and his reputed consigliere John “Porky” Zancocchio were acquitted on two counts of conspiracy.
Zancocchio was also acquitted on one count of attempted assault in aid of racketeering for allegedly beating up a Bonanno associate.
Jurors were apparently persuaded by defense arguments including that the jury shouldn’t convict Cammarano just because he looks like a stereotypical goodfella.
“Looking like you stepped out of a central casting in a mob movie doesn’t make you a part of one of these groups,” Jennifer Louis-Jeune said in opening statements.
Prosecutors argued at trial that the men directed others to carry out loansharking, drug dealing and violent extortions of Staten Island and Long Island businesses from 2002 through 2018.
“Together Cammarano and Zancocchio ran the Bonanno crime family overseeing the family’s illegal activities and lining their pockets with illegal proceeds,” Assistant US Attorney Jason Swergold said in closing arguments Monday, adding that the pair “are responsible for the actions of the lower-level members even when they sat back and kept their hands clean.”
After the two-week trial the jury began deliberating on Tuesday afternoon, reaching the unanimous acquittal in just under a day.
At trial jurors heard from over 30 witnesses, including from four cooperating witnesses, one of whom is the man prosecutors say Zancocchio beat up for the mob.
Former Bonanno associate Stephen Sabella took the stand to recount the day that Zancocchio, and two other made men, came to the strip club Sabella co-owned with Zancocchio and attacked him in a back room.
“He punched me in the face. He continued to punch and kick me. I just tried to fend off the blows,” Sabella said.
Zancocchio’s lawyer, John Meringolo, didn’t deny that the incident happened but argued that Zancocchio assaulted Sabella not for the mob but to defend his family over racist comments that Sabella made on Facebook about Zancocchio’s biracial grandkid.
“[He] didn’t do it for the Bonanno crime family, he did it for the Zancocchio family,” Meringolo said during his opening statements.
The prosecution’s star witness, Bonanno turncoat Peter “Pug” Lovaglio, testified about a 2015 meeting where he said Cammarano was elected acting boss of the crime family.
“That was the day we had the meeting to vote Joe in,” Lovaglio said as the jury was shown photos of the reputed wise guys entering a garage.
But the defense argued that both Lovaglio and Sabella are lying criminals whose testimony can’t be trusted.
Cammarano’s lawyer, Elizabeth Macedonio, said outside court that she wasn’t surprised by the jury’s verdict.
“The government brought a case that should never have been brought,” Macedonio said. “There was very thin evidence and clearly the jury quickly saw its way to the only true verdict.”
Meringolo said, “The jurors were as diligent as I’ve ever seen. They took their oath very seriously.”
“The government should evaluate their use of cooperation of Mr. Sabella and Mr. Lovaglio before they bring more cases,” Meringolo said.
The pair were arrested last year alongside eight other quirky nicknamed reputed wise guys, including George “Grumpy” Tropiano, Eugene “Boobsie” Castelle, Albert “Al Muscles” Armetta, Joseph “Joey Blue Eyes” Santapaola and Ernest “Butch” Montevecchi. Six of the men have taken guilty pleas and two more are expected to go to trial.
The Manhattan US Attorney’s office declined to comment.
https://nypost.com/2019/03/13/reputed-mobsters-acquitted-in-racketeering-and-extortion-case/
Monday, February 25, 2019
Just because he looks like a mobster doesnt mean hes a mobster says lawyer for acting Bonanno boss
Alleged
Bonanno crime boss Joseph Cammarano Jr. is seen leaving the Daniel
Patrick Moynihan Courthouse on Monday in New York.
Just
because accused Bonanno crime boss Joseph Cammarano Jr. looks like he
"stepped out of central casting for a mob movie" doesn't mean he's
actually in the mafia, his attorney told a jury Monday in opening
arguments of his racketeering trial.
Lawyer
Jennifer Louis-Jeune urged jurors in Manhattan Federal Court to not
believe the government’s “fanciful tales” about the mob, as Cammarano
sat expressionless at the defense table.
“Once upon a time in a land far away there was this thing called the mafia … Once upon a time. Not now,” Louis-Jeune said.
“Looking like you stepped out of central casting of a mob movie doesn’t make you a member of one of those groups.”
John Zancocchio (c.) leaves the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Courthouse on Monday.
Cammarano,
59, wore a polka dot suit jacket with his hair combed back. His
nickname, prosecutors say, is Joe C. He and his alleged consigliere,
John "Porky" Zancocchio, 61, are accused of racketeering conspiracy.
After
the trial ended for the day, the alleged crime boss joked about his
attorney’s characterization of him. He said that when he was young all
the guys combed their hair back and his just stayed that way. And, he
said, “I got the map of Italy on my face.”
Cammarano was convicted in a 2007 case of strong-arming a Colombo mob wiseguy and spent 27 months in prison.
Now,
Assistant U.S. Attorney Gina Castellano said prosecutors will prove
that he and Zancocchio led “a sophisticated crime organization that took
whatever they wanted from whoever they wanted.”
Owners
and employees of a demolition company, a construction company and a
Staten Island dump site would all testify about shakedowns by Cammarano
and Zancocchio, Castellano said.
But the defense sought to focus on two mob snitches
who will take the stand for the government. Louis-Jeune noted that one
of the cooperators, Peter Lovaglio, was known as “Petey BS” because of
his frequent lies.
John
Meringolo, who is representing Zancocchio, noted that the government
chose to use Lovaglio as a cooperating witness, even after he’d slashed a
retired cop’s face in 2015.
“He takes the guy’s eyeball out and what is he rewarded with?” Meringolo said.
Lovaglio,
58, began his testimony later in the day and detailed his lengthy
criminal record including convictions for money laundering, stock fraud
and assault.
The other snitch, Steven Sabella, has made racist comments on Facebook about Zancocchio’s bi-racial granddaughter.
Meringolo admitted that his client had beaten up Sabella.
“My
client did hit Steven Sabella. But he didn’t do it for the Bonanno
crime family. He did it for the Zancocchio family!” Meringolo said.
https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-metro-bonanno-trial-openings-20190225-story.html
Trial starts for acting Bonanno boss and consigliere
A
trial starting Monday against the accused acting boss of the Bonanno
crime family and his consigliere will likely feature a scorched-earth
attack on two mob rats who allegedly had a cozy relationship with the
feds and the NYPD.
Joseph "Joe C" Cammarano and John "Porky" Zancocchio are accused of extortion and racketeering conspiracy.
Two mob rats, Peter "Pug" Lovaglio and Steven Sabella, are expected to be key witnesses against the alleged gangsters.
Joseph "Joe C" Cammarano
Filings in Manhattan Federal Court by Zancocchio's attorney John Meringolo have alleged that prosecutors improperly shared information with Lovaglio and allowed Sabella to post menacing messages on the Facebook page of Zancocchio's daughter.
An FBI agent on the case was captured in a wiretapped conversation with Lovaglio describing the Verrazzano Bridge as the "g----a gangplank,"
and Meringolo wrote to the court that it was "an obviously prejudicial
reference to Italian-Americans such as the defendants in this case."
Judge
Alvin Hellerstein has rejected defense efforts to have the case
dismissed over the cooperators' interactions, but the defense will seek
to bring them up when the men are on the stand.
Prosecutors
have written that there was nothing improper in authorities'
interactions with the cooperators, and that Meringolo is attempting to
distract the court by creating a sideshow.
Cammarano
is accused of orchestrating a conspiracy revolving around extortion,
drug dealing and violence. The son of a mob underboss who died in
prison, Cammarano reportedly took over in 2015 as acting boss. The
Brooklyn native once served in an elite patrol unit of the Navy on a
nuclear submarine.
Zancocchio is accused of loansharking and extortion and being involved in the racketeering conspiracy.
https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-metro-bonanno-trial-cooperators-20190222-story.html
Tuesday, February 5, 2019
Bonanno consigliere claims feds planted turncoat mobster as a spy
A reputed Staten Island mobster claims the feds planted a “spy” to extract defense secrets and strategy for an upcoming Bonanno mob trial.
John "Porky" Zancocchio, 61, an alleged consigliere in the Bonanno crime
family, said the government’s new cooperating witness is a long-time
client of an attorney who currently represents one of the other alleged
Bonanno defendants, according to Manhattan federal court filings.
The
unidentified witness and his longtime lawyer, Vincent Martinelli -- who
represents Albert “Al Muscles” Armetta --discussed the strategy and
strength of the case, as well as confidential information about
co-defendants and other cooperators, said the filing.
The
mob rat then shared that material with prosecutors, said the court
letter. Martinelli represented the turncoat when he pleaded guilty to
organized crime charges back in 2008.
“In
other words, the government input a ‘spy in the camp’ of the defense
and, thereby, violated their Sixth Amendment right to counsel as well as
other constitutional rights designed to ensure that they receive a fair
trial,” said Zancocchio’s lawyer, John Meringolo.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason M. Swergold refers to the motion as “frivolous” and “filled with factual misstatements.”
The
prosecutor said the allegations that his office tried to infiltrate the
defendant’s camp “could not be further from the truth."
The
is the borough wiseguy’s second attempt at getting the racketeering
case dismissed. Last week, Zancocchio alleged the feds provided
testimony "cheat sheet’' to a mob snitch from Tottenville for next
month’s trial. The defense claims Swergold handed over pertinent wiretap
calls and texts to Staten Island reputed mobster Peter "Pug" Lovaglio,
the government’s other cooperating witness.
Zancocchio
is one of several alleged Bonanno members, including Joseph "Joe C"
Cammarano Jr., charged with racketeering conspiracy and conspiracy to
commit extortion, authorities said.
Last
year, a federal judge released Zancocchio from the Metropolitan
Correctional Center and placed him on home detention to seek medical
attention. He had been out on bail, but his bond was revoked when he was caught breaking bread at borough eateries.
https://www.silive.com/news/2019/01/reputed-si-bonanno-mobster-claims-feds-planted-spy-to-pry-defense-secrets.html
Monday, January 21, 2019
Bonanno consigliere argues turncoat captain is too tight with the feds
A
reputed Bonanno consigliere argued in new papers Monday that a Staten
Island snitch expected to testify against him at trial is too tight with
federal prosecutors.
John "Porky" Zanococchio, who is accused of bookmaking and loan sharking,
charged that Manhattan Federal prosecutors had improperly handed over
evidence to mob rat Peter "Pug" Lovaglio.
John
Meringolo, an attorney for Zanococchio, wrote that a prosecutor gave
Lovaglio all recordings of phone calls and texts with his NYPD handler.
Meringolo called the move an “abomination” that amounted to
prosecutorial misconduct because he planned to use the communications to
attack Lovaglio’s credibility. The communications, Meringolo said, were
under a protective order.
Lovaglio
is currently serving an eight-year prison sentence for a 2015 slashing
in a Staten Island sushi joint that left a rival with a severely damaged
eye. Despite his criminal record, authorities have continued to depend
on Lovaglio as a cooperator, Meringolo wrote.
John "Porky: Zanococchio, pictured in this undated photo, thinks Manhattan
Federal prosecutors had improperly handed over evidence to mob rat Peter "Pug" Lovaglio.
“It
is beyond defense counsel’s comprehension as to why he flagrantly
handed materials to (Lovaglio) that are so critical to the defense and
the impeachment of this witness at trial,” Meringolo wrote.
In
one recorded phone call from state prison, Lovaglio said prosecutors
were “trying to get my sentence vacated,” according to papers. In
another Lovaglio tells a federal agent he wouldn’t supply information
unless he got money in return.
“Without the money don’t bother,” Lovaglio told the agent, according to papers.
In yet another, Lovaglio allegedly boasted “They’re trying to get my sentence vacated. So we’re working on it.”
The
snitch’s relationship with his NYPD handler eventually fell apart.
Filings indicate the communications were turned over to Lovaglio through
a civil lawsuit he filed last year against the handler.
A spokesman for Manhattan Federal prosecutors declined to comment.
Lovaglio took the stand in the trial of reputed Philly mob boss Joseph "Skinny Joey" Merlino, who was sentenced to two years in prison.
Zanococchio
is best known for taking bets from baseball's banned all-time hits
leader Pete Rose. He says the charges against him should be dismissed
due to the feds’ cozy relationship with the cooperator. His trial is
scheduled to start next month.
https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-metro-zancocchio-prosecutor-misconduct-20190121-story.html
Tuesday, January 30, 2018
Feds say Skinny Joey Merlino orchestrated health care fraud
A reputed Philadelphia mob boss who reinvented himself as a restaurateur relapsed into a life of crime by orchestrating a health care fraud that made a fortune for an East Coast crime syndicate, a prosecutor said Tuesday in opening arguments at his federal trial.
Joseph "Skinny Joey" Merlino was a tough-talking "fixer" in a widespread scheme to collect insurance payments by bribing doctors to write bogus prescriptions for a pain cream, Assistant U.S. Attorney Max Nicholas told Manhattan jurors.
Merlino "called the shots and he always called them in favor of taking and keeping money," Nicholas said.
The prosecutors said Merlino also sought to collect gambling debts for the syndicate, adding that the jury would hear recordings of him fretting over whether any "rats" and "stool pigeons" were lurking.
In his opening statements, defense attorney Edwin Jacobs said Merlino was framed by cooperating criminals with incentives to lie to save their own skins.
"Joey is accused of a bunch of crimes he didn't commit," Jacobs said.
Merlino, wearing a knit hoodie, gold chain and dark loafers, listened as Jacobs described how, after a stint in prison, his client moved to Florida to "live a normal and new life" with his family and four pet dogs. But he couldn't shake a gambling problem that made him vulnerable to manipulation by a wire-wearing mob turncoat named John Rubeo, who gave him tens of thousands of dollars to feed his habit.
"Joey's weakness is gambling," the lawyer said. "He bets frequently and beyond his means."
Merlino, 55, was among nearly four dozen defendants arrested in a 2016 crackdown on the syndicate that prosecutors say committed crimes including extortion, loan-sharking, casino-style gambling, sports gambling, credit card fraud and health care fraud. It operated in New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Florida and New Jersey.
Most of the defendants pleaded guilty to lesser charges, with Merlino the only one so far to go to trial on conspiracy charges. He's free on $5 million bond.
The government plans to use cooperators as witnesses, including Rubeo, an associate with the New York-based Genovese crime family.
Another admitted gangster, Bonanno crime family captain Peter Lovaglio, was one of the first witnesses on Tuesday, testifying that he and Merlino became friends in 2015 at a time when Lovaglio agreed to let federal authorities tap his cell phone to monitor conversations with other gangland figures. On cross-examination, the defense sought to attack Lovaglio's credibility by getting him to admit he never recorded any phone calls with Merlino, and that he first told investigators about the relationship only about two months ago.
Merlino once controlled the remnants of a Philadelphia-south Jersey organized crime family that was decimated by a bloody civil war in the 1980s and 1990s. Federal authorities say he was frequently targeted by murder plots after rivals put a $500,000 murder contract on his head.
He became a main suspect in a failed hit on another mob figure on Halloween 1989, but was never charged. He also served time for a $350,000 armored truck heist that same year.
In 2001, a jury acquitted Merlino and six co-defendants of three counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder that could have put him in prison for life. He was convicted of lesser racketeering charges and served 12 years in prison before being released in 2011.
Merlino claimed that he retired from the mob for good by running an upscale Italian restaurant in Boca Raton. The since-closed restaurant was called Merlino's.
In a 2013 interview, he said that life in the Mafia wasn't worth the stress of being double-crossed.
"Too many rats," he said. "I want no part of that."
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/01/30/reputed-philadelphia-mob-boss-faces-nyc-fraud-trial.html
Defense lawyer says Philly boss Skinny Joey Merlino is a degenerate gambler
He’s a gambler, not a goon.
Joseph "Skinny Joey" Merlino is just a “degenerate gambler” — not the Philadelphia mob boss portrayed by prosecutors, his lawyer said in court Tuesday.
Merlino, 55, is on trial in Manhattan Federal Court for an alleged racketeering conspiracy involving the Genovese, Gambino, Lucchese, Bonanno and Philly crime families.
“This is a case about greed,” said prosecutor Max Nicholas, who says Merlino is a La Cosa Nostra leader.
“He fixed problems that threatened to get in the way of making money,” Nicholas said. “Merlino got rid of those problems.”
One of three cooperating witnesses, Genovese mobster John Rubio, befriended Merlino and secretly recorded him, Nicholas said.
“You'll hear Merlino talk about stool pigeons and rats,” Nicholas explained.
Merlino’s lawyers said the government's three cooperating witnesses are implicating his client to save their own skins.
The audio didn't reveal a single smoking gun — and showed Merlino’s relationship with Rubio was largely based on his own debt, his attorney Edwin Jacobs said. Shortly after Merlino got out of federal prison in 2011, he settled down in South Florida, where he wanted to open a restaurant and stay away from crime, Jacobs said.
But Merlino had a “weakness,” according to Jacobs.
“He’s a (lifelong), self-described, degenerate gambler,” Jacobs explained.
“He wasn’t bashful about asking friends to borrow money,” Jacobs said. “Rubio offered Joey money, and he took it.”
Merlino promised to pay Rubio back.
“When my restaurant makes it big, I'm going to turn the tables, I’m going to take care of you,” Merlino said, according to Jacobs.
Admitted Bonanno capo Peter Lovaglio took the stand and identified Merlino as a mobster.
“Do you recognize anyone in the courtroom who was part of La Cosa Nostra?” prosecutors asked. “Joey Merlino," answered Lovaglio.
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/suspected-philly-mobster-gambler-lawyer-article-1.3788763
Philadelphia boss Skinny Joey Merlino predicts victory at his trial along with a Eagles Super Bowl win
A Philly mob boss accused of illegal gambling — and a slew of other charges — offered great odds for his own racketeering trial Monday, and couldn’t resist throwing in another hot tip for good measure.
“Deadlock win, all the way,” Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino, told The Post inside a Manhattan federal courtroom after jury selection wrapped up.
“Oh, and bet the Eagles.”
The wise guy, 55, also faces charges of racketeering, conspiracy and medical fraud in addition to the gambling rap, which stems from an illicit Yonkers gambling den he allegedly helped run.
The famously natty dresser — who’d previously tried to get his trial moved to his hometown — came to court in a sharp suit offset with less conventional red bracelets with gold beads on his wrists, which he said were for luck.
“A friend of mine got them for me. It’s good, y’know, they’re red. It keeps the horns off you,” Merlino said while making devil horns with his hand.
Skinny Joey spent more than a decade behind bars for racketeering, gambling, assault and weapons convictions, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer — but now claims to be a legitimate businessman in Boca Raton, Fla., where until recently he ran a restaurant called Merlino’s that served his mom’s recipes.
“Too many rats,” he told the website Big Trial in 2013 of his decision to leave his old life behind. “I want no part of that.”
His trial will kick off Tuesday, with an appearance by star witness Peter “Pug” Lovaglio — an alleged Bonanno capo-turned-rat who flipped after he was busted smashing a Staten Island sushi lounge owner with a cocktail glass.
Merlino was convicted of racketeering based on gambling, loansharking and receipt-of-stolen-property charges. But the jury in that 2001 trial ruled that the government had failed to prove drug dealing, murder and attempted murder charges that also were part of the case.
Over the years, Merlino has been accused of orchestrating or participating in nearly a dozen gangland hits or attempted hits. He has never been convicted.
https://nypost.com/2018/01/29/reputed-mob-boss-skinny-joey-predicts-big-win-for-him-eagles/
Monday, January 29, 2018
Trial of Philadelphia boss Skinny Joey Merlino starts in Manhattan
Same game.
Different venue.
Philadelphia’s only celebrity gangster, Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino, goes on trial this week in federal court in Manhattan for racketeering and conspiracy charges that could land him in jail for a good part of the rest of his life.
He’s been there before.
But this time the stakes seem even higher.
Merlino is 55 and has spent about a third of his adult life in jail or on supervised release. He has two daughters in college who have grown up for the most part without him. And he was recently treated for a heart condition – “two significant blockages,” according to a court document – that belie his devil-may-care attitude.
Yet Merlino has rejected plea deals that could have resulted in a prison sentence of two to three years.
“He’s not pleading guilty,” said a close associate. “He says he hasn’t done anything wrong.”
What’s more, that associate and others familiar with Merlino’s thinking say the flamboyant South Philly mobster who now makes his home in Boca Raton, Florida, sees the trial as a chance to hold federal law enforcement accountable for actions that border on criminal.
“If I had done what they did, I’d be indicted,” Merlino has reportedly told friends while explaining why he refused to take a plea deal.
Jury selection begins Monday morning in the federal courthouse on Pearl Street in Manhattan. The trial is expected to last about a month.
The actions of a government witness during and after the indictment was announced are expected to come under scrutiny by the defense.No stranger to the federal court system, Merlino has two prior convictions in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia. He was jailed for an armored truck robbery in 1989 in which $352,000 was stolen. The money was never recovered. And he was convicted on racketeering charges in 2001. That case, like the one that begins this week, included the testimony of cooperating witnesses and hundreds of secretly recorded conversations.
Merlino got a four-year sentence for the truck robbery and was sentenced to 14 years for racketeering. He moved to Boca Raton following his release in 2012. It was there that he became the focus of a New York-based organized crime investigation that is the basis for his current criminal problems.
FAST AND LOOSE INVESTIGATION?
That investigation, however, has created problems for law enforcement as well. Merlino and 45 other alleged mob members and associates were charged. The evidence against Merlino has been based primarily on the work of a key cooperating witness, John “JR” Rubeo, who secretly recorded hundreds of conversations. But Rubeo, according to several reports, played fast and loose with many of the protocols that are standard in such investigations. So, apparently, did some of his FBI handlers.An internal investigation of the FBI and its dealings with Rubeo resulted in the suspensions of two agents, allegedly for misconduct. But the details have remained under seal. According to a recent ruling by Judge Richard Sullivan, Merlino’s defense attorneys will be permitted to cross-examine one of those agents at trial.
Rubeo’s actions during and after the indictment was announced are also expected to come under scrutiny when he takes the stand. These would include numerous contacts he made with members of the media, some prior to the arrests, in which he discussed his role in the investigation and his desire to write a book about the case.
Jury
selection is set to start Monday at the Daniel Patrick Moynihan U.S.
Courthouse in Manhattan in the federal case against Merlino.
Rubeo began cooperating after he was arrested on drug dealing charges in New York. He remained free on bail while working for the FBI in New York and later in Florida. That bail was revoked and he was jailed about a year ago after authorities learned that he had been in contact with the media and that he had erased some of the recordings that were part of the investigation.
Another potential problem surfaced in recent court filings.
Judge Sullivan has ruled that domestic violence charges filed against one of the government’s cooperating witnesses could be brought up by the defense. That witness is believed to be Rubeo.
Described as a Genovese crime family associate who began cooperating about seven years ago, Rubeo, 43, wore a wire and taped conversations with several New York mob figures, including Genovese crime family capo Pasquale “Patsy” Parrello. Rubeo also introduced an undercover FBI agent posing as a longtime friend into the conspiracy. Like Rubeo, the agent made scores of recordings while serving as a driver and confidant for Eugene “Rooster” Onofrio, another Genovese capo.
Parrello and 42 other defendants in the case have pleaded guilty, some to minor charges that carry less than a year in prison. In every plea deal, the most serious charge leveled in the original indictment, racketeering conspiracy, has been dropped. Parrello was sentenced to 84 months after pleading guilty to three lesser conspiracy charges.
Onofrio was scheduled to go on trial with Merlino, but was severed from the case because of his own medical problems. He is to be tried at a later date.
A LIFE OF CRIME LEFT BEHIND?
The government's problems with the investigation appear to have begun when Rubeo, who continued to wear a wire and report to FBI handlers in New York, moved to Florida sometime in 2012 or 2013 and befriended Merlino.In a 2012 interview shortly after his release from a prison halfway house where he completed his sentence on racketeering charges, Merlino said he had left his organized crime life behind and looked forward to living with his wife and family in the Sunshine State.
“People live longer here,” he said, while touting the excellent weather and his newfound interest in golf.
Merlino is accused of running an illegal sports betting operation and taking part in a multi-million dollar health care insurance fraud scam.Investigators, however, said Merlino continued to play a major role in the Philadelphia crime family even though he was living 1,100 miles away.
The indictment alleges he, Parrello and Onofrio were leaders of what federal authorities are calling the East Coast LCN (La Cosa Nostra) Enterprise, an organization that may exist in name only, but that authorities contend includes members of the Philadelphia mob and the Genovese, Gambino, Bonanno and Lucchese crime families in New York.
Merlino was the only defendant with ties to Philadelphia. He is accused of running an illegal sports betting operation and taking part in a multi-million dollar health care insurance fraud scam.
That scam was built around phony prescriptions for compound cream medication. According to a related indictment in Tampa, a pharmaceutical manufacturing company that was part of the scam fraudulently billed unsuspecting medical insurance companies thousands of dollars for each small tube of the cream. The Florida indictment alleges that insurance companies were defrauded of more than $157 million.
Merlino has told associates he never saw or received any of that money.
In an 11th hour development, prosecutors asked the court last week to allow them to introduce tapes and testimony from a cooperating witness in the Tampa investigation.
In a motion filed on Friday, the government argued that the tapes and the testimony from the witness would show that Merlino had “knowledge of the fraudulent nature of the scheme.” The government motion also contends that the unidentified cooperating witness was present when other members of the conspiracy said Merlino “would earn a share of the proceeds” from the insurance fraud.
The defense has opposed the introduction of tapes and testimony from the newly introduced cooperating witness, arguing among other things that Merlino was not part of the Tampa conspiracy and that the testimony and evidence would prejudice his right to a fair trial. The defense also said prosecutors had missed a Dec. 1 deadline set by the judge for disclosing to the defense the names of witnesses and other evidence that might be used at trial.
Prosecutors are expected to use Rubeo’s testimony to lay out the illegal gambling and the insurance fraud charges against Merlino. The unidentified cooperator from the Florida case would likely provide additional information about the insurance scam if he is permitted to testify.
Merlino's, the Boca Raton, Florida restaurant named for Joey Merlino, closed in June 2016.
RECIPE FOR FETTUCINE OR FRAUD?
In the motion filed Friday, prosecutors argued that evidence would show that Merlino “and other members of the enterprise participated in a scheme to defraud insurance companies by bribing doctors and patients to obtain prescriptions for compound pain creams, which were reimbursed by insurance companies at exorbitant amounts. The defendant and his co-conspirators profited from those reimbursements.”A second cooperating mobster, Peter Lovaglia, is also listed as a witness. Lovaglia is a one-time capo in the Bonanno crime family. It is unclear how his testimony will relate to the charges against Merlino.
Lovaglia was identified by New Jersey authorities as a hidden investor in an illegal landfill operation run in Palmyra, Burlington County, by Bradley Sirkin, an alleged mob associate who sometimes served as Merlino’s driver. Sirkin, who lives in Florida, pleaded guilty in the compound cream case in Tampa and was sentenced to 46 months in prison earlier this month. He is not cooperating.
A third key witness is Florida businessman Wayne Kreisberg. Like Sirkin, Kreisberg pleaded guilty to medical insurance fraud related charges leveled in both the Tampa and New York cases. He is scheduled to be sentenced in March.
At one point, Kreisberg was apparently going to help finance Merlino’s restaurant in Boca Raton. The restaurant, called “Merlino’s,” closed for the summer in 2016 and failed to reopen after the East Coast LCN indictment and arrests were made public in August of that year.
In a brief telephone interview shortly after the indictment was handed up, Kreisberg claimed that neither he nor Merlino had done anything wrong. Indications are, however, that he was already cooperating with authorities at that time.
His guilty plea in the medical fraud case in Tampa appears to indicate he was a major player in that scam. The government is seeking forfeitures of $11.8 million in cash along with a $2.6 million home in Parkland, Florida. The 8,600-square-foot home includes seven bedrooms, seven bathrooms and an outdoor pool, according to real estate records.
Merlino has told sources that he met Kreisberg by chance at a gas station in Boca Raton. He said he admired Kreisberg’s car, a Bentley. During that conversation, according to an account of that first meeting, Kreisberg said he frequented Merlino’s and liked the restaurant, which touted homemade pasta recipes from Merlino’s mother, Rita. Out of that grew a discussion about Kreisberg investing in the bar-restaurant.
Merlino’s defense is expected to claim that their only business dealings were culinary.
The government alleges that the only recipes that mattered to the two men were the highly lucrative and fraudulent concoctions for compound cream.
http://www.phillyvoice.com/for-skinny-joey-merlino-racketeering-trial-his-chance-to-put-feds-under-microscope/
Thursday, March 16, 2017
Judge hands Bonnano mobster eight year sentence for vicious assault
A reputed wiseguy from Tottenville's cooperation with authorities on other matters didn't help him one bit at his sentencing Thursday in an unrelated assault case.
First, Justice William E. Garnett shot down Peter Lovaglio's request to take back his plea stemming from a savage attack in a Richmond Valley sushi lounge 16 months ago, despite statements by Lovaglio's lawyer that he recently learned the defendant was being "handled" by an Organized Crime Bureau detective who advised Lovaglio, without the attorney's knowledge, to reject prosecutors' original plea offer.
Then, Garnett sentenced Lovaglio to eight years in prison, the maximum under a plea agreement the defendant subsequently accepted from prosecutors in January, for smashing the victim with a glass, blinding the man in one eye.
"This was a vicious physical attack," said Garnett. "No one has license under any circumstance to strike such a violent blow."
The assault occurred about 2:30 a.m. on Nov. 1, 2015, inside the upscale Takayama Sushi Lounge on Page Avenue.
Lovaglio, 55, who was garbed in a gray fleece pullover and blue jeans, apologized to the victim, Bonafede Forte, before sentence was imposed.
First, Justice William E. Garnett shot down Peter Lovaglio's request to take back his plea stemming from a savage attack in a Richmond Valley sushi lounge 16 months ago, despite statements by Lovaglio's lawyer that he recently learned the defendant was being "handled" by an Organized Crime Bureau detective who advised Lovaglio, without the attorney's knowledge, to reject prosecutors' original plea offer.
Then, Garnett sentenced Lovaglio to eight years in prison, the maximum under a plea agreement the defendant subsequently accepted from prosecutors in January, for smashing the victim with a glass, blinding the man in one eye.
"This was a vicious physical attack," said Garnett. "No one has license under any circumstance to strike such a violent blow."
The assault occurred about 2:30 a.m. on Nov. 1, 2015, inside the upscale Takayama Sushi Lounge on Page Avenue.
Lovaglio, 55, who was garbed in a gray fleece pullover and blue jeans, apologized to the victim, Bonafede Forte, before sentence was imposed.
"It was a terrible assault," he said. "There's no excuse for that."
But, he added, he did not know Forte owned the restaurant, and believed someone had threatened him and his family at the time of the episode.
Lovaglio, an alleged Bonnano crime family member, has previously served time in federal prison for securities fraud, in which he was also on the hook for restitution of more than $700,000, and for collecting credit by extortion in another case.
Thursday's proceeding took a turn at the outset when defense lawyer Patrick V. Parrotta asked that Lovaglio be given back his plea.
Parrotta told the court he learned, just weeks ago, Lovaglio was cooperating with federal authorities and being "handled" by an NYPD Organized Crime Bureau detective, who arranged for the defendant to turn himself in about 10 days after the attack.
Parrotta said he was blind-sided by the development, and contended the detective had counseled Lovaglio to decline prosecutors' original plea offer in March of last year.
Parrotta said the offer was to plead guilty to attempted first-degree assault in exchange for a five-year prison sentence.
Assistant District Attorneys Natalie Barros and Adam Silberlight confirmed the five-year offer, but said Lovaglio would have been required to plead guilty to the top charge of first-degree assault.
Lovaglio later pleaded guilty two months ago in state Supreme Court, St. George, to first-degree assault in exchange for a sentence of no less than five years and no more than eight years, to be decided by the judge.
But, he added, he did not know Forte owned the restaurant, and believed someone had threatened him and his family at the time of the episode.
Lovaglio, an alleged Bonnano crime family member, has previously served time in federal prison for securities fraud, in which he was also on the hook for restitution of more than $700,000, and for collecting credit by extortion in another case.
Thursday's proceeding took a turn at the outset when defense lawyer Patrick V. Parrotta asked that Lovaglio be given back his plea.
Parrotta told the court he learned, just weeks ago, Lovaglio was cooperating with federal authorities and being "handled" by an NYPD Organized Crime Bureau detective, who arranged for the defendant to turn himself in about 10 days after the attack.
Parrotta said he was blind-sided by the development, and contended the detective had counseled Lovaglio to decline prosecutors' original plea offer in March of last year.
Parrotta said the offer was to plead guilty to attempted first-degree assault in exchange for a five-year prison sentence.
Assistant District Attorneys Natalie Barros and Adam Silberlight confirmed the five-year offer, but said Lovaglio would have been required to plead guilty to the top charge of first-degree assault.
Lovaglio later pleaded guilty two months ago in state Supreme Court, St. George, to first-degree assault in exchange for a sentence of no less than five years and no more than eight years, to be decided by the judge.
Parrotta contended Lovaglio's constitutional right to effective assistance of counsel was violated by the detective's advice to the defendant.
Silberlight, however, told the court he spoke to the detective, who denied giving Lovaglio any legal advice or telling the defendant not to take the original plea.
With respect to the sentence itself, Parrotta recommended five years.
He said Lovaglio's cooperation with federal authorities in the past year has taken guns off the street and "made the community of Staten Island safer." He had no further details on the cooperation arrangement.
Silberlight, however, told the court he spoke to the detective, who denied giving Lovaglio any legal advice or telling the defendant not to take the original plea.
With respect to the sentence itself, Parrotta recommended five years.
He said Lovaglio's cooperation with federal authorities in the past year has taken guns off the street and "made the community of Staten Island safer." He had no further details on the cooperation arrangement.
Prosecutors said they could not corroborate Parrotta's statement about the alleged gun busts with the Justice Department.
Barros sought an eight-year sentence, calling the attack "completely unprovoked (and) vicious."
She said Lovaglio's friend had gotten into a fight with another person in the lounge, but Forte, the owner, had broken it up. He even gave the defendant a drink on the house afterward.
The defendant later got a glass of water, called Forte over and "smashed him in the face" with the glass, she said.
Barros said prosecutors had extended the original plea offer last year not knowing the extent of Forte's injuries or if he'd be able to testify at trial.
Forte, 53, told the court he lost sight in his left eye and has no feeling on the left side of his face.
He said his injuries have forced him to sell the business, one he built from the ground up and relished running.
"Before this injury, I was an individual who was healthy and enjoyed life," he told Garnett. "This has been difficult not only for myself, but for my family."
"Please," he implored Garnett, "do not allow this man to walk the street to have the opportunity to do this to anyone else."
In imposing sentence, Garnett said Lovaglio's plea agreement was "eminently fair" and a five-year sentence "is not justified" given the facts of the case.
The judge noted Lovaglio potentially faced a sentence of up to 25 years had he been convicted of first-degree assault at trial.
Besides prison time, Lovaglio is subject to five years' post-release supervision.
Outside court, Parrotta said Lovaglio would appeal.
Barros sought an eight-year sentence, calling the attack "completely unprovoked (and) vicious."
She said Lovaglio's friend had gotten into a fight with another person in the lounge, but Forte, the owner, had broken it up. He even gave the defendant a drink on the house afterward.
The defendant later got a glass of water, called Forte over and "smashed him in the face" with the glass, she said.
Barros said prosecutors had extended the original plea offer last year not knowing the extent of Forte's injuries or if he'd be able to testify at trial.
Forte, 53, told the court he lost sight in his left eye and has no feeling on the left side of his face.
He said his injuries have forced him to sell the business, one he built from the ground up and relished running.
"Before this injury, I was an individual who was healthy and enjoyed life," he told Garnett. "This has been difficult not only for myself, but for my family."
"Please," he implored Garnett, "do not allow this man to walk the street to have the opportunity to do this to anyone else."
In imposing sentence, Garnett said Lovaglio's plea agreement was "eminently fair" and a five-year sentence "is not justified" given the facts of the case.
The judge noted Lovaglio potentially faced a sentence of up to 25 years had he been convicted of first-degree assault at trial.
Besides prison time, Lovaglio is subject to five years' post-release supervision.
Outside court, Parrotta said Lovaglio would appeal.
http://www.silive.com/southshore/index.ssf/2017/03/judge_nixes_giving_back_repute.html
Sunday, January 22, 2017
Bonanno captain admits slashing restaurant owner with cocktail glass
A reputed mobster from Tottenville who's got two federal prison
stints under this belt, will add a New York state sentence to that
tally, after admitting Thursday he badly slashed another man with a glass 14 months ago in a Richmond Valley sushi lounge.
Peter Lovaglio, 55, pleaded guilty in state Supreme Court, St. George, to first-degree assault. It was the top charge against the alleged member of the Bonanno crime family, stemming from the Nov. 1, 2015 attack inside Takayama Sushi Lounge on Page Avenue.
The defendant, who goes by the moniker "Pug," struck the owner of the upscale restaurant in the face with a cocktail glass around 2:30 a.m., cutting his cheek and left eye, a law enforcement source said.
The 52-year-old victim was taken to Staten Island University Hospital, Ocean Breeze, where he underwent several surgeries on his face and severely-damaged eye.
An NYPD spokeswoman could not say what may have prompted the assault; however, DNAinfo New York reported that Lovaglio had gotten into an argument with someone at the restaurant earlier in the evening.
In exchange for his plea, Lovaglio's sentence will be capped at eight years in prison. He could get less time, and his lawyer Patrick V. Parrotta is expected to seek a sentence as low as five years.
Lovaglio will also be sentenced on March 10 to five years' post-release supervision.
The defendant, who was garbed in gray hooded sweatshirt and gray sweatpants, did not make a statement beyond admitting guilt and responding "Yes" and "No" to Justice William E. Garnett's questions.
Prosecutors told the court the plea offer had been discussed with the victim.
Parrotta declined comment outside court.
Lovaglio, meanwhile, has a case pending in Criminal Court.
It pertains to an early-morning arrest in Mariners Harbor on Aug 20 of last year, in which he's accused of misdemeanor counts of aggravated driving without a license and criminal weapon possession.
Lovaglio has served two prior federal prison sentences.
In 2002, he pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court to securities fraud and was sentenced to 41 months behind bars and ordered to pay restitution of more than $700,000, according to Advance reports and online federal court records.
In 2006, he was sentenced in an unrelated case in Brooklyn federal court to 46 months in prison after pleading guilty to collecting credit by extortion, those records show.
https://www.silive.com/southshore/index.ssf/2017/01/reputed_south_shore_wiseguy_ad.html
Peter Lovaglio, 55, pleaded guilty in state Supreme Court, St. George, to first-degree assault. It was the top charge against the alleged member of the Bonanno crime family, stemming from the Nov. 1, 2015 attack inside Takayama Sushi Lounge on Page Avenue.
The defendant, who goes by the moniker "Pug," struck the owner of the upscale restaurant in the face with a cocktail glass around 2:30 a.m., cutting his cheek and left eye, a law enforcement source said.
The 52-year-old victim was taken to Staten Island University Hospital, Ocean Breeze, where he underwent several surgeries on his face and severely-damaged eye.
An NYPD spokeswoman could not say what may have prompted the assault; however, DNAinfo New York reported that Lovaglio had gotten into an argument with someone at the restaurant earlier in the evening.
In exchange for his plea, Lovaglio's sentence will be capped at eight years in prison. He could get less time, and his lawyer Patrick V. Parrotta is expected to seek a sentence as low as five years.
Lovaglio will also be sentenced on March 10 to five years' post-release supervision.
The defendant, who was garbed in gray hooded sweatshirt and gray sweatpants, did not make a statement beyond admitting guilt and responding "Yes" and "No" to Justice William E. Garnett's questions.
Prosecutors told the court the plea offer had been discussed with the victim.
Parrotta declined comment outside court.
Lovaglio, meanwhile, has a case pending in Criminal Court.
It pertains to an early-morning arrest in Mariners Harbor on Aug 20 of last year, in which he's accused of misdemeanor counts of aggravated driving without a license and criminal weapon possession.
Lovaglio has served two prior federal prison sentences.
In 2002, he pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court to securities fraud and was sentenced to 41 months behind bars and ordered to pay restitution of more than $700,000, according to Advance reports and online federal court records.
In 2006, he was sentenced in an unrelated case in Brooklyn federal court to 46 months in prison after pleading guilty to collecting credit by extortion, those records show.
https://www.silive.com/southshore/index.ssf/2017/01/reputed_south_shore_wiseguy_ad.html
Monday, November 16, 2015
Bonanno captain bashes owner of popular Japanese restaurant in the face with a cocktail glass
A reputed Bonnano crime family captain has been arrested and charged with smashing an owner of a popular Japanese restaurant with a cocktail glass, slicing his face and blinding one of his eyes, DNAinfo New York has learned.
Peter Lovaglio, 53, a powerful Bonnano boss, was picked up at his home early Friday morning and charged with the Nov. 1 attack on a 52-year-old owner inside his swanky Takayama Sushi Lounge at 17 Page Ave. at around 2:40 a.m., according to sources and court records.
The man was standing near the eatery’s bar when he heard someone call his name, sources said. When he turned to see who was talking to him, he was blindsided by an attacker who repeatedly hit his face.
Another patron called 911, but by the time the police arrived the attacker and his friends had left.
Sources say the police eventually obtained a photo of the suspect, but they had no name.
But earlier this week, the NYPD’s Organized Crime Investigation Division identified the suspect as Lovaglio.
Sources believe Lovaglio had gotten into an argument earlier that evening at the restaurant, but it was not clear if the dispute involved Forte.
Forte was taken to Staten Island University North Hospital, where he already had several surgeries to his face and eye. He is expected to require several more, sources said.
Lovaglio has long criminal history involving the Mafia.
He was freed from federal prison only last March after he served two years for violating his probation for a previous extortion conviction, records showed.
The violation involved being caught by the FBI associating with two other Bonnano bosses: Gerard Chilli, a Florida-based capo, and Anthony “Fat Tony” Rabito, another high-ranking family captain.
The FBI was watching Chilli on the day he flew into JFK Airport in May 2013 and was picked up by Rabito, and later met with Lovaglio.
Before that, Lovaglio spent four years in federal prison for extortion.
Lovaglio was being held Friday in a police lockup while he awaiting arraignment.
Peter Lovaglio, 53, a powerful Bonnano boss, was picked up at his home early Friday morning and charged with the Nov. 1 attack on a 52-year-old owner inside his swanky Takayama Sushi Lounge at 17 Page Ave. at around 2:40 a.m., according to sources and court records.
The man was standing near the eatery’s bar when he heard someone call his name, sources said. When he turned to see who was talking to him, he was blindsided by an attacker who repeatedly hit his face.
Another patron called 911, but by the time the police arrived the attacker and his friends had left.
Sources say the police eventually obtained a photo of the suspect, but they had no name.
But earlier this week, the NYPD’s Organized Crime Investigation Division identified the suspect as Lovaglio.
Sources believe Lovaglio had gotten into an argument earlier that evening at the restaurant, but it was not clear if the dispute involved Forte.
Forte was taken to Staten Island University North Hospital, where he already had several surgeries to his face and eye. He is expected to require several more, sources said.
Lovaglio has long criminal history involving the Mafia.
He was freed from federal prison only last March after he served two years for violating his probation for a previous extortion conviction, records showed.
The violation involved being caught by the FBI associating with two other Bonnano bosses: Gerard Chilli, a Florida-based capo, and Anthony “Fat Tony” Rabito, another high-ranking family captain.
The FBI was watching Chilli on the day he flew into JFK Airport in May 2013 and was picked up by Rabito, and later met with Lovaglio.
Before that, Lovaglio spent four years in federal prison for extortion.
Lovaglio was being held Friday in a police lockup while he awaiting arraignment.
http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20151113/princes-bay/mafia-boss-bashed-restauraunt-owner-face-with-cocktail-glass-police-say
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Florida based Bonanno captain busted for meeting high ranking mobsters in NYC
New York was too hot for Chilli last Christmas.
Bonanno crime family captain Gerard Chilli flew north from his Florida home last December for a holiday season jaunt to the Big Apple.
His first mistake was deciding not to hop in a cab once his plane touched down.
Instead, Chilli was picked up at the airport by Anthony "Fat Tony" Rabito, a high-ranking Bonanno who once was a member of the crime family's administration, sources said.
Unfortunately for the visiting 78-year-old Florida mobster - who's on probation after a prison stint on mob extortion charges - FBI agents were keeping tabs on his activities in New York.
Those meetings created legal problems for both capos, officials say, because they're barred from consorting with organized crime figures while on probation.
Last week - after Brooklyn federal prosecutors hit Chilli with probation violation charges - he was arrested in Florida and a Miami federal judge ordered him to be held in custody.
Chilli will be brought to New York to answer the probation violation charges at a future hearing in Brooklyn federal court.
Lovaglio already has pleaded guilty to three probation violations and now is under house arrest while awaiting sentencing by Brooklyn federal Judge Dora Irizarry.
Both wiseguys could be sent back to prison for the alleged probation violations, officials say.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/freed_mob_big_wings_clipped_A11aqhg7FYAmfFT9lk62oK
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