After approximately 30 hours of deliberation, the jury in the Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino trial alerted the judge that they were hopelessly deadlocked on all four charges.
The judge then declared a mistrial and ordered both sides to report back to court on March 6th to decide whether or not to retry the case. For now, the alleged Philadelphia mafia boss has come out on top in what is definitely another black eye for the feds in their fight against organized crime. The case seemed flawed from the start and it was dealt an even worse blow when defense attorney Ed Jacobs seemingly damaged the credibility of star witness JR Rubeo during cross-examination.
“JR Rubeo and Joey Merlino”
Rubeo was able to record hundreds of hours of conversation with various mobsters including Merlino while working for the feds. But the tapes proved to be ineffective in linking Skinny Joey directly to any of the charges that included illegal gambling and health care fraud. The other witnesses in the case also failed to provide proof of Merlino’s guilt at least in the eye’s of the jury. It may be somewhat of a long shot for the feds to attempt to retry the flamboyant Cosa Nostra mobster considering all the twists and turns that have taken place. The feds claimed that Joey was not only the current boss of the Philly mafia but was also a leader in the so-called East Coast LCN Enterprise along with Genovese capos Eugene “Rooster” O’Nofrio and Pasquale “Patsy” Parrello.
Merlino found a way to beat the feds and give out an upset pick for the Superbowl saying the Eagles would in outright all at the same time. I guess it’s just Joey being Joey but the feds sure aren’t happy about it at the moment! The fact the Joey Merlino trial ended this way may not be a surprise to all that many people that have been following the case from the beginning.
Well this seemed like the outcome that was most likely after the jury reported being deadlocked last week. Wow can you imagine how pissed the feds are after losing this one even though their case and star witness ended up being a cluster fk. Guess question is now will they retry him, i don’t think so because this thing was a mess. And now what will Joey do??
the Feds in Philly will be the most pissed because according to capeci and geogre A they did not know this indictment was coming down Feds in New York and Florida kept it to themselves fucked up there case they have been building against merlino.
The FBI will be crazy to retry this case was a fuckup from the start one of the worst organized cases i have ever seen will just be a waste of time and taxpayer money to retry him if he dident get convicted this time he wont the next time either unless they find new evidence which i dont see these guys finding if Merlino gets indicted again it will be in SP. As for Merlino i expect will he go back to doing what he was doing before the indictment he will spend half his time in Florida and other half in SP
I don’t think they even consider a retrial and your right that new group of feds in Philly who are looking to make a name for themselves are definitely pissed!
Joey will be joey. He’s a gangster through and through. I give him two years before another indictment hits. He’s gonna be back eventually
Yeah he just doesn’t know how t duck its not in his dna.
I know this has been said, but what a waste of tax payers money! $25,000 for a dinner? To catch non violent offenses? Terrorist, school shootings, government fraud, let’s not worry about those things, let’s chase a nearly dead street gang for headlines.
Judge should have called Hung Jury last Friday…Joey looses in Casino’s but Skinny joey wins in courts…Even when he 18 months for 350,000 Armored car Theft joey was happy figuring 18 months for that Loot was worth it..Joe only Knows One Life..and Joey will be in the Life always until his last breath..But he will stay closer to his inner circle – handsome Steve and Sonny. Mezzone..-Mikey Lance..Georgi Boy Borges – johnny Chang and now Geaton the big guy ..Joey won’t deal with new people if he’s smart all messages go through inner circle only…Yes joey will still be eating at 5 star restaurants and Gambling..And Just as his Dad Salvatore Chucky merlino joe will never ever rat and in the LIFE to the end.BOUNO FORTUNA
Agreed he won’t change and he will continue being Joey. Although keeping himself closer to that “inner circle” definitely would be a smart move. Gotta figure the new fed crew in Philly are gonna be working over time to try and put together their own case in hopes of taking a shot at him and others.
George Borges not a favorite of mine but definatly a stand up guy, will be handling more responsibilities for joey…Georgie Boy is a major earner and is and will passing he passing envelopes kicking up..George is eager and hungery so if joey smart insulate himself with George. And rest of inner circle because The Feds…will be trying desperately to flip someone to bring joey down…
He has always been somewhat of a wild card but as you mentioned at least he is loyal so Merlino would prob well to take some added steps. Although I am not convinced until I see it that he will stay completely off the scene and lay back in the shadows.
Wow!! I knew it was a fair probability for a mistrial but still !!! He’s got 9 lives that one.
As great as this is i feel its only a matter of time till the feds convict joey and hes in jail the rest of his life i feel thier connect him with the johney cassasanto hit or the gino dipeitro murder and then thatll b it 4 joey
This definitely won’t be the last case they try to get him on for sure.
The Feds are really a bunch of fuckin scumbags to bring a bullshit case like this. There was no physical evidence of anything, just a bunch of lowlife lying rat fucks they gave sweetheart deals to and jury is expected to believe them, smh. $25,000 for a big dinner and plane fare is entrapment if you ask me.The only violence committed in this case was by Feds star witnesses themselves!!! They gave a sweetheart deal to this scumbag Petey bullshit after he blinded some poor bastard with a cocktail glass!! Unbelievable. The verdict should have been Not Guilty outright. That Sylvia juror aka stealth juror was probably the lone holdout for guilty.
Back to Florida for Skinny Joey. Feds are just pissed they couldn’t nail him. Same for the rats. As if they weren’t being coached. Try to stay out of the spotlight.
Joey must Legitimize his appearance and income so look for him to be involved with some type of cafe or restaurant again…Joey always lives life beyond his means…so with tribute coming in from His crew he can’t live Large unless he can show legal income stream…to support his LIFE style ..
Now that This is over I have a question, What happens to Rats whose Testimony doesn’t lead to a conviction? Do they get “breaks” that were implied to them or just PC in Prison? Just wondering since They didn’t hold up Their end,especially this JR guy who couldn’t remember Anything but an alleged affair.
They still get their “deal”. That’s the whole problem. They can tailor their testimony to fit whatever narrative the prosecutor wants to spin . And they do get coached.The deal is not dependent on getting a conviction( just testifying). Their agreement was already signed before they got on the stand. Their is a big incentive to lie, especially if the Feds want somebody really bad! And they really want Joey bad! This rat Rubio was already trying to nail a book deal while he’s still in jail!
I didn’t think it was enough when they pull him in. Racist against the sicilians and neo blood italians I would say but I think they are having trouble busting some these guys on the spot from what I have been seeing.
The compulsive gambler beat, and win LOL
Way to go, Joe.