The recent saga between the feds and reputed Philadelphia mafia boss Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino seems to be headed for a courtroom showdown.
According to the feds, Merlino was a leader in an East Coast LCN Enterprise along with members of the New York Mafia that operated up and down the East Coast. The case against Merlino and his co-defendants took a drastic turn after news surfaced of an internal investigation into the possible mishandling of evidence and an FBI informant named John Rubeo. This prompted prosecutors to offer sweet plea deals which allowed the mafia linked defendants to plead to lesser crimes avoiding the original racketeering charges. But the flamboyant Merlino has refused to agree to any kind of plea offer and continues to challenge the feds case against him.
“Joseph Merlino”
Merlino’s defense team which includes high profile attorney’s Edwin Jacobs and John Meringolo have recently filed multiple motions including one to have all charges against him dismissed. Manhattan Federal Judge Richard Sullivan has yet to rule on these motions although recent developments make it seems likely that Joey Merlino and the feds are headed to trial. Sullivan ordered the FBI and the government to explain the legal reasonings behind their joint decision to have the feds inform the court and not the defense or U.S. Attorney’s office about the internal investigation. Skinny Joey’s lawyers want access to two ex-parte reports of the feds internal investigation that was supplied to the judge without being sent to government prosecutors or defense lawyers.
According to reports, the FBI told the judge they don’t want details of the probe related to the Merlino case made public. But the defense lawyers argue that these reports may have extraordinary consequences for their client and could help them to decide whether or not they would call the FBI agents in question to testify. As for now, the trial is set to begin in September although the judge could delay it until February of next year allowing for time to sort through these pre-trial motions and information according to reports. In another twist co-defendant and alleged Genovese family capo Eugene Onofrio who has also refused to agree to his plea offer had his attorney file a motion to have his trial separated from Merlino’s.
According to the motion filed by Onofrio’s lawyer Thomas Nooter, they believe there is potential for federal prosecutors to introduce aspects of alleged murders and violence Merlino has previously been charged with at trial even though they have not yet done so. According to Nooter’s motion, his client would suffer prejudice if he sat along side of Merlino and the government attempted to introduce highly prejudicial evidence. Nooter based this motion on information from an unusual source in Wikipedia which details alleged homicides that Merlino may have been involved in during his time in the Philly mafia. It seems like this case continues to have more twist and turns than a mafia novel. If this case does make it to court it could be one of the more interesting Cosa Nostra trials in some time!
First!
well played!
first time good job lol
Feds are bluffing to get a plea deal to get Joey some time. Self preservation on their part.
I can’t say that I am shocked that this case will eventually make its way to trial even as weak as this case has seemingly become. The feds want this guy behind bars as much as any other mob guy on the streets today and I would imagine they figure dropping the charges now would be just as bad or worse than him beating them in court, so why not take a shot at it! I mean they have nothing to lose now but our tax dollars they already look bad so only way to save face is to get anykind of conviction.
Exactly. People dare to say that law enforcement isn’t as bad as the mobsters yet there are countless police brutality videos online that prove them wrong. All they care about is winning convictions and sending a message to all of us working stiffs (slaves) that you don’t mess with the System!
Please don’t include the FBI in with videos of local LEO’s and violence. Also, do some research and see how many local LEO’s in this country are accused of brutality compared to the number of local LEO’s we have in this country. I am sure the small percentage will astound you. You can’t judge the many based on the actions of a very few. The media is doing a heck of a job drumming up a negative outlook for police officers.
Lol I know I just like to use these opportunities to lash out against the “good” guys. It’s nice to see the all-powerful System lose once in a while.
I have gentlemens wager for box of imported Cigars that Joey merlino beats the case….Same gentlemens wager that years ago Joey merlino was interviewed by Howard Erskin on radio about Joeys connection’s with Eric Lindros of Flyers…Erskin asked Merlino do you bet on Philadelphia Flyers and Joey answered ya I bet cigars on the games …..I agree Feds are trying to Play head games on Joey but Joey and his High powered Lawyers will prevail against this crumbling case…Joey merlino will be marching down Broad St..With Mummers parade in January a free man
Eric lindros was/is borderline retarded so i’d vote any collusion between him and OC would’ve been pretty limited.
I gotta be honest, Merlino seems a bit embarrassing at this point.
Lindros connection to merlino was that joey’s sister Rita allegedly was dating Lindros the cement head…But agreed with you about I don’t believe any collusion took place….but the audio of merlino interviewing with CBS radio personality Howard Erskin was extremely entertaining……Joey merlino will beat this case but I’m concerned about the next federal case from Philly
I agree that The Feds are likely bluffing as this case appears to be a complete mess. Although Merlino will likely win at trial it is still a gamble no matter how good the odds are. The bottom line with a Jury Trial is just that, The Jury! You just can never know for sure how a jury will react. As John Grant said , The Feds are desperate and will probably still attempt a trial at the tax payers expense. All I’m saying is there is always some risk no matter how unlikely a conviction is at this point. History is filled with examples of ridiculous jury decisions….
It looks like Joseph Merlino still has a shot at a dismissal of all of the charges if the judge decides to grant that motion. I don’t know how common dismissals are but I would rather our tax dollars be used for something more productive than a trial for someone who doesn’t affect me.