Reputed Philadelphia mafia boss Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino and Genovese crime family capo Eugene “Rooster” Onofrio continue to fight charges from last years East Coast LCN Enterprise racketeering case.
According to the feds, both men were leaders of the newly formed Cosa Nostra enterprise that operated up and down the east coast and included members from four of the five New York Mafia families. Both mobsters have turned down plea offers and are seemingly headed to trial prompting Onofrio to try and distance himself from Merlino. Onofrio has asked the judge to be tried separately because he is worried that Skinny Joey’s reputation could potentially prejudice a jury against him.
“Joey Merlino”
But prosecutors believe the two wiseguys should be tried together and released details of a 2014 recorded conversation between the two in an effort to strengthen their case according to a NY Post report. According to the feds, the secretly recorded conversation captured Merlino talking to Onofrio about how to best to whack someone. Merlino boasted “It’s easy to kill somebody,” with Onofrio agreeing “It’s simple” according to newly filed court documents. Merlino explained his method saying “You’re my friend, you trust me, I tell you, ‘Listen, drive me home right now,’ get you in the car, I shoot you in the f—king’ head, and it’s over with,” according to the feds.
As of now, the trial is scheduled to begin in January of next year but this saga has had plenty of twists and turns so things could definitely change moving forward. The once heralded case that was supposed to be a huge blow to organized crime has fallen on hard times after an internal investigation into the potential mishandling of a cooperating witness and evidence was exposed prompting prosecutors to offer plea deals to all defendants. The majority of the case against Merlino seems to revolve around evidence collected by the cooperating witness in question which could lead to it all being compromised. There seems to be a more than average chance for Skinny Joey Merlino to come out on top at trial.
The more this thing drags on and more bits and pieces of evidence are exposed the more interesting it could get. Oh Joey lol I know this isn’t exactly evidence that he has clipped anyone but it sure as hell doesn’t sound good and could def bend the ear of any juror who is potentially exposed to it. This thing is really on the verge of becoming even more of a circus.
Joey did not use a name of someone he wanted to whack or has whacked so no intent if no names mentioned,..just macho tough guy talk….i was pinched for allegedly threatening to whack my brother in law 30 years ago because I said a name…charges were dropped on me…..But Joey and rooster are tough guys and just talking in general….if that is the best the Feds have then fuggetabout that is not that much….joey still beat this case….im Italian and have been in bars with men and pals and we talk macho stuff…like If I ever wanted to whack someone I would put the body in 55 gallon drum , weld it shut and dump it off jersey coast…Just guys talking and bullshiting…At least Joey admitted NOTHING and NO Names…….
Agreed it definitely proves nothing I think the feds pulled it out simply to be able to try and influence potential jurors against him image as a ruthless mobster. Plus it seems like they needed anything to try and keep the case from being separated.
It wouldn’t surprise me if the feds are framing him on this one, considering how bad of a f*****g mess they’ve made out of this case. The FBI have been known to stoop to some pretty low levels to “get their man.” Even if he did say it, who gives a fuck. I promise whoever he’s talking about is someone just like him who chose that life. Just my opinion anyway.
We definitely agree on that there is no lengths the feds will stop at to get a high profile guy and make themselves look good and history has def proven it.
The media keeps trying to stoke the fire as well by repeatedly bringing up the point of the Genovese guy trying to be tried separately. That is nothing unique. Its a standard tactic for any defense where a question of conspiracy is at hand. Its generally beneficial to be severed from any codefendants if possible because it lessens the whole conspiracy or group crime concept. Who would want to be associated with other criminals in a case if can be avoided. They play it out like its scandalous but its quite normal for any defense like this. Just more drama and sensationalism.