Louis “Bent Finger Lou” Monacello former Philadelphia mafia associate turned rat was sentenced to time served in exchange for his extensive cooperation and testimony. Bent Finger Lou allegedly ran a lucrative loan sharking and illegal gambling business for mob captain George Borgesi but decided to cut a deal with prosecutors after being convicted on loan sharking and racketeering charges. He was facing up to five years in prison for his crimes but after testifying for the government in two separate grand jury trials and three year court supervision term he now walks free. The governments decision to make Monacello their key witness against reputed Philly mafia boss Joseph “Uncle Joe” Ligambi and Borgesi didn’t exactly work out well for them as neither mobster was convicted.
“Bent Finger Lou Monacello”
Two different jury’s were unable to reach a unanimous verdict against Ligambi who was freed after two mistrials and Borgesi was acquitted of racketeering by a jury in the re-trial. Jurors from the second trial said that Lou’s clear bitterness toward his former mob partners shaded everything he said and one even went as far as calling him a slime ball. Still Judge Robreno said he hoped that the light sentence given to Monacello would help to influence other potential cooperators against the mafia to step forward.
Monacello claims he has turned his life completely around and wants nothing more to do with the mob lifestyle or any kind of illegal activities. He has now moved to the Jersey short and has a new legit job and says he promised himself to never again be separated from his daughter. John Han the Assistant U.S. Attorney said that the difference between Monacello and the others mobsters in the case was the others are more then willing to return to the mob life while Bent Finger Lou was moving on to a new chapter in his life.
