Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino is now out of jail and once again a free man after a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit went in his favor. Merlino was ordered by a District Court judge to serve 4 months in prison for a parole violation and was set to be released early next month. But his attorney Edwin Jacobs confirms that Skinny Joey Merlino is indeed out and a free man after serving a little over three months. He was believed to have been living in a halfway house finishing out the remainder of his sentence when the appeals decision was handed down.
Merlino was caught meeting with Philly mafia captain John “Johnny Chang” Ciancaglini down in Florida which was deemed a violation of his parole restrictions from his previous racketeering conviction in which he spend 12 years in prison. Skinny Joey depending on who you ask is still considered to be the boss of the Philadelphia mafia. Although according to Joey he has given up the mob life and is now gone legit down in Florida where he has a new restaurant called “Merlino’s” and works as maitre d.
Whether or not Merlino heads back to Florida for good now that he is free and without any restrictions at all or perhaps returns to Philly will be a closely watched move. Rumors of a new probe into him and the Philly mob have been swirling although its unclear as to its progress and whether or not it will result in an indictment. For now, it appears Merlino will be headed back to work at his Boca Raton eatery under close watch by the feds and others.
