When the feds took down the so-called East Coast LCN Enterprise last August which led to charges against 46 defendants from multiple organized crime families it was touted at as a major strike against the mafia.
Among those charged were alleged Philadelphia mafia boss Joseph (Skinny Joey) Merlino and Genovese crime family capos Pasquale (Patsy) Parrello and Eugene O’Nofrio. But things changed quickly when reports surfaced of an internal investigation into the potential mishandling of a federal witness and the evidence he collected. In an effort to avoid trial and the potential negative effect the internal investigation may have on their case prosecutors offered all 46 defendants sweet plea deals. Many of the alleged mobsters and associates agreed to the plea offers except Joey Merlino and three others who decided to take their chances at trial.
“Joey Merlino”
Prosecutors offered to drop the main charge of racketeering conspiracy against Merlino if he agreed to their plea offer allowing him to spend a lot less time behind bars then he would be facing if found guilty at trial. But Merlino who has never plead guilty at any time before refused to do so again and decided to take his chances in court. There have been plenty of twists and turns in this case and yet another has developed recently. The case against Merlino is largely based on evidence collected by Genovese family associate turned rat John (JR) Rubeo. According to sources familiar with the case, Rubio had been wearing a wire for approx five years recording hundreds of hours of conversations after flipping on his mafia pals. The dealings between the FBI and Rubeo during his time as an informant continue to cause problems for prosecutors according to a Ganglandnews report. The investigation included two FBI agents one of which has been cleared with the other being suspended and a still ongoing probe into an FBI supervisor.
“John Rubeo”
During a pre-trial conference last week Merlino defense attorney John Meringolo said “During the entire cooperation and consensual recordings he was on various narcotics, including OxyContin and Xanax,” in reference to Rubeo and wanted the government to let the defense know whether they were prescribed by doctors or obtained illegally. Rumors were also circulating of late that Rubeo may have had his bail revoked landing him behind bars. Meringolo asked the judge to compel prosecutors to preserve records of all phone calls and emails that Rubeo used to communicate with relatives and friends if his bail was in fact revoked due to his conduct revealed during the internal investigation. U.S. Attorney Jonathan Rebold declined to inform the judge as to Rubeo’s current status and argued that the government was not required to preserve any recordings even if Rubeo was behind bars.
The answers provided by Rebold did not sit well with Judge Sullivan and he informed him that if the witness was behind bars and recordings between now and the trial existed and they were allowed to be wiped or destroyed that he would allow the defense to inquire about that on cross-examination. He said he would certainly allow the defense to call a witness from the Bureau of Prisons to say what did and did not happen and that nothing was preserved. Sullivan stressed that “if tapes and emails of a cooperating witness existed and were not saved, the “fair thing” was to let jurors know “there was no attempt made to preserve any of the potential material” that the defense should have available during cross-examination”.
Judge Sullivan called some of this “impeachment material” that the government had an obligation to provide before a witness testified but he didn’t have the power to order them to furnish it earlier even though he preferred it so that the trial could move along smoothly. He said he would be very unhappy if he had to tell jurors to come back in a week because the defense needed time to review materials that are necessary for cross-examination. He went on to say “I can’t make you do it, but I can make you wish you had.” The feds record when it comes to Cosa Nostra cases of late is somewhat shaky and it seems like this case is nowhere near the lock it seemed to be last year. The trial is set to begin in January.
This thing could really end up being a huge mess for the feds once Rubeo gets on the witness stand , if it does indeed reach that point. Got to think the odds which looked to be squarely against Merlino when this thing started have now swung a whole lot and he may be more likely to walk now than to get convicted.
There is no chance that the rat informant will hold up during cross examination…even if this case makes it to trial…in my opinion this will go away….but I’m much more concerned with current Squad 1 Federal I investigation in South Philly…As far as the upcoming trial in January if I were a gambler I would lay 2 to 1 odds Skinny Joey beats the current case …
It sure seems to be trending in Joey’s favor on this one as Rubeo and the feds are just one big mess. I think your right as to the fed squad in Philly though as they may be more of a worry to Joey and others out there sooner rather than later.
That statement made by the judge “ I can’t make you do it but I can make you wish you had!” Sums up this case pretty well. To have the judge make such a bold statement like that says a lot. I think the Feds are continuing with this trial out of pure spite and literally just taking a shot in the dark. They have already come too far to turn back seems the attitude of the Feds. Jury Trials are funny in that anything really can happen and so there is always a chance of winning no matter how ridiculous the case is. That attitude just screams desperation though. The Feds would actually appear more professional and save more credibility if they just admitted their Informant is a shit head and no longer trustworthy or useful. If they just dropped it and walked away then they might save a little self respect as an institution and have better luck in the future. Their lack of transparency and humility has become their own worst nightmare. With all the scandals that have come out over the past few years like Whitey Bulger and countless other dubious arrangements you would think they would be trying everything they can to rehab their image a little bit. I’ve got no personal love for these Gangsters either but it’s becoming hard to tell the difference anymore.
I think there may be something to that being that we have known since he got out that the feds were targeting him again and they may see this as a shot worth taking no matter how horrible of a witness they have or how weak the case may be. Take a shot at a hail mary and hope to nail Joey.
John “JR” Rubeo is just another scumbag rat. Let me guess, his excuse is that he was disillusioned with the life with all of the treachery around him like so many other rats have claimed. There’s never an excuse to rat and help the System. Die with dishonor scumbag.
Isn’t the reason this “Mess” happened b/c JR erased some info on Merlino? If so why cont,since he’s trying to help/hinder Merlino’s prosecution. Also with Judge mad at DA’s,for hiding things, wouldn’t/shouldn’t they just leave it alone and let Philly Feds do the Job since they seem more capable of getting him convicted. Oh well,having a “hard on” only makes some mad when they have no one to……
That’s exactly what we’ve all been saying. These cases keep falling apart due to the Informants either being worse scumbags then the accused or all kinds of irregularities with the evidence handling. A lot of people are weary of trusting these Informants as well as the agents themselves. This whole documented history of the FBI’s and Federal Prosecutors shady dealings with various supposed Top Echelon Informants, has started to come to light. A lot of it is due to The Freedom Of Information Act. Not just a bunch of conspiracy theories but solid documented proof. Its made it hard for the Feds to be taken at their word anymore. All these potential jurors who have no love for the Mobsters but are not finding the Feds or their Informants credible at all. Exactly cases like this were they would look better just packing it in and dropping the case. The whole Win At All Costs mentality continues to hurt their credibility. Its no good when the Defendants are up on gambling and loan shark crap but the Informants happen to be stone killers with histories way worse then their bosses. That shit has to stop if they plan on winning cases anymore. People are tired of that shit. Makes no sense.