by Dr031718 » Thu Sep 24, 2020 5:54 am
FBI Snitch In Top Mob Story Of 2016 Says He Screwed Up The Case — Big Time
Gang Land Exclusive!John RubeoIn a series of stunning admissions made with the videorecorder rolling, a controversial mob turncoat who wore a wire for five years and stung 45 wiseguys and associates of five crime families in a monster racketeering case in 2016, now says that he "mangled" the huge case by destroying evidence and deserved a long prison term instead of the sweet 15-month sentence he received.
John (J.R.) Rubeo, 45, says the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office should have "ripped up" his cooperation agreement because his shenanigans — robberies and other crimes he committed while working as an FBI snitch — enabled Philadelphia mob boss Joseph (Skinny Joey) Merlino to win a sweetheart deal of two years after his first case ended in a deadlocked jury and a mistrial.
And his less than honest work didn't just help Merlino and screw the government, namely two FBI agents who were suspended for not supervising him properly. Rubeo admits to having framed an aging mob associate who got a four year prison term for arson for setting fire to a rival gambler's car in 2011 — a crime Rubeo committed before he began cooperating. "I blew the kid's car up," says Rubeo, describing his actions as "a pussy move" to "impress" the "harmless old man."
"I had two guys with me and they threw some gas in the car and they threw a match in it and it blew up," Rubeo stated during a recent hour and 25 minute long talk about his undercover work and his trial testimony with fellow gangsters-turned-cooperating witnesses, John Alite and Gene Borrello on their online podcast about the mob, The Johnny And Gene Show.
The car arson was pinned on Anthony (Anthony Boy) Zinzi, 77, a former member of the Purple Gang, who was blamed for the crime because of a joking remark he made after a bad day at a gambling club that he and Rubeo had just opened in Yonkers for their Bronx-based Genovese capo, Pasquale (Patsy) Parrello, the focal point of the FBI sting. Rubeo later confirmed it to his FBI handlers.
But on the podcast, Rubeo says that Zinzi, one of Parrello's "right hand guys" was "so old, he was harmless at that time," and "got a raw deal" by being hit with arson. Rubeo recalled that as they were walking down the street, Anthony Boy had merely uttered a tape-recorded "joke" about the owner of the "rival club up the street (from) a club that me and Patsy opened up."
"They were in business a hundred years and we were having trouble getting customers so one day Anthony says to me, 'You know it would be nice if that fucking kid's car burns down,'" Rubeo said. "It was a joke. But before I was cooperating I didn't take it as a joke. I wanted to impress these people. That was the mentality I had" and "I blew the kid's car up."
Anthony ZinziAlite interrupted Rubeo, but when Alite and Borrello stopped talking over him, Rubeo continued, saying that he couldn't "hold a candle to you guys when it comes to violence," and that what he did was "not ballsy" but "a pussy move. That's what I want people to know. I wanted to impress Zinzi. They ended up jamming this guy up for arson because he made a joke. Really, it was a joke."
As it turned out, Manhattan Federal Court Judge Richard Sullivan gave Zinzi four years for the arson and a concurrent three years for gambling and loansharking charges so the firebomb that Rubeo ordered up to impress Anthony Boy has cost him at least an extra year behind bars.
Zinzi's attorney, Allan Haber, said it was "outrageous" that Rubeo admitted framing his client but told Gang Land there was "no point in jumping up and down and screaming about it because Anthony has done his time and is home. (He was released in December, according to the Bureau of Prisons.) What's the point in making noise about it now?"
The U.S. Attorney's office had nothing to say about Rubeo's assertion that he and the government had combined to convict and sentence Zinzi for a crime he didn't commit, or whether Rubeo's videotaped meeting with the two convicted ex-gangsters was a violation of Rubeo's supervised release conditions.
According to the "time-served" sentence that Judge Sullivan gave Rubeo back in 2018, he cannot "knowingly communicate or interact" with someone "convicted of a felony" until June of 2021 unless he first gets permission from his probation officer.
In the September 12 podcast, Rubeo confirmed several exclusive Gang Land reports about the blockbuster indictment that was filed in August of 2016. Rubeo said he took part in a failed Parrello plot to avenge the killing of his son by an Albanian gangster; he arranged for the FBI to bug Pasquale's Rigoletto, the Arthur Avenue landmark that served as Patsy's headquarters, and he recalled that when Patsy found the bug he gave it back to the FBI without suspecting that Rubeo was a "rat."
During his banter with Alite and Borrello, Rubeo drove home the point that Sullivan, who was good to Rubeo at his sentencing, was a "really fair judge." He said the judge was less accommodating however to prosecutor Max Nicholas — even though Rubeo was the reason why almost all of the defendants, including Merlino, after the jury was unable to reach a verdict at his February, 2018 trial, got sweet plea deals.
Pasquale Parrello"I mangled the case," Rubeo said. "It was embarrassing. The guy (Merlino) was supposed to get serious time. I don't want anybody to go to jail but they had to let him go. He took a (minor) felony but I mangled it. I committed robberies while I was cooperating. I was gambling. I literally shouldn't have had an agreement."
"I did some stupid things," Rubeo continued, explaining that when the FBI called him in Florida where he had moved, and told him to mail the phone he had been using for a year to text and call Merlino and other targets, to the FBI in New York, he decided "I'm gonna factory reset it before I do."
As Alite and Borrello chuckled aloud and Borrello noted that Rubeo was a "lucky guy," Rubeo declared: "So now on top of all the other shit I did I just destroyed evidence."
Despite the grief he had caused, Sullivan and AUSA Nicholas each minimized the impact of Rubeo's nasty antics and praised his cooperation at his sentencing, Rubeo said. The judge, however, "used the opportunity to abuse the prosecutor," Rubeo said. "It was a complete bashing."
Agostino CamachoA Gang Land look at the transcript of his June 2018 sentencing bears out Rubeo's recollection.
Sullivan grilled Nicholas about letting Merlino cop a two-year gambling plea and not retry him on racketeering charges, and about what the judge called "really soft Monopoly money" restitution numbers for Rubeo and defendant Agostino (Augie) Camacho, with whom Rubeo stole money he didn't tell the FBI about. He also quizzed him about not charging Rubeo with crimes he committed after he cooperated, and for not "ripping up" his cooperation agreement.
Regarding an $80,000 forfeiture for all Rubeo's crimes — the judge never mentioned an alternate amount, but court records Gang Land wrote about in 2017 say he stole $500,000 from a bookie — Sullivan cracked that over the years "he could make more working at McDonald's, probably."
When Nicholas stated that other money stolen by Rubeo was "placed for a time in a bank account," Sullivan replied: "Sometimes that kind of conduct would have resulted in additional charges or the ripping up of an agreement. That didn't happen. And it sounds like you also maybe said, 'And keep the money, a little extra for you.' Is that what happened?"
Judge Richard Sullivan"No," Nicholas replied. "I agree with the first two things the Court said. They're undeniably true. We didn't rip up the agreement. We didn't replead Mr. Rubeo. I do respectfully dissent from the characterization of 'keep the money as a little extra for you.'"
When Nicholas stated he had no idea Camacho's plea deal called for a $10,000 forfeiture, but was "confident" that it was "the best approximation of what could·be determined with certainty" by other prosecutors and agents "acting in good faith," Sullivan quizzed Rubeo and made the prosecutor look foolish and not up to speed on the monster case.
Sullivan: Mr. Rubeo, do you think that Mr. Camacho got 10 grand out of this entire criminal conspiracy that went on for years?
Rubeo: No.
Several queries later, Rubeo, the cooperating witness who was still waiting to be sentenced, got to where Sullivan wanted.
"Maybe a hundred thousand," he said.
"That's interesting," the judge replied. "Mr. Nicholas, you and your colleagues at the U.S. Attorney's Office had unfettered access to Mr. Rubeo and yet you agreed to a forfeiture agreement with Mr. Camacho for $10,000. So that's what I'm talking about when I'm talking about Monopoly numbers."
Anthony CamisaNo matter what answers the prosecutor gave to the judge's questions, Sullivan seemed to have a biting retort.
When Nicholas noted that Camacho hadn't pleaded to racketeering conspiracy, but to lesser charges that called for a lesser forfeiture, Sullivan indicated that shouldn't have enabled him to retain "90 percent of what he made from illegal conduct."
In addition, said Sullivan, "virtually nobody pled to the racketeering conspiracy. Although everybody was charged with racketeering, the vast majority pled to gambling or illegal cigarettes" and "got sentences" that were "less than a year," naming four of the 45 defendants "who did real time," including Parrello, who got seven years and Zinzi, who got four.
Of the other two mentioned by Sullivan, Anthony (The Kid) Camisa, got five and a half years, in large measure because he was involved in a kidnapping unrelated to Rubeo's work. The other defendant, Mark Maiuzzo, who got five years, was one of the arsonists who helped Rubeo blow up the rival gambler's car in 2011.
Accused Dad Killer Not Qualified To Be Housed At The Westchester County Jail
Anthony ZottolaThe Westchester County Jail in Valhalla was just fine for a pair of top Luchese mobsters facing federal murder charges in the execution slaying of former Purple Gang leader Michael Meldish. Before their conviction, Matthew (Matty) Madonna and Steven (Stevie Wonder) Crea spent many months cooling their heels there before, during and after their trial in November.
But federal prosecutors in Brooklyn say they can't move inmate Anthony Zottola to the same lockup so he can see his lawyers for the first time in more than six months, even though he faces the death penalty for killing his mob-connected father.
Based on assertions that seem to be at odds with the situation at the county jail, Brooklyn Federal Judge Raymond Dearie last week refused to order Zottola's transfer to the county jail where he would be able to speak to his lawyers in person for the first time since March 11, when they visited him in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan.
Since March, in an effort to blunt the spread of the COVID-19 virus between inmates and staffers, the MCC has prohibited all visits to the federal lockup. Zottola's lawyers say that their client, who maintains his innocence, is being denied his constitutional right to legal counsel he needs in order to fight criminal charges that carry the most severe penalty possible — death.
Sylvestor ZottolaZottola, 43, has been jailed without bail for the October 2018 murder-for-hire of his father, Bonanno associate Sylvester (Sally Daz) Zottola, and the July 2018 attempted murder of his brother Salvatore since his arrest in July of last year.
In their objection to Zottola's transfer, his prosecutors wrote that the U.S. Marshals Service, which moves inmates to and from prisons for court appearances, "informed the government" that the WCJ is a county jail outside the purview of the BOP, and "has the ability to accept or reject inmates," and does not generally accept accused killers into the prison.
In addition, wrote prosecutors Kayla Bensing and Lindsay Gerdes, the "USMS has informed the government that WCJ is currently at capacity and cannot house another inmate, even if the defendant had met the criteria for acceptance." And even if Zottola qualified to be housed there, and was transferred to the WCJ, attorney "visits are very limited," they wrote.
Matthew MadonnaIn his decision, Dearie noted that Zottola was "apparently not eligible for housing in the county facility" and that, "in any event, space is not available," and ruled that "absent extraordinary circumstances," he declined to "address" an issue that fell "within the clear responsibility and expertise of the BOP."
"Hopefully," Dearie wrote, "the restrictions imposed in light of the pandemic will continue to abate and facilitate (his lawyers) in-person contact with Mr. Zottola."
In their filings, Zottola's lawyers state that the defendant's "learned counsel" handling the death penalty aspects of the case, Andrew Patel, has recently "experienced the ease with which legal visits can be arranged and conducted at the WCJ." They argued to no avail that "Zottola's transfer there" would assure "his access to counsel going forward."
Patel, the lawyers wrote, represents former acting Luchese boss Madonna, who was housed there while facing "similarly death eligible charges including murder in connection with organized crime."
Steven CreaIn addition to Madonna, his codefendants at trial, Luchese soldier Christopher Londonio, family underboss Crea, and mob associate Terrence Caldwell were all housed at the WCJ at some points following their arrests back in 2017 for the 2013 Meldish murder, and during their trial.
Zottola's lawyers noted that "in the last month, Mr. Patel has arranged three visits with two separate clients there" and "each time, he made an appointment by sending a fax to the warden, who rapidly approved his visit requests either within hours, or by the next day."
It's easier to schedule "an in-person legal visit to the WCJ," they wrote, than is "required even to secure a legal call with Mr. Zottola at the MCC."
Lawyer visits to the MCC are slated to begin this month, but Zottola's lawyers say that even if that happens, they would have easier and greater access to their client if he were housed at the WCJ instead of the MCC.
Feds: Mob Associate With Spinal Cord Injuries Too Dangerous For Compassionate Release
Francis GuerraColombo associate Francis (BF) Guerra beat a double mob murder rap back in 2012, but he still lives in a world of pain.
Guerra, who was hit with a 14 year prison term — later reduced to 11 years, 3 months — for selling his own oxycodone meds, still suffers from debilitating back pain and migraine headaches from severe spinal cord injuries. He is now nine months from completing his 135-month sentence, just four months from a Bureau of Prisons halfway house in Brooklyn. But his prosecutors say he's too dangerous to receive a compassionate release.
In a pro se court filing last week, Guerra, 54, cited his debilitating injuries and the BOP's halfway house ruling in asking Brooklyn Federal Judge Nicholas Garaufis to declare the government's objections "meritless."
Guerra wrote that his spinal cord injury, which stems from a 1985 motorcycle accident, is a neurological disorder that not only keeps him in constant pain; it affects his "upper respiratory system." And since the CDC lists it as an "underlying medical condition" that will put him at "severe risk for complications, and even death" if he were to contract the COVID-19 virus, Guerra wrote that it is an "extraordinary and compelling" reason to grant his request.
And BF argues, quite convincingly, that the stated reason by assistant U.S. attorney Allon Lifshitz to keep Guerra, who has a job offer that has been approved by the BOP, behind bars "to deter him from committing crimes" and "to protect the public" from him when he is slated for release into a Brooklyn halfway house on January 7, is "a frivolous argument."
Allon Lifshitz"Indeed," BF wrote, "does this Court, or anyone else for that matter, really believe that another 4 months in prison will actually make a difference in Mr. Guerra's rehabilitation? Let's face it, if the U.S. Attorney does not believe that Mr. Guerra is fully rehabilitated after serving the majority of his sentence, with only 4 months left to serve, then the U.S. Attorney will never believe that Mr. Guerra should be released back into society."
AUSA Lifshitz didn't put it quite as succinctly as Guerra did, but that's essentially the point that the prosecutor made in asking Judge Garaufis to deny the longtime mob associate's motion for a compassionate release.
Whenever Guerra gets out, he will join his longtime pals and codefendants, Colombo capo Theodore (Skinny Teddy) Persico, and his cousin, Michael Persico, the businessman son of the late Mafia boss Carmine (Junior) Persico, who copped plea deals rather than go to trial. They were each released from federal prison earlier this year
FBI Snitch In Top Mob Story Of 2016 Says He Screwed Up The Case — Big Time
Gang Land Exclusive!John RubeoIn a series of stunning admissions made with the videorecorder rolling, a controversial mob turncoat who wore a wire for five years and stung 45 wiseguys and associates of five crime families in a monster racketeering case in 2016, now says that he "mangled" the huge case by destroying evidence and deserved a long prison term instead of the sweet 15-month sentence he received.
John (J.R.) Rubeo, 45, says the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office should have "ripped up" his cooperation agreement because his shenanigans — robberies and other crimes he committed while working as an FBI snitch — enabled Philadelphia mob boss Joseph (Skinny Joey) Merlino to win a sweetheart deal of two years after his first case ended in a deadlocked jury and a mistrial.
And his less than honest work didn't just help Merlino and screw the government, namely two FBI agents who were suspended for not supervising him properly. Rubeo admits to having framed an aging mob associate who got a four year prison term for arson for setting fire to a rival gambler's car in 2011 — a crime Rubeo committed before he began cooperating. "I blew the kid's car up," says Rubeo, describing his actions as "a pussy move" to "impress" the "harmless old man."
"I had two guys with me and they threw some gas in the car and they threw a match in it and it blew up," Rubeo stated during a recent hour and 25 minute long talk about his undercover work and his trial testimony with fellow gangsters-turned-cooperating witnesses, John Alite and Gene Borrello on their online podcast about the mob, The Johnny And Gene Show.
The car arson was pinned on Anthony (Anthony Boy) Zinzi, 77, a former member of the Purple Gang, who was blamed for the crime because of a joking remark he made after a bad day at a gambling club that he and Rubeo had just opened in Yonkers for their Bronx-based Genovese capo, Pasquale (Patsy) Parrello, the focal point of the FBI sting. Rubeo later confirmed it to his FBI handlers.
But on the podcast, Rubeo says that Zinzi, one of Parrello's "right hand guys" was "so old, he was harmless at that time," and "got a raw deal" by being hit with arson. Rubeo recalled that as they were walking down the street, Anthony Boy had merely uttered a tape-recorded "joke" about the owner of the "rival club up the street (from) a club that me and Patsy opened up."
"They were in business a hundred years and we were having trouble getting customers so one day Anthony says to me, 'You know it would be nice if that fucking kid's car burns down,'" Rubeo said. "It was a joke. But before I was cooperating I didn't take it as a joke. I wanted to impress these people. That was the mentality I had" and "I blew the kid's car up."
Anthony ZinziAlite interrupted Rubeo, but when Alite and Borrello stopped talking over him, Rubeo continued, saying that he couldn't "hold a candle to you guys when it comes to violence," and that what he did was "not ballsy" but "a pussy move. That's what I want people to know. I wanted to impress Zinzi. They ended up jamming this guy up for arson because he made a joke. Really, it was a joke."
As it turned out, Manhattan Federal Court Judge Richard Sullivan gave Zinzi four years for the arson and a concurrent three years for gambling and loansharking charges so the firebomb that Rubeo ordered up to impress Anthony Boy has cost him at least an extra year behind bars.
Zinzi's attorney, Allan Haber, said it was "outrageous" that Rubeo admitted framing his client but told Gang Land there was "no point in jumping up and down and screaming about it because Anthony has done his time and is home. (He was released in December, according to the Bureau of Prisons.) What's the point in making noise about it now?"
The U.S. Attorney's office had nothing to say about Rubeo's assertion that he and the government had combined to convict and sentence Zinzi for a crime he didn't commit, or whether Rubeo's videotaped meeting with the two convicted ex-gangsters was a violation of Rubeo's supervised release conditions.
According to the "time-served" sentence that Judge Sullivan gave Rubeo back in 2018, he cannot "knowingly communicate or interact" with someone "convicted of a felony" until June of 2021 unless he first gets permission from his probation officer.
In the September 12 podcast, Rubeo confirmed several exclusive Gang Land reports about the blockbuster indictment that was filed in August of 2016. Rubeo said he took part in a failed Parrello plot to avenge the killing of his son by an Albanian gangster; he arranged for the FBI to bug Pasquale's Rigoletto, the Arthur Avenue landmark that served as Patsy's headquarters, and he recalled that when Patsy found the bug he gave it back to the FBI without suspecting that Rubeo was a "rat."
During his banter with Alite and Borrello, Rubeo drove home the point that Sullivan, who was good to Rubeo at his sentencing, was a "really fair judge." He said the judge was less accommodating however to prosecutor Max Nicholas — even though Rubeo was the reason why almost all of the defendants, including Merlino, after the jury was unable to reach a verdict at his February, 2018 trial, got sweet plea deals.
Pasquale Parrello"I mangled the case," Rubeo said. "It was embarrassing. The guy (Merlino) was supposed to get serious time. I don't want anybody to go to jail but they had to let him go. He took a (minor) felony but I mangled it. I committed robberies while I was cooperating. I was gambling. I literally shouldn't have had an agreement."
"I did some stupid things," Rubeo continued, explaining that when the FBI called him in Florida where he had moved, and told him to mail the phone he had been using for a year to text and call Merlino and other targets, to the FBI in New York, he decided "I'm gonna factory reset it before I do."
As Alite and Borrello chuckled aloud and Borrello noted that Rubeo was a "lucky guy," Rubeo declared: "So now on top of all the other shit I did I just destroyed evidence."
Despite the grief he had caused, Sullivan and AUSA Nicholas each minimized the impact of Rubeo's nasty antics and praised his cooperation at his sentencing, Rubeo said. The judge, however, "used the opportunity to abuse the prosecutor," Rubeo said. "It was a complete bashing."
Agostino CamachoA Gang Land look at the transcript of his June 2018 sentencing bears out Rubeo's recollection.
Sullivan grilled Nicholas about letting Merlino cop a two-year gambling plea and not retry him on racketeering charges, and about what the judge called "really soft Monopoly money" restitution numbers for Rubeo and defendant Agostino (Augie) Camacho, with whom Rubeo stole money he didn't tell the FBI about. He also quizzed him about not charging Rubeo with crimes he committed after he cooperated, and for not "ripping up" his cooperation agreement.
Regarding an $80,000 forfeiture for all Rubeo's crimes — the judge never mentioned an alternate amount, but court records Gang Land wrote about in 2017 say he stole $500,000 from a bookie — Sullivan cracked that over the years "he could make more working at McDonald's, probably."
When Nicholas stated that other money stolen by Rubeo was "placed for a time in a bank account," Sullivan replied: "Sometimes that kind of conduct would have resulted in additional charges or the ripping up of an agreement. That didn't happen. And it sounds like you also maybe said, 'And keep the money, a little extra for you.' Is that what happened?"
Judge Richard Sullivan"No," Nicholas replied. "I agree with the first two things the Court said. They're undeniably true. We didn't rip up the agreement. We didn't replead Mr. Rubeo. I do respectfully dissent from the characterization of 'keep the money as a little extra for you.'"
When Nicholas stated he had no idea Camacho's plea deal called for a $10,000 forfeiture, but was "confident" that it was "the best approximation of what could·be determined with certainty" by other prosecutors and agents "acting in good faith," Sullivan quizzed Rubeo and made the prosecutor look foolish and not up to speed on the monster case.
Sullivan: Mr. Rubeo, do you think that Mr. Camacho got 10 grand out of this entire criminal conspiracy that went on for years?
Rubeo: No.
Several queries later, Rubeo, the cooperating witness who was still waiting to be sentenced, got to where Sullivan wanted.
"Maybe a hundred thousand," he said.
"That's interesting," the judge replied. "Mr. Nicholas, you and your colleagues at the U.S. Attorney's Office had unfettered access to Mr. Rubeo and yet you agreed to a forfeiture agreement with Mr. Camacho for $10,000. So that's what I'm talking about when I'm talking about Monopoly numbers."
Anthony CamisaNo matter what answers the prosecutor gave to the judge's questions, Sullivan seemed to have a biting retort.
When Nicholas noted that Camacho hadn't pleaded to racketeering conspiracy, but to lesser charges that called for a lesser forfeiture, Sullivan indicated that shouldn't have enabled him to retain "90 percent of what he made from illegal conduct."
In addition, said Sullivan, "virtually nobody pled to the racketeering conspiracy. Although everybody was charged with racketeering, the vast majority pled to gambling or illegal cigarettes" and "got sentences" that were "less than a year," naming four of the 45 defendants "who did real time," including Parrello, who got seven years and Zinzi, who got four.
Of the other two mentioned by Sullivan, Anthony (The Kid) Camisa, got five and a half years, in large measure because he was involved in a kidnapping unrelated to Rubeo's work. The other defendant, Mark Maiuzzo, who got five years, was one of the arsonists who helped Rubeo blow up the rival gambler's car in 2011.
Accused Dad Killer Not Qualified To Be Housed At The Westchester County Jail
Anthony ZottolaThe Westchester County Jail in Valhalla was just fine for a pair of top Luchese mobsters facing federal murder charges in the execution slaying of former Purple Gang leader Michael Meldish. Before their conviction, Matthew (Matty) Madonna and Steven (Stevie Wonder) Crea spent many months cooling their heels there before, during and after their trial in November.
But federal prosecutors in Brooklyn say they can't move inmate Anthony Zottola to the same lockup so he can see his lawyers for the first time in more than six months, even though he faces the death penalty for killing his mob-connected father.
Based on assertions that seem to be at odds with the situation at the county jail, Brooklyn Federal Judge Raymond Dearie last week refused to order Zottola's transfer to the county jail where he would be able to speak to his lawyers in person for the first time since March 11, when they visited him in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan.
Since March, in an effort to blunt the spread of the COVID-19 virus between inmates and staffers, the MCC has prohibited all visits to the federal lockup. Zottola's lawyers say that their client, who maintains his innocence, is being denied his constitutional right to legal counsel he needs in order to fight criminal charges that carry the most severe penalty possible — death.
Sylvestor ZottolaZottola, 43, has been jailed without bail for the October 2018 murder-for-hire of his father, Bonanno associate Sylvester (Sally Daz) Zottola, and the July 2018 attempted murder of his brother Salvatore since his arrest in July of last year.
In their objection to Zottola's transfer, his prosecutors wrote that the U.S. Marshals Service, which moves inmates to and from prisons for court appearances, "informed the government" that the WCJ is a county jail outside the purview of the BOP, and "has the ability to accept or reject inmates," and does not generally accept accused killers into the prison.
In addition, wrote prosecutors Kayla Bensing and Lindsay Gerdes, the "USMS has informed the government that WCJ is currently at capacity and cannot house another inmate, even if the defendant had met the criteria for acceptance." And even if Zottola qualified to be housed there, and was transferred to the WCJ, attorney "visits are very limited," they wrote.
Matthew MadonnaIn his decision, Dearie noted that Zottola was "apparently not eligible for housing in the county facility" and that, "in any event, space is not available," and ruled that "absent extraordinary circumstances," he declined to "address" an issue that fell "within the clear responsibility and expertise of the BOP."
"Hopefully," Dearie wrote, "the restrictions imposed in light of the pandemic will continue to abate and facilitate (his lawyers) in-person contact with Mr. Zottola."
In their filings, Zottola's lawyers state that the defendant's "learned counsel" handling the death penalty aspects of the case, Andrew Patel, has recently "experienced the ease with which legal visits can be arranged and conducted at the WCJ." They argued to no avail that "Zottola's transfer there" would assure "his access to counsel going forward."
Patel, the lawyers wrote, represents former acting Luchese boss Madonna, who was housed there while facing "similarly death eligible charges including murder in connection with organized crime."
Steven CreaIn addition to Madonna, his codefendants at trial, Luchese soldier Christopher Londonio, family underboss Crea, and mob associate Terrence Caldwell were all housed at the WCJ at some points following their arrests back in 2017 for the 2013 Meldish murder, and during their trial.
Zottola's lawyers noted that "in the last month, Mr. Patel has arranged three visits with two separate clients there" and "each time, he made an appointment by sending a fax to the warden, who rapidly approved his visit requests either within hours, or by the next day."
It's easier to schedule "an in-person legal visit to the WCJ," they wrote, than is "required even to secure a legal call with Mr. Zottola at the MCC."
Lawyer visits to the MCC are slated to begin this month, but Zottola's lawyers say that even if that happens, they would have easier and greater access to their client if he were housed at the WCJ instead of the MCC.
Feds: Mob Associate With Spinal Cord Injuries Too Dangerous For Compassionate Release
Francis GuerraColombo associate Francis (BF) Guerra beat a double mob murder rap back in 2012, but he still lives in a world of pain.
Guerra, who was hit with a 14 year prison term — later reduced to 11 years, 3 months — for selling his own oxycodone meds, still suffers from debilitating back pain and migraine headaches from severe spinal cord injuries. He is now nine months from completing his 135-month sentence, just four months from a Bureau of Prisons halfway house in Brooklyn. But his prosecutors say he's too dangerous to receive a compassionate release.
In a pro se court filing last week, Guerra, 54, cited his debilitating injuries and the BOP's halfway house ruling in asking Brooklyn Federal Judge Nicholas Garaufis to declare the government's objections "meritless."
Guerra wrote that his spinal cord injury, which stems from a 1985 motorcycle accident, is a neurological disorder that not only keeps him in constant pain; it affects his "upper respiratory system." And since the CDC lists it as an "underlying medical condition" that will put him at "severe risk for complications, and even death" if he were to contract the COVID-19 virus, Guerra wrote that it is an "extraordinary and compelling" reason to grant his request.
And BF argues, quite convincingly, that the stated reason by assistant U.S. attorney Allon Lifshitz to keep Guerra, who has a job offer that has been approved by the BOP, behind bars "to deter him from committing crimes" and "to protect the public" from him when he is slated for release into a Brooklyn halfway house on January 7, is "a frivolous argument."
Allon Lifshitz"Indeed," BF wrote, "does this Court, or anyone else for that matter, really believe that another 4 months in prison will actually make a difference in Mr. Guerra's rehabilitation? Let's face it, if the U.S. Attorney does not believe that Mr. Guerra is fully rehabilitated after serving the majority of his sentence, with only 4 months left to serve, then the U.S. Attorney will never believe that Mr. Guerra should be released back into society."
AUSA Lifshitz didn't put it quite as succinctly as Guerra did, but that's essentially the point that the prosecutor made in asking Judge Garaufis to deny the longtime mob associate's motion for a compassionate release.
Whenever Guerra gets out, he will join his longtime pals and codefendants, Colombo capo Theodore (Skinny Teddy) Persico, and his cousin, Michael Persico, the businessman son of the late Mafia boss Carmine (Junior) Persico, who copped plea deals rather than go to trial. They were each released from federal prison earlier this year