Gangland 10/29/20

[mafiastudent]

Judge Pans Podcast, Readies Prison Term For Motor-Mouth FBI Snitch

Gang Land Exclusive!

Declaring "I'm not a rube" and "I have no patience for this nonsense," an irate federal judge has indicated that he's planning to send a controversial FBI informer back to the clink after viewing a podcast in which the snitch openly flouted the judge's order barring him from associating with convicted felons, Gang Land has learned.

Judge Richard Sullivan took time out from his duties on the 2d Circuit Court of Appeals to alert John (J.R.) Rubeo that he viewed his appearance on the Johnny And Gene Show as a violation of his post-prison restrictions that bar him from hanging out with convicted felons. Rubeo, the judge said, had publicly displayed "poor judgment" that was "premediated and calculated."

In dishing out the courtroom spanking to the not-so-prized government witness, Sullivan also chided the FBI for ignoring Rubeo's antics while he was working for the feds including the destruction of evidence. "I'm not a rube and I'm not going to be manipulated the way the FBI was during the investigation," fumed Sullivan.

The judge was obviously referring to Rubeo's less-than-honest work: he committed robberies and other crimes, and deleted a year's worth of texts and taped gangster talks on his cell phone while wearing a wire for the FBI. His moves triggered an internal FBI probe that led to the suspensions of two agents and favorable plea deals for all 45 defendants, including Philadelphia mob boss Joseph (Skinny Joey) Merlino.

On the podcast, Rubeo cackles that he got off easy, and that he deserved a longer prison term than the sweet 15-month "time-served" sentence he received. He also said he would likely "get in trouble" for what he was saying in the widely circulated interview.

Two weeks ago, Sullivan ignored the assertion of assistant U.S. attorney Max Nicholas that Rubeo's violation of supervised release (VOSR) wasn't serious, and ordered probation officials to file specific charges for a full-blown hearing that the judge could conduct remotely, or in court, he said, "which will have a cellblock attached to it, which can lead right to the MCC."

Sullivan, who had ordered the court session after reading about Rubeo's podcast appearance with turncoat mob associates John Alite and Gene Borrello in the September 27 Daily News — three days after Gang Land wrote about it — left no doubt that he considered Rubeo's "mixing it up with convicted felons" a serious misstep that warranted a return to prison.

RJoseph Merlinoubeo told the Probation Department about the podcast on September 1, eleven days before it aired on September 12, but he "didn't get permission to do that in advance of the podcast," Sullivan said, because "the show" was tape recorded weeks earlier, on August 17.

In ordering probation officer Gabriella Mitchell to draw up official VOSR charges against Rubeo, Sullivan told her to pull out all the stops and determine how many conversations and meetings Rubeo had with Alite and Borrello because the podcast was "not just a screwup on a Thursday." but something that was planned over a "period of weeks or longer."

If necessary, the judge told her, he was "absolutely prepared" to order "laptops and hard drives be turned over, and phones. We can do the whole thing," he said, "because I can't believe that this guy, after getting a sentence of time served, given the nonsense that went on during his period of cooperation . . . has the poor judgment to do this."

"I don't think it's fair to characterize this podcast as a public service announcement against gang activity," Sullivan told attorney Louis Fasulo after the lawyer — in making arguments that were later repeated by prosecutor Nicholas — stated that the show advocates youngsters to avoid a life of crime, after noting that he had watched the show.

"It was far from that," said Sullivan, "It was a sprawling conversation about organized crime and organized crime from the perspective of cooperators. I think, if anything, it sort of glorifies it by perpetuating it."

"This is not a situation of him being asked to come on Nightline and sharing a screen with two other people that Nightline has arranged, who also happen to be convicted felons," the Judge continued. "This was him communicating with the folks of a podcast that is hosted by convicted felons."

"And then to spin it now," Sullivan continued, "and say, 'Oh, well, my motives were pure because it was designed to tell people not to get involved in the life,' is also just, I think, preposterous."

After Nicholas stated that he thought the podcast "did have a worthy purpose on the whole" and that may have colored his view, as well as the government's view, about a VOSR which was "probation's decision . . ." Sullivan cut the prosecutor short, and said: "It's also mine."

When the prosecutor continued, saying "the podcast itself ameliorated my initial reaction from reading The News, which was being upset about it," the judge got Nicholas to stop beating his dead horse. He replied that Rubeo did not get prior approval, that he didn't think probation officials would have granted it, and added: "I sure as heck wouldn't have permitted it."

And when probation officer Mitchell told Sullivan that other than the current "violation of supervision," Rubeo had cooperated fully with her and she didn't think the judge would hLouis Fasulloave to issue any subpoenas, the judge interrupted her, and said:

"He says on the podcast: 'I'm probably going to get in trouble for this.' So this was a decision that was made because," Sullivan opined, "Rubeo likes attention. And that's fine. But there's going to be a price to be paid for that. So I couldn't have been more clear on the day of sentencing. And I'm not fooling around here, Mr. Rubeo. So welcome back."

Attorney Fasulo jumped in, stating he "agree(d) with probation" and that Rubeo would "cooperate with whatever the probation officer needs to provide to the Court." Sullivan retorted: "This is a man who destroyed evidence — destroyed recordings and boasted of it, basically. And I'm to believe that he's a good bet to be completely cooperative here?"

When Fasulo began his response by noting that Rubeo had "been isolated by his cooperation," Sullivan said: "Wait. Wait. I'm sorry. So he was isolated by his cooperation which prompted him to then do a podcast that's available nationwide, that gets picked up by newspapers. He's very isolated. Yeah. Okay. I'm being sarcastic, but I have no patience for this nonsense."

When the attorney said, "Your Honor. . ." Sullivan ignored him, and addressed probation officer Mitchell .

He instructed her to prepare VOSR charges that Rubeo could contest at a "hearing with testimony and witnesses" if he wished. When Mitchell stated she would have that done by October 20, the judge ordered Fasulo to filed a response by October 26, this past Monday, and state if he were going to contest them. He ordered the government to respond by tomorrow.

But for reasons that Gang Land was unable to get any of the parties to discuss, the specific VOSR charges were not prepared by October 20, or even by this past Monday, October 26, the day that Fasulo's papers were due. Sullivan ordered Rubeo to file his papers next Monday, and the government to respond a week from tomorrow.

Next week, we'll discuss Judge Sullivan's remarks that contrary to what The News and Gang Land each wrote – Rubeo stated on the show that he had "framed" Anthony (Anthony Boy) Zinzi for an arson he didn't commit by stating that he was solely responsible for an arson the gangster pleaded guilty to – that Zinzi wasn't framed by Rubeo.

For now, we note, without comment, that in response to our September 24 column, Rubeo posted the following on Instagram: "This dope" – meaning Gang Land – "says I violated my probation, no, Jerry I didn't, I got permission to go on the show you idiot, you think I'm stupid and gonna allow a guy like you to send me back to jail, I'm a law abiding citizen my friend."

Survivor Of 1978 Mob Rubout Charged With Sex Abuse Of A Minor

Anthony CoglitoreAnthony Coglitore, who survived a 1978 assassination attempt by the Bonannos when the crime family wrongly suspected him of trying to kill a family mobster who lived down the block from him, has been arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a very young relative at her Long Island home beginning in 2001.

Coglitore, who was shot six times and severely wounded by two gangsters in the driveway of his Staten Island home on December 28, 1978, was arrested by Nassau County police last month on a complaint filed by a woman who was younger than 11 years old when the sexual abuse allegedly began, according to the felony sex abuse count against him.

After Coglitore, 87, of Whitestone, pleaded not guilty, Nassau County District Court Judge Martin Massell issued an order of protection for the woman. Coglitore was released on a $400,000 bond to await a likely indictment by a Nassau County grand jury, possibly as early as next week, when the defendant is slated to return to court for a status conference.

Gang Land could not obtain any specifics about the allegations from prosecutor Sean Jaime or defense lawyer Robert Caliendo. And Miriam Sholder, the so-called public information officer for Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas, declined to provide a redacted copy of the complaint that would shield the identity of the alleged victim, whom Gang Land would not identify in any case, or any other public information in the complaint.

Robert CaliendoSources say the complaint charges Coglitore with sexually abusing the woman, who is now in her 20s, for about 10 years. The sources say that cops and the DA's office are also investigating sex abuse allegations involving a second minor relative during the same time frame.

"The charges raise a number of red flags," attorney Caliendo said in a prepared statement. "To start," the statement continued, "the allegations date back almost 20 years, to 2001. I'm also eager to examine why the police were notified only after a series of unsuccessful demands from a civil attorney. There is lots to investigate, and we intend to defend the case zealously."

In 2018, Coglitore, the son of an Italian immigrant coal miner, who was raised in Brooklyn, wrote a little noticed book about his life and the attempted mob rubout. His only connection to the mob, he said, was having the misfortune to invest money in a Ponzi scheme run by a neighbor, mobster Frank Coppa.

Eleven ShotsIn the book, Eleven Shots, Coglitore wrote that on that night in 1978, as the garage door was rising after he drove home from a birthday party at his girlfriend's house, he saw "two men walk along the side of my car," and fire 11 shots at him, hitting him six times. This knocked his foot off the brake pedal, onto the gas and propelled the car crashing into the back wall of the garage.

Hit in the face, arm, stomach, rear end, neck and hip, Coglitore wrote that he somehow managed to crawl out of the passenger side of the car and into his driveway and wonder who in the world would have had a reason to shoot him when a neighbor asked: "What happened Tony?" Then he blacked out right after hearing someone say, "Hold on, the ambulance is coming."

While surviving numerous surgeries and other painful procedures in Staten Island Hospital for more than three months, Coglitore wrote that he told cops he had no evidence but suspected that his Copley Street neighbor, mobster Coppa, who suffered shrapnel wounds and was badly burned 15 weeks earlier when a bomb exploded as he sat in his car, was behind the shooting.

Coglitore told cops he had nothing to do with the bombing but that Coppa must have suspected him because a month earlier, Coglitore demanded that Coppa return $4,000 he stole from him two and a half years earlier in the Ponzi scheme. Argument ensued over Coglitore's belated demand to get his money back, and the two men "had a fistfight," Coglitore wrote, one that ended up with them "rolling in the street".

Joe Massino and Frank Coppa"Finally," he wrote, "I confronted him about the money. He was living a great life with our money. His wife had a maid and drove a Mercedes. They had parties with Joseph Massino and then went to Europe on vacation with him, that he paid for with our money. So on that one night, I saw him walking, and I approached him and said, 'Where is my money that I loaned you?' I demanded it back."

As it turns out, Coppa did suspect Coglitore in the bombing. In 2002, when he became the first Bonanno mobster to break his vow of omerta, Coppa told the FBI that Coglitore "did not have any ties to Organized Crime" but that Coppa told his "crew that he believed Coglitore had something to do with the bombing and that" they took part in the attempted rubout, according to an FBI report that was obtained by Gang Land.

The only wiseguy charged in the plot, capo John (Johnny Skyway) Palazzolo, 83, was a backup shooter who copped a plea deal in 2006, was sentenced to 10 years, and served for a time in 2015 as an acting boss for the then-jailed boss Michael (Mikey Nose) Mancuso.

Coppa cited Cogitore's attack shortly before the bombing in his failed effort to get his money back along with information he got from a Staten Island cop who "told (him) that Coglitore was a handy person and had a tool shed which made him believe that (he) was capable of making the bomb" that could be detonated by remote control, as the one in his car was.

Ultimately, Coppa learned from "word on the street" that Genovese soldier Gerard Pappa "was involved in the bombing" in an unsanctioned rubout plot because he had killed the son-in-law of a close friend of Coppa's and feared that he would learn about that and strike out at Pappa "in retaliation," according to the FBI report.

In Eleven Shots, Coglitore wrote that Coppa called him a week before he was released from the hospital and said he was going to return the money he owed him. "I told him to forget it," he wrote, stating that he was planning to marry his girlfriend Fran, who had thrown him a birthday party on the day he nearly died in the driveway at 52 Copley Street, a few doors away from the home of Frank Coppa in the New Springville section of Staten Island.

Wise Words Come Back To Haunt Wiseguy Joey Electric

Joseph Servidio"The things you can't beat are the tapes with you saying that's what you did," opined New Jersey mobster Joseph (Joey Electric) Servidio back in 2017 in a conversation he assumed was confidential.

No such luck. As he unwittingly noted they would, Joey Electric's tape recorded words came back to haunt him last week. The longtime Garden State-based wiseguy was hammered with a 15-year prison term for dealing crystal meth, heroin and fentanyl, along witha slew of other crimes he committed over the years Wiseguy all of them admitted on tape.

Servidio's "confessions" were recorded on tape by a wired-up FBI informer. He didn't hold back: He sold drugs, and committed armed robberies, he confessed, because he wasn't able to earn enough money to maintain his lifestyle through the legitimate business he operated.

"Everything I do is criminal," the 60-year-old wiseguy stated during one of many taped talks he had with turncoat Philadelphia crime family mobster Anthony Persiano and an undercover G-man during a two-year FBI probe by the Newark FBI from March of 2016 through May of 2018.

Anthony Persiano"I need like two-hundred fifty thousand a year" just "to break even," said Joey Electric. "That's what I need. So I got to do things, 'cause I don't make enough money," he complained. Most of the work he did with his electric contracting company, he lamented, was "for friends and family, for free."

Still, maintaining the money-losing company was important to him, Servidio stated.

"We need something legitimate," Joey Electric purred, "(be)cause I got to put the cash somewhere. I have to show it" as income to be able to answer the inevitable questions from the taxman: "How am I paying the mortgage, how am I paying my car payment, how am I paying my insurance, how am I paying my business insurance, how am I paying all these other bills?"

"There's nothing better than making money," Servidio continued. "I make money every day, illegally."

In an amazingly frank discussion about the tragic drug overdose death of a friend's son, Joey Electric conceded that his own drug dealing also "hurt people." But the casualties were part of the business. He would continue selling dangerous drugs, he told Perisano, for a very simple reason: "It's the most money I can make. I like to spend money."

Assistant U.S. attorney Patrick Askin cited Servidio's conviction and his long career as a criminal — he served five years for a cocaine selling conviction in 2006 — in asking New Jersey Federal Court Judge Robert Kugler to impose the 12 and a half year prison term called for in the gangster's plea agreement.

But Kugler, stating that Joey Electric was a leader of the mob-run drug-selling ring and noting the gangster's admissions of violence and contempt for the law on the FBI tapes, hammered Servidio with 15 years in prison and five years of post-prison supervised release.

Attorney Marco Laracca, who had sought the mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years, is expected to appeal his client's sentence as excessive since Servidio's plea agreement gives him the right to appeal any prison term that is greater than 151 months.

If his sentence is upheld, Joey Electric, who has served 30 months behind bars since his 2018 arrest, will most likely have to serve another 10 and a half years in prison, according to the normal time off provisions of the Bureau of Prisons.

Two fellow Philadelphia family wiseguys who were also snagged in the FBI sting, which was run out of the Atlantic City office, Carl Chianese and Salvatore (Sam) Piccolo, also received double digit prison terms from Judge Kugler. Piccolo, 68, was sentenced to 150 months. Chainese, 80, got 10 years.

[jmack]

Thanks for posting.

[chin_gigante]

Sounds like they should have hit Coglitore with a couple more shots

[AnIrishGuy]

Thanks for posting. Tenuous enough stuff from Jerry this week - the sex abuse story in particular shouldn't really be in there.

[Bklyn21]

Sounds like they should have hit Coglitore with a couple more shots

Yeah , They shoulda had the Tommy gun that day

[Bklyn21]

Jerry slapped together some rehashed crap that was posted in a few places already ! I wonder if Rubeo gets off with a slap on the wrist ? Doesn't look good for him lmao , Talking about Jerry and GL " What does this guy think ? That I'm a moron to not get permission" ? He didn't get permission and now he looks like the biggest fool back to the house of pain buddy

[JohnnyS]

Thanks for posting.

[Amershire_Ed]

The only thing I’d say in Rubeo’s defense and think the judge got wrong is I don’t think Rubeo was celebratory at all about the life. He seemed legit relieved to be out of it. He talked about how terrible the life was and how miserable he was and how much more he enjoys life now. So much so that there were times during that interview where I can see Gene thinking to himself “man this guys a pussy”. Alite or Borrello definitely glamorize and like to reminisce, but Rubeo for much of that interview had real disdain for the life. I’ll grant he was a little braggadocious about screwing up the trial and everyone getting light sentences, but it seems kinda late to slam him for that now. They shoulda done it back then.

[mafiastudent]

Jerry slapped together some rehashed crap that was posted in a few places already ! I wonder if Rubeo gets off with a slap on the wrist ? Doesn't look good for him lmao , Talking about Jerry and GL " What does this guy think ? That I'm a moron to not get permission" ? He didn't get permission and now he looks like the biggest fool back to the house of pain buddy

Jerry was the only one who actually covered Rubeo's hearing. I thought it was gold.

[dack2001]

Agree that the information about Rubeo and the podcast was out there but Jerry did add the judges harsh reaction and filings and the Fed's reaction as well. All of that was not something reported previously.

[SonnyBlackstein]

Thanks for posting.

This Rubeo, how fucking stupid can you be. This guy has to be on the spectrum.

I’m now starting to think when Rooster said about Parello not making anyone, anyone just means Rubeo.

[CTamg65]

Thanks for posting.

This Rubeo, how fucking stupid can you be. This guy has to be on the spectrum.

I’m now starting to think when Rooster said about Parello not making anyone, anyone just means Rubeo.

You got a point there

[sdeitche]

Guess that's the reason Rubeo didnt get back to me! ( I was getting ready to interview him.)

[Uncle Pete]

Pretty hilarious one of these rats finally put their foot in their mouth and now has to pay the price. What a moron Rubeo is

[dreww]

I cringe so bad whenever Alite says, “it’s for the kids.” And Gene Borrello is a punk scum bag who you cannot convince me was a legitimate OC guy. He’s a street thug, and nothing more. Any guy who commits a home invasion, unless it’s to take out a child predator or someone who’s hurt your family, is bottom of the barrel and should rot in prison.