Gangland news 27th April 2017

[Hailbritain]

By Jerry Capeci

Frankie Loc: Judge Glasser's Son Was A Fed; I Deserve A New Trial

Frank LocascioGang Land Exclusive!Gambino wiseguy Frank (Frankie Loc) Locascio was poring over the law books in the library of his federal prison when something jumped off the page at him: It was a reference to a federal prosecutor in Connecticut named James Glasser who worked in the Bridgeport office in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

That was the same time frame when Locascio was being indicted and tried in Brooklyn for his role as John Gotti's consigliere. At the end of that trial, Frankie Loc was sentenced to life behind bars by one of the most revered judges on the Brooklyn federal bench, I. Leo Glasser, who, Locascio belatedly learned, is the father of James Glasser.

Locascio, who has been fighting to win his release from prison for 26 years, is now arguing in court that the father-son relationship presented a clear conflict of interest, and that Judge Glasser should have recused himself from the famous case that also resulted in a life sentence for Gotti.

In court filings, the aging gangster states that the younger Glasser worked in the Connecticut U.S. Attorney's office at the same time prosecutors there were working on cases closely tied to the charges brought against Locascio, which included illegal gambling in the Nutmeg State. In addition, says Locascio, James Glasser was there when his office arrested 20 Gambino family mobsters and associates in 1989 who were part of the same gambling operation as Locascio.

Judge I. Leo GlasserIn court papers, appeals specialist Harlan Protass has asked the Second Circuit Court of Appeals to throw out Locascio's conviction. Despite a "long and distinguished career as a federal jurist," writes Protass, Glasser withheld from the defense his son's status as a federal prosecutor, thus creating "a disqualifying conflict of interest" for the judge when the case was assigned to him on December 10, 1990.

"Ironically, Judge Glasser, while having a disqualifying conflict of interest himself, disqualified Mr. Locascio's chosen counsel (and those of his co-defendants) based on purported conflicts of interest," the lawyer wrote, noting that Glasser bounced Frankie Loc's lawyer, George Santangelo, as well as Gotti lawyers Bruce Cutler, Gerald Shargel and John Pollok from the case.

"Sitting in his chambers and reading the indictment for the very first time, Judge Glasser knew (or should have known) three critical facts" were present that required him to "recuse himself" from the case to avoid "the appearance of partiality" against Locascio, wrote Protass.

The government's Gambino family investigation extended into Connecticut since the indictment alleged that Locascio and his codefendants "conducted, financed, managed, supervised, directed and owned an illegal gambling business" in Connecticut.

Glasser's son, James, had been an assistant U.S. attorney (AUSA) in Bridgeport since December of 1988 and Judge Glasser "knew (or should have known) that any and all information" about that probe from then on "would be imputed to his son."

"A wide-open gateway" existed during those two years — "telephone calls, dinners, birthday celebrations, holiday observances, family get-togethers and the like" — for his son to share information about his work as an AUSA in Connecticut with him.

John GottiProtass says Locascio, 84, has no evidence that James Glasser obtained any evidence about him or his co-defendants, or that he shared "any such information with his father." But hard evidence "is not necessary for the Court to conclude that Judge Glasser should have recused himself," the lawyer asserts in a 242-page filing that includes court records and affidavits stating that FBI agents in the "Gambino squad" and AUSAs in the tristate area shared information about the mob in the 1980s.

Knowledge that Judge Glasser's son was an AUSA would have been very important information for defense lawyers to have before trial, Protass wrote, stating that four lawyers who represented Locasico or Gotti "stated they would have moved to disqualify Judge Glasser if they had known about his son's service as a federal prosecutor in Connecticut during the two years preceding Mr. Locascio's arrest."

To drive home how important the trial judge was in Locascio's case, Protass quoted what the lead prosecutor in the case, John Gleeson, had to say about that topic eight years after Glasser gave Locascio and Gotti life sentences. Gleeson's words appeared in One Tough Judge: On Putting John Gotti Away For Good, an article that appeared in a 2000 book, Brooklyn: A State of Mind.

"There was nothing more important to the defense lawyers and the prosecution than who would be the judge on the Gotti trial," said Gleeson, who was by then a colleague of Glasser's on the federal bench, but was speaking as the prosecutor in the case, the only time he ever did publicly. "We make arrests, we indict, we prosecute, but the outcome of the case depends on the Judge," he said.

James GlasserGleeson, who stepped down from the bench in January, did not respond to repeated requests for comment from Gang Land.

The rules about judicial conflict of interest, while stern are not clear-cut. The relevant federal statute holds that "any judge … shall disqualify himself in any proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned." In addition, the Canon of Conduct for U. S. Judges states that they should avoid any "appearance of impropriety" and should not allow family relationships "to influence judicial conduct or judgment."

In his filing, Protass argues that there is "no doubt" that James Glasser had "actual knowledge" of the investigations of Locascio and the Gambino family in New York and Connecticut during the late 1980s. But citing an appeals court ruling, the lawyer asserted that even if prosecutor Glasser didn't have such knowledge, Judge Glasser should have recused himself because "a reasonable person, knowing all the facts," would conclude that the judge's "impartiality could reasonably be questioned."

Protass wrote that the Second Circuit, in a 2007 decision in a case about whether a federal judge should have recused himself, ruled that the federal statute telling judges when they must disqualify themselves "deals exclusively with appearances" because its "purpose is the protection of the public's confidence in the impartiality of the judiciary." The appeals court has since reaffirmed that finding a number of times.

John GleesonKey details about James Glasser's work as a federal prosecutor, and the Bridgeport office's arrest of Gambino capo Anthony (The Genius) Megale in 1989 for the same illegal gambling charges that Frankie Loc would face a year later, were developed by former federal prosecutor William Callahan, who is also a licensed private investigator, according to Locascio's court papers.

James Glasser is currently a partner at Wiggin and Dana LLP, of New Haven and New York. He was a government attorney for 20 years, the first eight at the Connecticut U.S. Attorney's office, where he had several executive positions, including Chief of Appeals, and Chief of the Criminal Division.

Based on Callahan's report, Protass wrote that the arrest of Megale, the "alleged head of the Connecticut faction of the Gambino Crime Family" and 19 others on illegal gambling charges was a big deal in Bridgeport, one of that office's "most high-profile organized crime cases ever."

Anthony MegaleSince the Bridgeport office "was staffed by only approximately six to eight AUSAs" in the 1980s, "there can be no doubt," Protass asserted "that AUSAs working in that Bridgeport office — including Mr. Glasser — had extensive, actual knowledge of the government's wide-ranging investigation of the Gambino Crime Family in the tristate area, including its investigatory work that resulted in the charges" lodged in Brooklyn Federal Court against Locascio and Gotti.

Even if prosecutor Glasser had no personal knowledge "concerning those investigations," wrote Protass, "any such knowledge is — as a matter of law — imputed to him because of his work as an AUSA in the Bridgeport office of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut."

"Thus, evidence of Mr. Glasser's actual knowledge of the government's investigation of the Gambino Crime Family in the late 1980s and/or evidence that Mr. Glasser shared such information with his father is not necessary for this Court to conclude that Judge Glasser should have recused himself," Protass wrote.

If the appeals court declines to vacate Locascio's conviction, wrote Protass, it should order a different federal judge in Brooklyn to conduct "a hearing to determine whether Judge Glasser should have disqualified himself from Mr. Locascio's case (and the appropriate remedy for his failure to do so.)"

Protass informed the appeals court that Locascio learned – "by happenstance" – in his prison library in mid-2015 that Glasser's son was a federal prosecutor after he "noticed that a 'James Glasser' was listed as counsel for the government" in a Connecticut case and his family hired Callahan to find out whether that James Glasser was "in any way related to Judge Glasser."

Harlan ProtassOne of Callahan's first inquiries about James Glasser was to Judge Albert Dabrowski, an alum of the Bridgeport office and a former Connecticut U.S. Attorney. "Judge Dabrowski responded that he knew Mr. Glasser well, that Mr. Glasser handled mainly criminal cases, and that Mr. Glasser was a good prosecutor," Callahan stated in an affidavit. "Judge Dabrowski then volunteered the following information: 'You know, his father was the judge in the Gotti case in Brooklyn.'"

That may have been common knowledge in the Nutmeg State, but it's news in Gang Land today only because of Frank Locascio. Whether it enables him to breathe fresh air outside of prison walls ever again is debatable. As you might expect, the U.S. Attorney's office in Brooklyn says no.

Prosecutors David James and Michael Keilty wrote that Locascio's motion is "wholly without merit;" that the Connecticut gambling was "a minor part of the government's case;" and that "Locascio's insinuations of partiality by Judge Glasser are baseless." They add that "there is no basis to contend that Judge Glasser's recusal would have led to a different outcome."

The prosecutors also poked fun at the linchpin of Locascio's motion — that Frankie Loc had uncovered startling new information that would set him free.

"It strains credulity to suggest," they wrote, that six "eminent" appellate attorneys, Michael Tigar Esq., Dennis Riordan, Esq., Michael Kennedy, Esq., Diarmuid White, Esq., Jay Goldberg, Esq. and Herald Price Fahringer, Esq. didn't know "that James Glasser was the son of Judge Glasser."

Appeals Court Okays Carmine Persico's 100-Year Prison Term

Carmine PersicoHope may still spring eternal for Frank Locascio, but the Second Circuit Court of Appeals just dashed the chances of freedom for 83-year-old Colombo boss Carmine (Junior) Persico.

In a four page ruling, the court upheld the historic 100-year prison term that Persico, received in the Mafia Commission case back in 1987.

The judges declined to consider some of the mob boss's knottiest claims, including whether there were "factual inaccuracies" and numerous Brady violations — failures by the government to furnish information in its files that might have helped established his innocence in the case.

Instead, the court stated that any sentence modification was at the discretion of the judge, and that Manhattan Federal Court Judge Kevin Duffy had properly "exercised his discretion to deny the motion."

Anthony DiPietroIn his ruling, Duffy had also rejected all of Persico's claims of government wrongdoing at his trial and at his sentencing. Junior had submitted scores of FBI documents and other court records that seemed to exonerate him of the 1979 murder of Carmine Galante, as well as several murders that prosecutors had charged him with at his sentencing.

Attorneys Anthony DiPietro and Mathew Mari had asked the appeals panel to consider those issues, but the Court declined. It noted that Persico's conviction — and 100 year sentence — were 30 years ago, and stated that "a defendant has no due process right to challenge his conviction in perpetuity."

DiPietro told Gang Land the decision was "disappointing," but noted that it doesn't "change the fact that the Government intentionally suppressed numerous pieces of evidence proving that Mr. Persico was innocent of the uncharged murders alleged against him at sentencing." He added that he and Mari are considering "seeking a review by the Supreme Court."

Meanwhile, Persico's eldest granddaughter, Desiree, in a stream of consciousness outpouring has begun an online petition calling on President Trump, Congressman Dan Donovan and State Senator Martin Golden to help bring her grandpa home so he can finally spend some time with his family after 33 years behind bars "for crimes he was wrongfully accused of."

Persico is the only living wiseguy who was sentenced to 100 years by Judge Richard Owen still incarcerated. Five codefendants died in prison. The sixth, Luchese mobster Christopher (Christy Tick) Furnari, 93, was granted parole in 2014, after serving nearly 28 years behind bars. Persico is scheduled to have a parole hearing in June.

Skinny Joey Says No Deal, But Most Of His Co-defendants Agree To A Plea Bargain

Joseph MerlinoNothing is official yet, but reliable Gang Land sources say that many of the defendants charged with racketeering in a humongous indictment of 46 wiseguys and mob associates from five families have agreed to plea deals. But not Philadelphia Mafia boss Joseph (Skinny Joey) Merlino. He says he's going to trial.

Plea offers were sweetened, the sources say, thanks to an internal FBI probe of alleged mishandling of a key informant by three agents. Those revelations, detailed earlier this month by Gang Land, have made the case more difficult for the government to prosecute, sources say.

Sources say Merlino, who was charged with health care fraud and involvement in three sports gambling operations, turned down a plea deal with sentencing guidelines calling for about two years behind bars. One stumbling block for the 55-year-old Merlino, which sources say may also stop others from accepting plea offers, was the large amount of money the feds wanted him to forfeit, more than $100,000.

Sources say Merlino, who was part of a large group that agreed to discuss plea deals if prosecutors dropped racketeering charges, was never "too keen" about the idea. "He loves to say that he's never pleaded guilty to anything in his life," said one knowledgeable source.

Sources say that powerful Genovese capo Pasquale (Patsy) Parrello is also struggling with the offer he's received, which also includes a large cash forfeiture as well as a much more substantial prison term — "about eight years," said one source, who added, "it's tough for a guy in his 70s to agree to take an eight year sentence."

Pasquale ParrelloParrello, 72, is charged with a laundry list of crimes, including gambling, loansharking, health care fraud, extortion, credit card fraud, butt-legging, and assault. Yesterday, for unknown reasons, he was transferred from the federal lockup in Manhattan, the Metropolitan Correctional Center, to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. The U.S. Attorney's Office and the FBI declined all comment on the case. Lawyers for both defendants did not respond to repeated calls for comment.

But sources say that "an overwhelming majority" of the defendants who discussed plea offers with prosecutors, including almost all the defendants charged only with low-level crimes of illegal gambling and selling untaxed cigarettes have agreed to cop plea deals with sentencing guidelines of four-to-10 months.

Sources say that some defendants charged with multiple extortions have agreed to deals calling for them to plead guilty to one charge. Negotiations between prosecutors and defense lawyers continued yesterday, the sources said. The deadline for agreeing to accept to what is being called a "global plea" even though it does not include all the defendants, is today.

It's unclear exactly how many defendants will have to agree to plead guilty in order for the lowball plea offers to stand, but Gang Land's guess is that it would have to be about 35. That would enable to government to wrap up the charges of the remaining defendants with one trial.

Multiple sources say that many defendants have received reasonable concessions from the government and that they are likely to agree to a plea offer. But for "a handful of others," said one source, "there are circumstances that make their negotiations more challenging — their age, their criminal history numbers (how many prior convictions) or their health, among other things."

[Hailbritain]

Fuck off jerry with your bore fests

[moneyman]

Didn't know Merlino never plead out... I wonder how the trial will go for him, Jacobs is a good lawyer.. the Ligambi case from a few years ago seemed stronger than the case now especially with all the mistakes the FBI has been making with the wiretaps etc.

[SonnyBlackstein]

Merlino's REJECTING a plea of TWO fucking years and 100k!
Are you f***ing serious. Go to trial and get 10+ and forfeit god knows how much or take two and a measly 100k.

This guy is either insane or has been taking legal advice from Michael Persico.

Unbelievable. He could put this all behind him in 18 months, instead it's roll the dice....



Frankie Loc's never coming home. Ever.



Butt-legging: smuggling cigarettes (yup, had to google that one)

[SonnyBlackstein]

Thanks for posting HB

[willychichi]

Thanks for posting HB

+1

[joeycigars]

Merlino's REJECTING a plea of TWO fucking years and 100k!
Are you f***ing serious. Go to trial and get 10+ and forfeit god knows how much or take two and a measly 100k.

This guy is either insane or has been taking legal advice from Michael Persico.

Unbelievable. He could put this all behind him in 18 months, instead it's roll the dice....



Frankie Loc's never coming home. Ever.



Butt-legging: smuggling cigarettes (yup, had to google that one)

Merlino walks on this major cluster fuck of a half baked case , Why take any amount of time or fines time if you have a 100% chance of a hung or acquittal , Which this will be, Last year posters and pundits had Merlino done for life and a jerkoff , Now its 2 years minus time served and 15% good time around 17 months , in a few months it will be dropped or hung or acquitted, no matter what the time will not go up as the drip drip drip of the feds fuck up comes out let it linger as long as he could smart move, Merlino took the reigns of Boss roughly around 92-93- thats 25.5 years and counting by any standards a great run , Merlino has Balls and it shows he is out on bail doing what he does not a worry in the world like him or hate him he is still going

[SonnyBlackstein]

Merlino may beat the case. But is it worth the risk? 18months for a mob boss who was talking to a CI for five years is a fucking dream and he's a moron to not take it. If he's found guilty the judge will ass fuck him. Bet on that.

Parello not taking 8 years I can understand.
But a mob boss in his 50's offered 18months, for a jaywalking charge, he should take it.

[UTC]

He's just negotiating. The "deadline" is meaningless.

[SonnyBlackstein]

Just a thought, the guy going to get absolutely fucked at sentencing and will certainly do more time than everyone (possibly put together)?

Rubeo.

Ha, now that's funny. Rats for 5yrs and snares a Westside Capo and the Boss of Philly and they get off with minimal and you get shafted. And he will get shafted. He'll be lucky if the Feds even write him a letter. The new Casso.


Agree with UTC. Joey is negotiating.

[Teflon john]

I agree with Joey C,i wouldnt take a plea either if i thought i would walk and Merlino will walk. Love him or hate by modern standards he is a huge success as LCN boss. The feds will just come back at him again but he is free for now. On a personal note,i sure wish the Feds would spend my tax money on keeping terrorists out of the country or locked instead of fucking with Joey Merlino,damn.

[Garbageman]

Fuck off jerry with your bore fests

That is fuckin hysterical man lol. Thanks for posting too hahaha

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

[TJ]

already dropped the offer to well below 2 years...and he still aint taking it...blackstein, i understand what you say, its a roll of the dice...but..he wasnt talking to a CI for 5 years..not even close..this case was bullshit from the start...

[Rocco]

I agree with Joey C,i wouldnt take a plea either if i thought i would walk and Merlino will walk. Love him or hate by modern standards he is a huge success as LCN boss. The feds will just come back at him again but he is free for now. On a personal note,i sure wish the Feds would spend my tax money on keeping terrorists out of the country or locked instead of fucking with Joey Merlino,damn.

If he goes to trial in FL he better take a plea. LCN guys get hammered in Federal court in FL Its the worst. Its why Jr Gotti fought hard to move his trial to NY. He would have been convicted in the first trial in Tampa and doing life today. The red necks and Haitians don't like us whops from the NE. They hate us.

[Pogo The Clown]

If he goes to trial in FL he better take a plea. LCN guys get hammered in Federal court in FL Its the worst. Its why Jr Gotti fought hard to move his trial to NY. He would have been convicted in the first trial in Tampa and doing life today. The red necks and Haitians don't like us whops from the NE. They hate us.

What are all you New York guineas doing down here?


Pogo