Gangland news 22nd feb 2018

[Hailbritain]

By Jerry Capeci

Judge: I Should Have Given The Kid A Longer Prison Term

Gang Land Exclusive!Anthony CamisaIf he had it to do over again, Manhattan Federal Judge Richard Sullivan would have given a stiffer prison term along with the stern lecture he gave Anthony (The Kid) Camisa, the youngest defendant in the huge racketeering case against 46 mobsters and associates from New York to Florida with ties to five crime families.

Sullivan, who declared a mistrial Tuesday for the only defendant to go to trial in the blockbuster case, Philadelphia mob boss Joseph (Skinny Joey) Merlino, made his feelings abundantly clear during a confrontational sentencing hearing for one of The Kid's fellow defendants that took place during Merlino's trial.

As it was, Sullivan gave Camisa 66 months for illegal gambling and extortion from 2011 to 2014. That's longer than every other prison term that the judge has meted out in the case except for the seven years that he gave powerful Genovese capo Pasquale (Patsy) Parrello.

Richard SullivanBut it could have been much worse. In his comments from the bench, Sullivan left no doubt that he believed that Camisa's hard-driving, in-your-face lawyer Gerald McMahon had put one over on him, finessing the judge into focusing on his client's youth, rather than the lucrative bookmaking business that The Kid began running when he was still a teenager.

McMahon appeared at the hearing for Luchese soldier Vincent Casablanca to help back up Casablanca's own bid for leniency. And McMahon wasted no time letting the judge know that in his "knowledgeable view," the judge had incorrectly sized up his 25-year-old client's relationship with Casablanca, a 50-year-old wiseguy. During the hour-long session the attorney corrected Sullivan about the record a few times, but also admitted that he didn't correct errors that the prosecutor had stated at Camisa's sentencing that lessened his client's culpability and got him less time than the judge believes he should have received.

At Casablanca's sentencing hearing, McMahon pulled no punches: He stated that The Kid wasn't the mobster's underling, as the government had alleged; instead, they were "partners" in an online bookmaking venture. In fact, the lawyer said, Camisa "was a bookie" long before he ever met Casablanca and had "taught Mr. Casablanca the bookmaking business."

Gerald McMahonHearing this and more about The Kid's role, Sullivan said he "absolutely would have" given Camisa "a higher sentence" if he had known last fall what McMahon was telling him then.

Sullivan, who had rejected a government request to give Camisa more than the recommended 70 month maximum at his sentencing in October, had wanted to give Casablanca more than the maximum 10 months called for in his plea agreement because the prosecutor had stated at Camisa's sentencing that Casablanca was The Kid's supervisor in the bookmaking business.

But Casablanca's lawyer, Joseph DiBenedetto objected strongly, arguing that his client, who had been gainfully employed all his life, deserved probation for his illegal gambling guilty plea, his first conviction of any kind. DiBenedetto stated that the prosecutor's claims that his client was The Kid's boss were flat-out wrong, and were not supported by any evidence, including the tape-recordings his client had with mob turncoat John (J.R.) Rubeo.

In addition, DiBenedetto argued, even the prosecutor had stated that his client had nothing to do with two gunpoint extortions that Camisa committed in 2014 to collect gambling debts that were owed only to him, and that Casablanca never saw a penny of the $15,000 that The Kid extorted from the two gamblers.

Vincent CasablancaSullivan wasn't convinced though. At the February 9 hearing, the judge told McMahon that the Pre-Sentence Reports prepared for him by probation officials who had interviewed prosecutors and both defendants each stated "that Mr. Casablanca was the head of the office, (and) that Mr. Camisa assisted Mr. Casablanca in setting up accounts" and collecting money lost by gamblers.

McMahon, with Camisa nodding his head in agreement, poured cold water on that argument. He told the judge that The Kid and Casablanca shared the "collected money equally" that they received from others, both bookies and gamblers, who paid them "administrative fees" to use an online gambling wireroom in Costa Rica in which they were "partners."

McMahon said that if need be, his client would waive his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and testify about his bookmaking business and his arrangement with Casablanca — and only that — because he had pleaded guilty to that, and because, the lawyer said, "It's the right thing to do."

The attorney said that sometimes Casablanca picked up cash that was owed to them, and sometimes Camisa did. It depended "who had the car, who was around," McMahon said. "If a bookie owed money for administrative fees and Mr. Casablanca wasn't around and Mr. Camisa was, he would go. And vice versa."

Pasquale ParrelloCamisa also had his own "sports book" and did not share those proceeds with Casablanca, the lawyer said. The Kid "kept all the profits," McMahon said. "He endured all of the losses." And as far as the bookmaking end of the business went, the two men were "not partners at all," McMahon said, adding, "Those are the facts, Judge."

The first time Sullivan asked why McMahon hadn't corrected prosecutor Abigail Kurland when she stated that Camisa worked for Casablanca at his client's sentencing, the lawyer said he hadn't focused on their relationship because his client's two gun-wielding extortions were going to drive the prison term, especially since it carried a mandatory five year sentence.

"I have since learned the details which I have just presented to your Honor," said McMahon, stating that he "didn't interrupt her and say that that's not correct, as far as I know, because basically I didn't know the facts of the gambling relationship." He knew Camisa was "a bookie" but not his "precise" relationship with Casablanca, "and it was of little concern to me given that the guidelines for the gun and the extortion were far more significant," the lawyer said.

Abigail KurlandSullivan then read portions of the sentencing transcript aloud. He noted that he "was told" erroneous information about Camisa, and admonished McMahon, stating that if "somebody" or "if anybody thought that was wrong, they sure as heck had an obligation to tell me that that was wrong."

But the lawyer wasn't having any of it. He noted that the judge was "told that by the government" and that Sullivan's questions at the sentencing "were not addressed to me" but to the prosecutor, whose responses were incorrect.

"In all fairness, judge, I did not make this argument," said McMahon. "Ms. Kurland described his role as being less culpable; I did not correct her. I don't know, Judge, was I supposed to stand up and say to your Honor, 'No, Judge, I think Ms. Kurland, when she says that my client is less culpable, that's wrong,' or 'I don't know if that's correct or not.' I don't know that the canons of ethics would allow for (me to speak publicly against my client) like that."

Joseph DiBenedettoBack and forth they went, with McMahon insisting that by focusing on Camisa's youth at his sentencing, he hadn't tried to mislead the judge into thinking that The Kid was corrupted by the older wiseguy, and with Sullivan questioning the lawyer's intent until McMahon said, "Judge, I can only tell you what the truth is, what the facts are."

Last fall, Judge Sullivan needed two proceedings before agreeing to accept an illegal gambling guilty plea calling for zero to six months for a codefendant in the case with no prior convictions. He is still one, perhaps two hearings away from fine tuning his sentencing options for Vinny Casablanca and his recommended prison term of four to ten months.

Next up, defense lawyer DiBenedetto will file papers supporting his position — now backed up by McMahon — that Casablanca was not Camisa's boss, but his partner, and that the duo split weekly $3 administrative fees from hundreds of bookmakers and gamblers who used the online sports book they helped to run.

Feds Look For More Extortion Charges Against Oddfather's Son

Vincent EspositoThe feds are looking at additional extortion charges against Vincent Esposito, the youngest son of the late Genovese boss Vincent (Chin) Gigante who was indicted last month on racketeering and extortion charges, and several unidentified mob associates he allegedly used to extort payoffs from other victims over the years, Gang Land has learned.

Assistant U.S. attorney Jared Lenow made that disclosure at a bail hearing for Esposito. The Genovese family heir was granted bail six weeks ago by a magistrate judge but that decision was appealed by the feds, leaving Esposito behind bars as a potential flight risk and a danger to the community pending another bail hearing tomorrow.

Lenow revealed the continuing federal probe in response to an argument by attorney Elizabeth Macedonio that since Esposito's four codefendants, including two who allegedly leveled threats on his behalf were out on bail, there was no justifiable legal reason to keep him detained, especially since they were all charged with the same crime.

Vincent FyfeThe prosecutor countered that the key reason to keep Esposito locked up is to prevent him from ordering any further threats against other victims or witnesses. The feds allege that Esposito has already "supervised multiple acts of extortion" in annual $10,000 shakedowns of his cousin, Vincent Fyfe, President of Local 2D, of the United Food & Commercial Workers Union, and others.

"In this case," Lenow told Manhattan Federal Judge Victor Marrero, "Esposito used a number of different individuals" to threaten victims and they "are still under investigation," and "have not yet been arrested." These suspects are in addition to codefendants, Genovese soldier Steven (Mad Dog) Arena and Local 2D secretary treasurer, Vincent D'Acunto Jr., the prosecutor said.

Judge Marrero, who seemed inclined to agree with Macedonio that there had to be conditions that would assure the safety of the community and guard against any threat that Esposito might abscond, ordered the government and the defense to work at coming up with a solution on their own before tomorrow's hearing.

Steven ArenaWithout mentioning his name, Lenow and Macedonio each made reference to Fyfe, a key witness in the case who is the son of Robert Fyfe Jr. and Gigante's sister Yolanda, during the session.

"The cooperating witness," said Lenow, "was close to and had direct interactions with Mr. Esposito. They have a relationship going back a long time; it's a family relationship, and that witness has informed the government and would be prepared to testify about the direct demands that Mr. Esposito made of him."

Macedonio's reference came in response to Lenow's claim that several tape-recorded talks tied Esposito to extortion, because "the words invoked in those conversations were either 'Vinny,' 'Vincent,' or 'your uncle,' all explicit references to the defendant, Vincent Esposito."

"They claim that 'Vin' or 'Vincent' is referenced within that conversation," countered Macedonio. "Yet both of the parties participating in that conversation are named Vincent," she said, an apparent reference to a tape talk between D'Acunto and Fyfe.

Judge Victor MarreroAs you might expect, Lenow and Macedonio had diametrically opposite views about everything that came up during the session.

Regarding the $3.8 million that was seized by the feds, Lenow said it was "powerful evidence" to detain him because it was "sacks of cash in old ammunition boxes, in sacks, in shoe boxes, stuffed in corner after corner of the residence. The very packaging itself suggests it's illicit in nature, and the defendant didn't say anything about this cash in his pretrial interview."

"While I understand that cash is a four-letter word," said Macedonio, "there's nothing illegal about having cash. Should he have told pretrial services about it? Sure, he should have," but that's no reason to keep him locked up, she insisted.

About his high but unspecified rank in the Genovese crime family, Lenow said the government has a "significant amount of evidence that this person is a person of significant power and influence and rank within the Genovese family."

Elizabeth Macedonio"The government talks about his rank in the organization and how that is so important," countered Macedonio, "but they don't seem to be able to clearly articulate what that is, if anything at all, quite frankly, because on the day of his arrest, he was simply a person of influence. One week later, he was a high-ranking member. I don't know how that happened while he was at the MCC, but their theory of who he is seems to be constantly in flux."

And about Esposito's genes, not from his 84-year-old mom, Olympia Esposito, with whom he still lives, but from his late dad, Macedonio said: "We have five defendants in the case. Four have been released with the consent of the government. So what's different about this defendant? His paternity. Quite frankly, that's not something that the bail statute considers. This defendant should not be held in custody simply because of who his father was. That's not the law."

"It is relevant," said Lenow, because "Esposito is charged with crimes, extortions. His father is not the one who has $4 million in the house, years after his father passed away, bills that are relatively recent vintage, I would point out. These are one-hundred-dollar bills that have been printed in relatively recent time. His father is not the one who has brass knuckles, a gun, .38 caliber ammunition, .22 caliber ammunition. The father wasn't the one controlling the purse strings of the family in the last few years. This isn't about the father. This is about the son."

Merlino Jurors Split On Racketeering; 10-2 For Conviction On Health Care Fraud

Joseph MerlinoA New York jury showed some Brotherly Love this week for Philadelphia mob boss Joseph (Skinny Joey) Merlino. It wasn't enough love to vindicate him completely, but it was enough to stymie the government's effort to put Merlino behind bars for illegal gambling and for being part of an $11.3 million health care fraud scheme in which the government claimed he received $100,000.

Judge Sullivan declared a mistrial on the fourth day of deliberations after jurors insisted they were deadlocked.

Sources say that a handful of jurors who hung around and spoke to prosecutors and defense lawyers after the mistrial was declared, said they were evenly split on the main racketeering charge, but deadlocked 10-2 for conviction on the health care scam and 9-3 for conviction on the illegal gambling charges.

The mistrial came after Merlino's lead attorney, Edwin Jacobs, had twice indicated his belief that the jury was more inclined to acquit than convict. On Tuesday, Jacobs had pressed the judge to tell jurors they could return a "partial verdict" on one of the four counts in the indictment.

Eugene OnofrioSullivan agreed the first time, but when the jurors sent out another note saying they were still hopelessly deadlocked on all counts, the judge rejected the attorney's second request, even though prosecutors Max Nicholas, Lauren Shorr and Andrew Chan had no objection.

It turns out, the sources say, that several jurors were in Merlino's camp, but not as many as Jacobs and defense lawyers John Meringolo and Anjelica Cappellino had believed, and hoped.

Judge Sullivan ordered both sides to work out possible dates for a retrial and report back to him on March 6, a few days after the attorney for Genovese capo Eugene (Rooster) Onofrio, who was severed from the trial for health reasons, has been ordered to report whether his client is well enough to stand trial in the coming months.

George BorgesiSkinny Joey, 55, and Rooster, 75, are the only defendants who did not agree to bargain basement plea deals that prosecutors tendered last year after they disclosed that the two FBI agents and a supervisor were the subjects of an internal FBI probe of their dealings with the key undercover operative in the five year investigation, turncoat mob associate John (J.R) Rubeo.

Merlino, who smiled and said, "God bless the jury," when Sullivan declared the mistrial, will return to Boca Raton, where he has lived since 2011, when he was released from federal prison after serving a 14 year prison term for racketeering, under the same $5 million bond that has been in place since August of 2016.

If and when there is a retrial, Gang Land expects that Philadelphia wiseguy George Borgesi, a daily spectator, and his uncle, former acting family boss Joseph (Uncle Joe) Ligambi, and other City of Brotherly Love supporters who showed up during the three-week trial, will be back to show their support for Skinny Joey.

[gohnjotti]

Anthony (The Kid) Camisa seems like a real up-and-comer. A kid in his early 20s teaching a middle-aged man how to run bookmaking? When Camisa's released in 2021 I'm expecting a big future in the mob.

[Teddy Persico]

$11.3 million? What happened to the $157 million figure the Feds were throwing out there when the indicment was announced?

[SILENT PARTNERZ]

[SILENT PARTNERZ]

[cdc]

Interesting regarding esposito. I’m guessing he is still listed as a soldier? Haven’t heard him being mentioned as a capo before. Anyone know who’s crew he is in?

[Camo]

Doesn't sound like the government knows his position as they've avoided identifying him as anything even a Soldier. Just a high ranking member which could mean anything.

[Stroccos]

$11.3 million? What happened to the $157 million figure the Feds were throwing out there when the indicment was announced?

157 million was the total amount the insurance companies got beat for , 11.3 is only the part of the scam , there were other crews running the scam as well ,

[TommyNoto]

Esposito cld be a high ranking soldier direct w Petey who cld also be NJ crews rep into the admin. Given his alleged principal racket it wld make sense to have him either as a high level soldier or a capo w a very small / specialized crew dealing with extortion of construction industry. West side seems to want their legal associated rackets w low key under the radar type guys and not also have him running some big gambling racket . Tho with the $ he had , he probably also was possibly a shy lock bank to other west side capos and / or construction companies. 6 figure + type loans . He’s a very interesting operator to say the least and is probably has knowledge of many of their big $ venture as his cash might of been the initial seed money for some of those rackets

[beans]

Thanks so much for posting. what if Esposito was liaison for NJ? Maybe he is capo and go between.

[johnny_scootch]

I think he's either captain of a NJ crew of leader of the entire Jersey faction. Remember the lists he had in his basement no person of any lesser rank would have those.

[beans]

I think he's either captain of a NJ crew of leader of the entire Jersey faction. Remember the lists he had in his basement no person of any lesser rank would have those.

Il Messegere for NJ?

[johnny_scootch]

I think he's either captain of a NJ crew of leader of the entire Jersey faction. Remember the lists he had in his basement no person of any lesser rank would have those.

Il Messegere for NJ?

Is that a real position? I’ve heard of them having il messaggero but not one specifically for NJ.

Would you want the guy you designated to meet with other families and be majorly exposed to have those lists? I wouldn’t but who knows stranger shit has happened.

[moneyman]

Anthony Palumbo was called the "Acting Boss of NJ" in 2006. As I understand it he was the conduit between the NJ crews and Genovese leadership at the time and was a close associate of Daniel Leo.

I've always wondered about the day to day of the NJ Genovese and their dealings with the administration. The NJ Genovese presence is so large it seems unlikely that one person like Palumbo or Esposito would speak for the entire NJ contingent.

[Wiseguy]

Anthony Palumbo was called the "Acting Boss of NJ" in 2006. As I understand it he was the conduit between the NJ crews and Genovese leadership at the time and was a close associate of Daniel Leo.

I've always wondered about the day to day of the NJ Genovese and their dealings with the administration. The NJ Genovese presence is so large it seems unlikely that one person like Palumbo or Esposito would speak for the entire NJ contingent.

I don't recall the "acting boss of New Jersey" title. However, Palumbo was an acting captain and the 2009 indictment involving both him, Danny Leo, and others said "In 2006, Daniel Leo placed long-time Soldier and Acting Capo Anthony Palumbo in charge of the New Jersey operations of the Genovese Family."

There is/was the question of what exactly this entailed. Was he simply the go-between for the Jersey crews and the leadership in New York? Did he have more oversight and authority than that? That was never specified as far as I can recall.