Merlino should be finished with his parole today

How long would it take before he meets with ligambi?

That's right thanks for the reminder. Interesting to see what happens with him. Personally I think he's been waiting and planning. Then again he could be baking and tanning. Who knows?

He's playing it smart, if I was him I would stay in florida, name mazzone as the street boss and let ligambi be the advisor semi retired type of a role

Philly, Merlino lives in a gated community about 3 miles from me. I have seen him twice in the last 3 years, once in line at a Dunkin Donuts and another time at Josie's Italian Restaurant. He looks like he has been spending a lot of time at the beach and in the gym, he may need a new nickname. South Florida has a lot of mobbed up businesses and opportunities for growth. It will be interesting to see what he does.

Yea I saw some pictures of him. I guess he can't be called 'Skinny Joey' anymore lol. Looks like he was hitting the weights in the can.

Philly, I work in a drug and alcohol treatment center down here and we get a lot of patients that partake in the these mob run semi legit operations. A few years ago the big thing was pill mill operations,also offshore and online gambling operations before the law cracked down on them. Lately is has been prostitution rings and phone room scams. These guys rent houses in upscale neighborhoods and employ beautiful young women, many with drug problems to provide escort services for big money. They busted one up not long ago and rolled up a dirty Boca Cop in the process. I'm fascinated by the mob life but sickened by the damage it does to people and their families. These young girls we get in treatment have been permanently damaged and many other people we seen have lost everything because of their gambling addictions.

he's either gonna get everybody indicted in philly or indicted in florida

he's still young so the fbi is gonna be after him

Does he move around with bodyguards and in armored cars or just like a normal citizen? Just being curious about the differences and similarities between Russian and American mobs in this particular aspect.

Yea I no what your talking about with the pill mills. I have friends here in Philly who are very heavy into the pill dealing. They were driving down to Florida with boat loads of cash and were coming back with 5000 percocets 10 mg and 2000 OxyContin 80 mg.

That was back when the 80 mg Oxycontins were 50$ a pill so do the math on that. All the pills would be gone in like a week or two give or take and they would go back down again to Florida.
The people I went around with we're making so much money it was sickening.

My buddy would buy a boat and when something went wrong with it he would park it on a city street in Philly and leave it there and go buy another boat lmao.

But back on subject people from all over the country were driving to Florida for all the pills. There was a good documentary on it that I saw. Very interesting.

Dwalin, when I saw him he was with the same guy both times, I did not recognize him and he did not stand out in a crowd. Merlino was real polite to the staff at both restaurants, the staff at Josie's made a fuss over him but he shooed them away. Now that he is off parole I expect he will get out more, the nightlife down here is intense.

Yea him and Paciello can run around down there. Well speaking of that......

Philly, You ever heard of this guy Colangelo? He was raking in $150,000.00 a day


Drug agents raided 11 pain clinics from Miami to West Palm Beach on Wednesday, arresting 23 people and seizing $2.5 million in cash and dozens of cars in the biggest single strike yet at Florida's pain pill industry.

Among those arrested were four physicians, including the son of Broward Medical Examiner Joshua Perper, and five owners of raided pain clinics, officials said.






The biggest catch, officials said, was [b]Vincent Colangelo, 42, a Davie man who earned an estimated $150,000 a day from the seven now-shuttered pain centers he owned.

Law enforcement agencies moved to seize from the Colangelo operation $22 million in assets, including homes, an Okeechobee trailer park and 46 vehicles. Agents displayed a parking lot full of the high-priced cars, such as a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren sports car and two Lamborghinis.

"Woo hoo, I want to do cartwheels," said Tina Reed, a Davie pill mill activist whose son almost died from an addiction from a pain clinic.

The raids were made by more than 400 federal, state and local officers, who fanned out in an orchestrated sweep that shut down some of the busiest and best known pain clinics in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties. Agents with federal search warrants also raided and seized boxes of documents at 15 other clinics.

"We have indicted doctors and clinic owners who are acting as drug dealers," said Wilfredo Ferrer, U.S. Attorney for South Florida.

The raids were run by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Broward Sheriff's Office, Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office and police departments from four cities. Florida Department of Health inspectors were on hand to initiate disciplinary actions against doctors and owners.

The raids ratchet up the campaign against rogue pain clinics that officials said have doled out upwards of 15 million tablets per year of the the narcotic oxycodone, many to drug runners who stream down Interstate 95 from other states. Pill mills are called a major cause behind the deaths of seven Floridians a day from prescription drug overdoses.

Local police have been arresting addicts, who snort or smoke the drugs in pill mill parking lots. The state has disciplined doctors for excessive pain pill prescriptions. But Wednesday's raids go after those making big money from the drug sales, officials said.

Colangelo and six others who ran his centers were charged with trafficking more than 660,000 doses of narcotic pills in one year. They were accused of marketing the clinics on 1,600 Internet sites, making profit by selling pills at their own locations and charging each patient $250 cash per visit.

Only one doctor who works at Colangelo's clinics was arrested, but DEA Special Agent Mark Trouville, chief of the South Florida operation, said more arrests are coming. Undercover agents have made 340 buys of pain pills from 60 doctors and 40 clinics, only a fraction of which were raided Wednesday, he said.





In Oakland Park, a physician and several medical personnel in scrubs were handcuffed during a morning raid at Colangelo's high-volume Commercial Medical Group clinic, which was popular with out-of-state pill seekers.

"We're so happy all this is happening," said Julie DePasquale, a clerk at German Bread Haus two doors away. "I'll feel safer coming to work at 7 o'clock in the morning. The druggies are out there like the night of the living dead, waiting for that place to open. It's scary."

In Delray Beach, police arrested Dr. Zvi Harry Perper, the Broward medical examiner's son, at busy Delray Pain Management where the son is listed as the owner on state registration documents. Also arrested was the manager, Kent Murry, who had opened the clinic in 2009 and also trafficked in pain pills, prosecutors said in the charges.

After a 10 a.m. raid, Perper was led out in handcuffs and beige medical scrubs and escorted to a police car. One of many reporters watching the raid shouted a question, asking Perper if he thought this day would ever come.

"No," he said, refusing to comment further. Perper began working at the pain clinic after he was fined $10,000 by the state in 2008 for a botched abortion in Orlando, according to state records.

In Lake Worth, Dr. Robert Elessar was arrested at his 45th Street Medical pain clinic. Dr. Carlos Gonzalez Jr. was arrested at North Palm Beach Pain Management in Lake Park, along with the owners, Anthony Laterza and Donna Palemire.

The raids stem from pill mill investigations run by a multi-agency task force formed in 2009 at the DEA's local headquarters in Weston. Also involved were state and federal insurance fraud investigators and the Internal Revenue Service.

Some of the raided clinics have been under investigation for more than a year, officials said, and have supplied millions of narcotic pills to drug dealers and addicts across the Southeast.

South Florida has long been an easy source for pain pills, but a cottage industry of rogue pain clinics sprang up in Broward and Palm Beach counties over the past few years. At the peak, an estimated 300 pain clinics operated in the two counties, although it's now closer to 220.

blamendola@tribune.com or 954-356-4526


[/b]

Joey Merlino is a good looking guy. Kinda looks like John Stamos.

What does Carmela think?

Philly, this is what Paciello has been up to lately:

Sofia Vergara's South Beach Story: Chris Paciello's a 'dangerous thug'



Things may be back to normal for Modern Family bombshell Sofia Vergara and her Delray Beach-based fiance Nick Loeb, but Vergara isn't too thrilled with her former flame turned friend, reformed Miami club kingpin Chris Paciello, whom she called "a dangerous thug" on Twitter.

According to SoFlo political blog The Shark Tank, the whole New Year's Eve dustup at the newly opened Story nightclub was a lot messier than reported. Vergara's party of 17 was given a tiny table this close to Fereidoun ‘Fred’ Khalialian, who has a substantial rap sheet of his own. Says Shark Tank, "When one of Loeb’s party-goers inadvertently backed into space perceived by Khalialian’s bodyguards to be theirs, he was physically ejected back to the Loeb table causing substantial tension between the two celebrating parties." When Vergara and Loeb tried to diffuse the tension, "two oversized security men tackled Loeb and wrestled him to the floor. Loeb, a tall 220 lbs made like Daniel Craig to fight off the thugs. Club owner Paciello jumped on top of this dog pile in an additional attempt to subdue Loeb. When Vergara realized that Loeb had been assaulted she entered the fray where upon two more bodyguards tackled her, tearing her dress. Vergara struggled to her feet and left the club." Yikes. While some may say this is hearsay, Vergara herself endorses the story via Twitter.

A source very close to her told us "Sofia will never speak to [Paciello] again. He begged her to come to the club and then he had no table for her. He used her for all the press for the club." Vergara was a good friend of Paciello's during his own troubles and allegedly put up her house for his bail money way before she was a big star, visited him in prison, and, most recently of course, hosted (pro bono) the New Year's party at the Delano where Paciello is a consultant for nightlife conglomerate The Light Group. We contacted Paciello, who said he did not want to comment.

: http://blogs.herald.com/scene_in_the_tro...l#storylink=cpy

Big Fella,

My guess is he stays down here, Florida has many more business opportunities for guys with Joey's particular set of skills and there are fewer eyes watching the store. In this day and age the smart move would be to stay in Florida IMO.

Doesn't do a thing for me. I wouldn't look twice at him on the street.

Would be interesting if any of the local Philly rags look for pics of merlinos return to philly .. Would sell some papers at least ..
I'm sure George A and Dave S will catch wind of sightings .. George at least will - he did that interview with Joey.

Thank you NNY very interesting stuff. I love Sophia she is gorgeous lol.

Me Either I'd be on the beach looking for Uncle Jessie.

I think Merlino will stay in Fla. There are more business opportunities- legal and illegal plus the social scene is so much nicer. I also think he is too smart to get involved with the rat Pacillo. While his parolee ends, you can be sure he is still being watched carefully by law enforcement so I doubt he will make any big moves right away.

He's a household name. He has a bunch of hanger-on's that can support him legitimately. He would never get involved with Paciello. They've already had an encounter at an NBA game and Paciello said to him "I know you did the right thing and I didn't".

Yea I read that they had ran into each other.

Most recent info I could find

WHY BOCA?

So why Boca Raton, a place without real cheese steaks, Mummers and the Eagles?

Organized crime experts say that Merlino, one of the many Teflon dons who have beaten multiple murder raps, has a better shot of staying under the radar in Boca. He was high-profile in Philly, with an entourage of pretty women and bodyguards. He was always followed by police and undercover agents.

Richard Mangan, a professor at Florida Atlantic University’s School of Criminology, said Merlino is no stranger to South Florida. At one time, he was part of Nicodemo “Little Nicky” Scarfo’s regime in Philadelphia. Scarfo owned a home in Fort Lauderdale, and Merlino is among those whose photo was taken on Scarfo’s boat, the “Casa Blanca,” also known as “The Usual Suspects.’’

Mangan said it’s likely Merlino has been in charge of the family all along, even from prison.

“The speculation is that yeah, why wouldn’t he be running things, especially in this digital age,” Mangan said.

According to various media reports, Merlino has talked about getting into the restaurant business. In August, Don Michael Petullo, a former Las Vegas businessman who worked in the casino industry, registered a company, DNS Inc., at Merlino’s Boca Raton address. Petullo, who could not be reached for comment, doesn’t appear to be in the carpet business.

In February, a confidential FBI memo was leaked by the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks that said Merlino “appears to be restoring and developing significant relationships for a potential South Florida crew,” and that he was getting involved in gambling/bookmaking activities.

Then in May, a detention memo filed by prosecutors referenced a secretly recorded conversation among New Jersey mobsters discussing Merlino’s status in the organization as the man in charge who would decide, after his release from prison, which candidates would be initiated into the mob. Joseph “Uncle Joe” Ligambi, up until then considered the top boss, is recorded as saying Merlino would “make” the guys he wants. Ligambi is now in prison.

INVITING TROUBLE

A former boss of one of Florida’s crime families, now retired, said Merlino is inviting trouble by moving to Boca.

“I don’t know who he thinks he is, but it’s stupid, very stupid,” said the ex-mobster, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “Why Boca? He could go anywhere, Phoenix, even Central Florida.” Boca, he said, will only create more police scrutiny of his dealings. “Boca is just too hot for someone like him.”

The old-timer said the brash and brazen Merlino will not be welcomed by the local La Cosa Nostra.

“I guarantee you that there are people out there who won’t want him,” he said.

New York’s five organized-crime syndicates — the Gambino, Genovese, Bonanno, Colombo and Lucchese families — have always considered Florida to be “open,” with no family claiming exclusive rights to operate.

But many of the older bosses have either gone to jail or are dead. In the old days, the guys didn’t want to attract attention, but young turks like Merlino enjoy the limelight, said the old boss.

During the time he was in prison, Merlino reportedly spent a lot of time in the gym, bulking up. Meanwhile, the mob was led by Ligambi, although speculation among law enforcement is that Ligambi was actually a figurehead for Merlino.

Merlino, released in 2011, served time in a Boca Raton halfway house before being freed.

If he is running the Philadelphia mob, he is likely doing so through associates still living in Philly and South Jersey, according to the confidential FBI memo. Merlino is prohibited from associating with known felons and is still on federally supervised release.

“The word we got is Joey has a benefactor, he has somebody pumping money into him. How else could he get out of prison and move into a $400,000 house and drive a Mercedes?,’’ LaPenta said. “It’s trouble for South Florida in the sense that because Joey is there, others will follow.”

www.miamiherald.com

Yea I read that article before thank you for that.

I'm sure he had to have some kind of money put away but he has to be getting some kind of payments from somewhere.

I love Dunkin Donuts, how's the food at Josie's?

Princess, Josie's has great food, everything is homemade and their eggplant is outstanding. Nice family place.

Is it true that Merlino is only 5-04 tall?

Let's just look at the cost of things in a regular family costs 18,000 a year for major medical and small retirement plan.
23,100 In taxes just my two property's house and ski house .
70,000 a year is what is spend on gas food eating out clothes ect.not counting family vacations.not counting anything no income propert's or businesses,or Roth IRA,or stocks ,just living"
24,000 a year if he has a nice car. ins and payment.Now if he does not own any primary residence then he is paying that tax figure in his wife and kids house and his own easy pays that.Now if you add his wife and kid those figures climb.My wife spends 50,000 a year on her self and the kids and grand kids.But if everyone thinks his bro in law is handing him everything well maybe he is.

This guy is and was the boss no one unseated him and he did not give it up,And if he was unseated you all would know by now .He has and is getting kicked....

So i guess it will not be long before we see who has and was passing that up,cos he will see the the guys that do when it is lifted...

Yup very true.

Belmont, yes He is a little over 5 feet tall, he has bulked up quite a bit. When I saw him at the restaurant he was clean cut and had a nice suit on, if you didn't know who he was you would of thought he was just another working stiff. I didn't know whether to take my time eating or get the hell out of there lol.

Interesting that he really is that short. Lots of bosses were short: caro gambino, casso. Tony ducks, salerno, scarfo , and alot of others. Amazing how a guy 5 ft -06 can have a 6 ft -02 guy who weights 275 pounds in the palm of his hand.
As far as the bulk, he is probably heavily into fitness, jail can do that. He may even be getting hormone replacement therapy.

@NNY78

Check your pm.

Very true Serp . If you asked me 10 years ago how happy I would be $ wise with my current income and very quickly I would of said Very , my lord would I have answered that question wrong , it's amazing how much it costs to live today, $100k isn't even middle class anymore , it's crazy .

anyway how large can those envelopes really be today, especially if he has to share it with uncle L, his acting by all accounts . What is really left in Philly outside of gambling and sharking , which I'm sure was a lot when they the city plus AC and not too mention some real $ being made in north jersey, they really were players in the sports biz but from what I have heard ( which could be totally wrong lol ) , their market share has been eroded. South jersey really is big $, a lot of betting, not much law enforcement, but the word got out I guess and others moved in I believe . I get the feeling Joey is living off some rich guys just wanting the connection , but who knows I could be very wrong. I do think you are spot on with the pecking order , and maybe now that he has some breathing room there could be some tension from the top that there needs to be more, when in reality there probably isn't .

The reason all the bosses are short is because there good at ducking the law

Galante, Amuso, D'Arco, Persico, Orena....

Castellano, Gotti and Gigante must have felt like they were in China, and they weren't even that big!

Psychopaths like De Meo, Pitera, Rosenberg and Spilotro are further proof that bigger isn't necessarily tougher.

Hey carmela what about chris paciello do u think he was good looking back when he was hanging with jlo and madonna?

The New Jersey law enforcement is the absolute worst. Especially when you come from Philly. Philly guys grew up hating jersey drivers and jersey cops. They are both the worst. Lol

Good looking mobsters in no particular order

Anthony Senter (Prettyboy)
Joey Testa (That shit eating grin)
Phil Leonetti (Needs to shave his chest though)
Joe Butch Corrao (Got that James Bond thing going)
Louis Daidone (Got that Bruce Springsteen thing going)
Allie Boy Persico (Looks like an upper middle class jock)
Nino Gaggi (Aged very well)
Dominick Montiglio (Aged very badly)
Sammy Gravano (Kinda good looking)
Frank LoCascio (Great teeth)
Lucky Luciano (Smouldering)

Agree or disagree, Carmela and other ladies of the forum?

Maybe he was/is good looking to other women, but again, he does nothing for me.

Out of Moe's list there, the only one I like is a young Phil Leonetti. He's pretty nice looking in that one black/white photo that always gets thrown up. I like him in that pic a lot.

I love how everyone speculates where he gets money from. He was the boss of a family and probably still is. What do you think when he went to prison he just gets nothing anymore. Also it's clear as day he is still boss.

Gambling is so big out here in south Jersey and Philly it's insane. There is plenty to go around.

Also south Jersey is wide open out here as far as law enforcement. There is soo much going on that if your not a drug dealer you can do whatever you want. Obviously people are gonna tell though so you're never really safe anywhere. South Jersey is a gambling mecca though there is probably more books operating out here then anywhere besides NY and north.Jers

DB: I do not know what there financial structure is but i would guess to think that most would come from sports book and drugs ,poker machines,high end card games,shy,

Now the most coming from drugs even if you don't count the millions in cocaine ,heroin ,ecstasy ,
You still have millions in marijuana,i know guys back in the 80s that were grossing millions in marijuana per year.
And if he just has a few big fish moving the high grade they would be dealing with a sure bet .
The clientele are very reliable,educated,stable income ,that's the kind of bizz that you can count on to make money to stand the test of time.and the money is great ,if he had 3 people good at there jobs, two thousand a week from each is easy.
And no shit heads to deal with,usually hard working 20 to 60 year old's as customers.And those figures were 30, 40 years ago, I hear now the shit is like GOLD....

But nobody does that, that is illegal (that would support a life in Boca driving Rovers ect.)

Just curious how you say its clear as day. If its clear as day to you then he is doing somehting wrong.

Forgettaboutit guys from jersey hate them to

Haha good to hear dellacroce lol

The chubby Merlino, not Joe, prob does very well if they still have the new jersey gambling licenses. I was pissed when the online card sites went down.

Does chubby joey know how to do the "Dougie?"

FBI surveillance tape with ligambi introduced as "acting boss" and saying himself that joey can make someone himself. If that's not clear as day I dunno what is. Honestly it seems like you are trolling I'm not sure

The only way Joey Merlino isn't boss is if he has a bunch of D*ck riding sugar daddy's paying for his house, car, bills, wife/kids, and his expensive lifestyle. Merlino and Mazzone might be really tight, but I know I wouldn't be sending him a damn thing if he was just my good friend that was boss while I was the underboss. Maybe help him out when he came home or help him out in a jam but that's about it.

The rules says a boss is a boss until he's not a boss, that means merino gets paid, show proof that he's not involved anymore, remember he was in pills for a good while when his father died, their was barely any electricity and most of the lights was out, he could have held meetings, made guys etc

The evidence that merlino is official boss is vastly overrated.

1. He could easily be living his current lifestyle through money saved during his tenure whilst on the street or through wealthy mafia groupies for numerous reasons.

2. Ligambi being introduced as acting at the Gambino meet indicated nothing. The Genovese family haven't had an official since chin. But they've had several acting eg Daniel Leo.
Just because Ligambi was acting doesn't make Merlino official.

3. That guys on the street in Philly would be working the grind day to day risking the can just to send Merlino who's sunning himself in Florida a fat envelope every month is reaching at best. Would you?

4. The guy would have to be clinically insane to think he has a chance in hell of not getting put away again if he resumed his position. He's already done a 10 stretch. He's not stupid enough to not know it's over for him if he returns.
And this crap about he's OG through and through? Living large in Miami beats the shit out of being an OG in a box in supermax Colorado. And joey knows this.

The only reason i question if merlino is still in the game is due to him offering to sell his life story for a book or movie. If you were on the streets, would you be sending a lathe chunk of change to a guy that was thinking about writing a tell all about his life?
He probably did get " back pay' for going in the can as a boss and standing tall. He probably did get a lot of money.

Belmont, Can you post the article about the book, I would like to read that thanks.

Some of you make some legit points but when you have he acting boss saying clear as day on tape to "let joey make them when he gets out" I think it's pretty clear. What other reason or circumstance would the acting boss of a family ever say that?

this

I do remember reading it. George anastasia also talked about it. You can google it, should be easy to find. I will search as well for you.

If I was him I'd stay in Florida, as most people said above, lot more oppurtunities there. Thus now FBI is more on the Russians asses there in Florida, so he can operate pretty well his rackets.

Sonny is completely right. The feds have a hard on for him and he would be a lunatic to taking the official role again. Whether he is still involved, semi-retired or officially retired might not be something we know for a few more years. The whole selling his story thing and trying to do TV was something that made me think he was retired, but who knows.

Well put, Nicky. I don't follow Philly too closely. But it's safe to say that if he's still involved, he's going back to jail. For a long time. You can't be under the microscope that he's under and stay out of trouble for very long (if you're still committing felonies).

hes under the microscope currently,wikileak leaked the doc...had the website they were betting and everything, will see if i can find

http://english.al-akhbar.com/sites/default/files/10393_FBI%20Identifica_0.pdf

(U//LES) Sisto relocated to Florida and used to run with Merlino’s crew in Philadelphia. He is
related to USPER Steven Mazzone, a caporegime in the Philadelphia LCN crime family.
Analyst Note: Ligambi may appoint Mazzone as the new boss.

(U//LES) Merlino is building a relationship with an identified, wealthy and well-connected
individual who is allegedly getting a Rolls Royce for Merlino. The same individual is
purportedly going to buy a one million dollar home in West Palm Beach, Florida for Merlino.

interestingly enough and if things couldnt get weirder in mafioso land it looks like he hooked up with Tumac's kid who is a Luchese soldier, especially with Jr's trial and him trying to take over philly for the Luchese's

Great find Cheech.

Is Anthony Accentturo Jnr stood on? Naming his company 'Like Father Like Son, LLC'.
Excuse the language but what, a, fucking, retard. Why not call it 'Hey Feds please investigate my ass, LLC' or 'Luchesse family industies florida branch, LLC'.

Jeezus some of these guys....

Cheech Im not sure where you're spending your days but the above looks suspiciously like an Al-Quaeda website.

'Al-Akbar'?

Just because its arabic its Al-Quaeda related? Wow. I hope you're joking.

Of oourse he was joking.

But just for the record, are you Arabic or a self hating white liberal?

Now THAT was a joke .

Is Florida considered a open zone for mafia? I would think you step on other people's toes like the Gambinos when Philly just up and starts a independent crew there. Plus I don't know how running a crew in florida with the FBI up your ass is any safer or more profitable than just taking the offical role as boss in philly.

As for the document, seems like a bunch of guess work and what-if scenarios. Still interesting stuff tho.

Yes.


Exactly. Like Vinny Artuso's crew is just gonna bow down because Prince Joey showed up.


It's not. A high profile guy on the Federal radar is gonna end up with legal problems wherever he goes. There are more interstate grand jury subpoenas served between New York and Florida than any other two states in the nation.

I'm actually neither. I wasn't in any way offended, but it would have just been plain out stupid on his behalf if he was serious. Good joke however.

Well i guess it can be looked at any way, if he is committing felonies or running a crew or family in Florida or Philly it is the same FBI that we all agree that are out for him.
This is not just him the Feds have it out for anyone that's connected to a mafia case. The limelight and promotions they receive from a mob case.

i had a funny joke but now a days you cant fool around, especially on a public board

respect to you sonny b

see what I did there PB, Im learning

Yeah and when a politician is in the limelight more then likely there charges are DROPPED

/me chuckles.

Ah shenanigans.

Geeze If you want to ever find out anything about these guys, ALL of their personal info is on here. Cells, SSN, Address...

By that logic every mobster would retire after there first long stint in prison. These guys have a different mentality than noncriminals. Look at guys like Peter Limone or Sonny Franzese.

The difference is Ted, he's the boss, not just 'another mobster'.

Just 'another mobster' wouldnt be tasting bryll cream 24/7 (Uncle Junior shoutout).

Well then again, by that logic no mobster would want to be boss. Yet we still have guys like Crea, Cefalu and Mancuso (who was named boss while still in prison). And I'm sure Mazzone would jump at the opportunity to become boss if Ligambi has retires and Merlino has quit the mob life.

You're right.
Because we have bosses no mobster would rationally retire.
Because we have mobsters who've done prison stints, everyone's still in the game.

Crea proves that Merlino's still in the game.
You know, by logic n all.

Ted,

The LCN appear to be moving into more and more semi-legit businesses that involve fraud,scams and tax evasion, white collar stuff, that have low sentencing guidelines if convicted.

I maybe proved to be naive but I'm more apt too believe he isn't boss and isn't getting envelopes

That's not what I'm saying AT ALL. So quit the strawman arguments. I'm just refuting your argument where you suggest that Merlino quitting the life is the only logical prediction simply because he knows that he has high chance of going back to prison. Merlino is a criminal. The US has a recidivism rate of over 60% (probably a lot higher amongst Mafia members), so how is it hard to believe that Merlino could go back to Philly and pick up where he left off?

I was being facetious granted. But the point is valid.

I was merely insinuating that the obvious logical choice would be for Merlino to retire. And thats the most probable outcome based on my previous listed reasons.

You responded with what I thought was a ridiculous line of reasoning ("By that logic all mobsters who do long stints in prison should retire") which I took to the enth degree to illustrate the flaws in your reasoning.

He did a decent chunk of time probably made a few new connections legit or not plus support from phila and wannabe's down in florida he can mooch off all these humps especially all his new yuppie friends in florida

Anyone heard of the secret mobster band called Retire to Florida?

I have read that the 5 families and the Philly LCN are active in South Florida in traditional rackets as well as semi legit businesses like telemarketing scams, high end prostitution rings, the construction industry, the mortgage industry, online and off shore gambling like the cruises to nowhere, medical clinics that provide weight loss, pain management and mens clinics that provide viagara and other ED meds. An emerging market may be with these outpatient suboxone clinics popping up all over down here, its low overhead and high profit margins and unfortunately ripe for insurance fraud.I would be interested to hear from some of the more experienced posters on if it is still open territory or organized on some level.

I never heard of any of the guys who are said to be in Merlino's Florida crew as far as being guys on the street. Any other Philly guys hear of any of them? I can imagine this is a far reach for the Feds to think that guys from South Philly who relocated to Fla have to now be part of a crew with Joey. I highly doubt Joey would trust what appears to be perhaps wannabes with no real bones made with his freedom.

There was just a big raid down in Florida on the mills seems like they do a big raid every year or every 2 years. Those towns in the Palm Beaches are all recovery towns and there is plenty of fraud that goes on.

It's a scam to a degree I guess it's what you can say is legit on paper but highly unethical. They use plenty of like mob tactics too implement these rehab centers and pain mills.

The biggest part of the scam in a rehab is making it a non hardship facility so when people might pay a bill or two or three the insurance wouldn't cover legally the receipet isn't going to have to pay the bills. But you literally sign over of attorney to an admin., can't use a phone for a week, must right your phone contacts down meanwhile employers who have interacted with you will call people on your call list..gran parents,wife, gf,bf,friends ,boss,co-workers, etc...to make things worse then they seem to try and keep you there longer. If they know if you have to be there legally then their really be "padding" your insurance bill.

The rehab scam LOLLL!!! I can think of a few little Guineau F*cks I'd like to lock up as schizophrenic / special needs / pathological liars.. Ok guys enough talk about Joey let's find a new person to talk sh*t about.

Princess, Here is one example, this is shameful.

California rehab clinics bill taxpayers for fake clients, addictions



Jul 29, 2013

Will Evans
Government Oversight Reporter

Christina Jewett
Health and Welfare Reporter


Victoria Byers did not drink alcohol. She did not abuse drugs. But when she was a teenager in foster care, several times a month, she would board a van at her group home and go to rehab.

Byers couldn’t figure out why she had to take drug tests and sit in group therapy sessions on addiction at So Cal Health Services, a clinic tucked in an office park in Riverside, Calif.

“And I told them, you know, ‘Why should I be here? I have no drug issue,’ ” said Byers, now a slow-to-smile 22-year-old.

The director of Byers’ group home confirmed Byers was clean but said she sent all six girls under her care to the clinic because she didn’t have enough staff to separate those with substance abuse problems.

The arrangement was strange. It was also a scam.

So Cal Health Services was ripping off taxpayers, part of a pattern of fraud by rehabilitation clinics that collect government funding to help the poor and addicted, a yearlong investigation by The Center for Investigative Reporting and CNN has found. The investigation, which included undercover surveillance and stakeouts, uncovered a rehab racket that continues to this day.

Thousands of pages of government records and dozens of interviews with counselors, patients and regulators reveal a widespread scheme to bilk the state’s Medicaid system, the nation’s largest. Witnesses to the fraud laid out its inner workings in minute detail, some speaking of it publicly for the first time.

In the underbelly of the Drug Medi-Cal program, clinics pad client rolls by diagnosing people like Byers with addictions they don’t have. They round up mentally ill residents from board-and-care homes to sit in therapy sessions they can’t follow. They lure patients in from the street by handing out cash, cigarettes and snacks. They have patients sign in for days they aren’t there.

One Inglewood clinic fabricated notes and billed for “ghost clients” who never came in. They couldn’t show up, a counselor discovered: Some were behind bars; one was dead.

Even caught red-handed, operators have polished techniques to ward off official scrutiny and keep the money flowing. One Los Angeles County clinic director lodged a complaint against a government auditor, and another called on a local lawmaker for help. In both cases, it worked.

The populous Los Angeles region is one of the nation’s top hot spots for health care fraud, and former state officials agree it is also ground zero for the rehab racket.

Drug Medi-Cal paid out $94 million in the past two fiscal years to 56 clinics in Southern California that have shown signs of deception or questionable billing practices, representing half of all public funding to the program, CIR and CNN found. Over the past six years, more than half a billion dollars have poured into the program statewide.

Following a year of public records requests and questions from CIR and CNN, state regulators announced a crackdown in mid-July. The action came two and a half weeks after reporters submitted a final list of their findings.

The state Department of Health Care Services temporarily suspended 16 clinics suspected of flouting the law and pledged to tighten oversight. Officials would not identify the targeted clinics, saying the information would compromise the investigation.

But veteran operators have become adept at sidestepping trouble.

Among them was Tim Ejindu, who ran the clinic where Byers was sent.

Nearly one-third of the foster children who showed up at Ejindu’s clinics in Riverside and Pomona had no drug or alcohol problem, estimated TaMara Shearer, a former addict who worked as a supervisor.

“Any loopholes, he knows how to find them. I’ve watched him do it,” Shearer said. “He thinks Americans are dumb.”

Under pressure to diagnose teenagers with fake addictions, counselors at the clinics reverted to racial stereotypes, according to Shearer. They labeled white teens as alcohol drinkers and black or Latino teens as marijuana smokers, she said.

Ejindu did not respond to an interview request or a letter outlining allegations against him. When contacted by reporters at his clinic, he declined to answer questions, closing the clinic door and refusing to reopen it.

Joy Jarfors, a manager with the state Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs until she retired in 2010, said “fraud and abuse (are) rampant” in the system.


Joy Jarfors, a former manager with the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs, says “fraud and abuse (are) rampant” in taxpayer-funded drug rehab.

I’m not the employee anymore that has to look at this every day, but I’m a taxpayer that knows that this is going on,” Jarfors said. “It angers me. And there’s story after story after story about Medicaid dollars being cut from people who need the services.”

The cost of failing to treat addicts is high. Drug overdose and excessive alcohol consumption are among the top causes of premature death in Los Angeles County, killing two people nearly every day. Statewide, the Legislative Analyst’s Office has found taxpayers spend more than $1 billion a year on hospital stays related to substance abuse for those on Medi-Cal.

The rehab centers promise a chance to start over in their very names, which include phrases like “new hope,” “new beginning,” “renew” and “U-turn.” But they don’t always deliver.

Vredette Hawkins was one woman who could have used some help. The South Los Angeles mother of four smoked marijuana and was under scrutiny from child welfare officials, she said, after someone accused her of using methamphetamine.

She went to a nearby Drug Medi-Cal clinic a year ago to get counseling for depression. She encountered a chaotic free-for-all, a clinic filled with people who came only because they wanted money.

At Basen Inc., clients received $5 each time they showed up, she said. Hawkins said counselors often abandoned group therapy sessions after 15 minutes, leaving clients to chat about sexual exploits and getting high. Two former Basen employees also told CIR that the clinic paid clients, although one said that the practice stopped amid worries about getting caught.

A county investigation last year found “extremely serious violations,” such as falsified paperwork, but couldn’t substantiate allegations that Basen was paying clients.

“The only one that’s basically benefiting from all this,” Hawkins said, “is … the person that’s running the program.”

Bassey Enun-Abara, the counseling center’s executive director, said he does not pay clients and disputed Hawkins’ description of the clinic. “I can’t believe a client would tell you that,” he said.

As director of the state Department of Health Care Services, Toby Douglas has primary responsibility for Medi-Cal, including the rehab system. Douglas, appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown in 2011, declined repeated interview requests.

Douglas’ boss, Secretary Diana Dooley of California’s Health and Human Services Agency, also declined interview requests. Approached by CNN in June outside a public meeting in Sacramento, Dooley headed for a restroom, which was locked.

She then said: “The state of California takes fraud very seriously, and there are many investigations that are underway. The allegations – all allegations are given full and fair consideration.”

Dooley added that her agency’s fraud and investigation unit is “one of the best in the country.” She ended the brief conversation with, “That’s all I have to say.”

Asked again whether Douglas would sit down for an interview, as she stepped into an elevator, Dooley put her hand over CNN’s camera and called for security. Later, her spokesman offered a sit-down interview with Douglas if CNN discarded the footage of Dooley. CNN and CIR would not agree to that condition.

A month later, Douglas announced his crackdown.

The agency’s chief deputy director, Karen Johnson, declined to discuss accusations about specific clinics and acknowledged that the state does not yet “know the expanse of the problem.”

Unreachable clients

Addiction counselor Tamara Askew discovered something wrong soon after she started working at Pride Health Services in Inglewood, southwest of downtown L.A., in 2009.

Addiction counselor Tamara Askew says that when she worked at Pride Health Services, her clients included people in jail and one who was dead.

Askew grabbed a stack of files and began contacting patients to introduce herself. That was harder than she had figured.

Some were in jail, Askew said. Several never showed up. One man she reached out to was dead.

“After that, it was like, ‘Are you kidding me?’ ” Askew said in an interview. “God rest his soul but, I’m like, ‘How are you billing (for him)?’ ”

When it came time to bill Drug Medi-Cal for services rendered, Askew said her boss, Godfrey Nwogene, wanted her to submit paperwork showing that all of those clients, living and dead, had been attending counseling sessions.

The more clients Pride Health Services reported treating, the more money it could charge the government.

“He basically said, ‘How do you think you’re going to get paid?’ ” Askew said.

When Askew would not sign off on billing for clients she hadn’t seen, her boss unplugged her computer, she said, and told her to leave.

Askew sued Pride, claiming she was fired for refusing to falsify records. Pride Health Services contended in court filings that Askew was laid off because there wasn’t enough work. Askew and Pride eventually settled, and a judge ordered the clinic to pay her $15,500.

Pride Health Services Executive Director Godfrey Nwogene, shown in a mug shot from an unrelated arrest in 2003, appealed to a Los Angeles County politician for help after allegations of billing fraud at his rehabilitation clinic. Pride has continued receiving public funds.

The clinic kept reaping more than $800,000 annually in government funding, despite persistent allegations of fraud and serious violations documented by auditors.

This year, a whistle-blower told Los Angeles County officials that Nwogene still was billing for “ghost clients.” When confronted by county regulators, Nwogene and his staff denied wrongdoing.

Without hard evidence, auditors couldn’t substantiate the allegations. They might have had more luck if they had visited Pride on a Wednesday.

Inside Pride’s Inglewood clinic, between a dairy mart and a gas station on busy Crenshaw Boulevard, a small lobby was empty April 3, save for artificial plants and a 1990s-era anti-alcohol poster.

A receptionist told reporters there were no counseling sessions that day.

The office offered no group therapy on Wednesdays, she specified, in an exchange caught on a video camera hidden in a watch.

Yet billing records obtained by CIR and CNN show that Pride Health Services charged taxpayers for counseling 60 people at the clinic that day, at a cost of about $1,600. The clinic was reimbursed for 62 patients the following Wednesday as well.

Nwogene, whose salary has reached as high as $120,000 a year, did not respond to requests for an interview or to a letter seeking responses to specific allegations. When reporters asked for him at Pride’s Inglewood clinic, a staffer denied wrongdoing. Workers then called police and closed the office mid-day.

Fake diagnoses among foster children

In California’s public drug rehab program, clients equal cash. State and federal taxpayer money flows to the local privately run clinics based on the number of people they serve. The counseling is free to those on Medi-Cal.

California spent nearly $186 million on the program in the past two fiscal years, according to figures from the Department of Health Care Services. That doesn’t include methadone clinics for heroin addicts, a separate wing of Drug Medi-Cal.

The state has the nation’s largest population of people who qualify for the benefit, a pool poised to grow sharply under the Affordable Care Act. But recent history suggests that expansion might shovel more funding to clinics that game the system.

A specialty of So Cal Health Services, the Riverside clinic to which Victoria Byers was sent, was diagnosing foster children with fabricated drug and alcohol problems and billing taxpayers for the unneeded services, according to former employees and whistle-blower complaints.

The clinic billed Riverside County between $31 and $75 for each counseling session a child attended, documents show.

“You’d have to make up a summary of them trying this drug and make up scenarios of how they tried it, how they got it,” said Nadine Cornelius, a former counselor. “It was all lies.”

Cornelius tried making her group therapy sessions educational, she said during an interview at a diner near her San Bernardino County home. But eventually, she gave up. Instead, she said she let the teenagers play bingo and watch movies.

An anonymous whistle-blower told county officials that So Cal was paying group homes for “access” to the foster children. Byers’ group home director, Angelina Farmer, told CIR that wasn’t the case.

Riverside County cut So Cal Health Services’ contract in 2010 because so many of its clients had dropped out. That failure was easier to prove than the fake diagnoses of teenagers, according to Karen Kane, the county’s substance abuse program administrator.

Kane said her agency was especially concerned that a false addiction diagnosis could negatively affect the foster children later in life.

“Our goal was to stop them from harming people and get them out of the business – and that’s what we did,” Kane said.

By then, the county already had paid So Cal $1 million, dating back to mid-2007.

Didn't Calabrese, the rat from the Family Secrets trial, finish his parole just last year?.......HEY....MAYBE THEY CAN MEET UP!!!

NNY that was a very interesting article on the rehab clinic. It's crazy how it's killing us tax payers. These people making a killing running them clinics living very comfortable.
I guess you can't knock the hustle. Someone is always up to something.

Philly, as you know Drug Treatment is big business down here in Florida. While there are mostly well run reputable treatment centers down here, the few shady treatment centers are making millions just off the drug testing they provide for the patients. The Florida Governor, Rick Scott, is even trying to get in on the action by forcing all State employees to take drug tests, he says its because its a safety issue but the real reason is he owns a chain of labs that he put in his Wife's name when he became Governor. This piece of work was the President of the Hospital Corporation of America a few years back when they were indicted for a massive Medicare fraud scam. I love this Country but the corruption in our government on every level, Federal, State and Local, is rampant.

Rick Scott and the fraud case of Columbia/HCA

By Aaron Sharockman
Published on Friday, June 11th, 2010 at 11:14 a.m.



Rick Scott’s opponents for governor are telling reporters to essentially brush off a June 2010 poll that shows the former Columbia/HCA hospital CEO beating both Attorney General Bill McCollum in the Republican primary and Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink in a hypothetical November match-up.

Focus on the fraud, they say. The fraud. The fraud.

“Rick Scott has spent $15 million in half as many weeks to fund his public image repair squad’s pricey and misleading paid media campaign,” McCollum spokesman Kristy Campbell said June 10, 2010. “It’s no surprise he has skyrocketed in the polls since Floridians are just beginning to learn about his questionable past. His lead will evaporate when Floridians learn Rick Scott oversaw the most massive Medicare fraud scheme in American history.”

Democrats added their own e-mail titled “Fraud is not a mistake,” and a 2-minute, 40-second web video called “Slick Rick.”

“Rick Scott may think that his millions of dollars will allow him to avoid answering hard questions about his record as CEO of Columbia/HCA ... but with your help we will make sure he is held accountable,” said the Florida Democratic Party’s Eric Jotkoff.

The fraud. The fraud.

PolitiFact Florida had to bite. Here we’ll focus on whether Scott’s old company, Columbia/HCA, committed fraud, and also explain Scott’s role with the company, his part in a federal investigation and the outcomes of the federal probe.

To borrow a line from Scott’s television ads — Let’s get to work.

Columbia/HCA history

Scott started what was first Columbia in the spring of 1987, purchasing two El Paso, Texas, hospitals. He quickly grew the company by purchasing more hospitals. A hospital network created efficiencies. Efficiencies created profits.

In 1994, Scott’s Columbia purchased Tennessee-headquartered HCA and its 100 hospitals, and merged the companies. When Scott resigned as CEO in 1997, Columbia/HCA had grown to more than 340 hospitals, 135 surgery centers and 550 home health locations in 37 states and two foreign countries, Scott’s campaign says. The company employed more than 285,000 people.

Now about Scott’s departure in 1997.

That year, federal agents went public with an investigation into the company, first seizing records from four El Paso-area hospitals and then expanding across the country. In time it became apparent that the investigation focused on whether Columbia/HCA bilked Medicare and Medicaid.

Scott resigned as CEO in July 1997, less than four months after the inquiry became public and before the depth of the investigation became clear. Company executives said had Scott remained CEO, the entire chain could have been in jeopardy.

At issue, Scott says, is that he wanted to fight the federal government accusations. The corporate board of the publicly traded company wanted to settle.

And settle, Columbia/HCA did.

In December 2000, the U.S. Justice Department announced what it called the largest government fraud settlement in U.S. history when Columbia/HCA agreed to pay $840 million in criminal fines and civil damages and penalties.

Among the revelations from the 2000 settlement, which all apply to when Scott was CEO:
Columbia billed Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal programs for tests that were not necessary or ordered by physicians;
The company attached false diagnosis codes to patient records to increase reimbursement to the hospitals;
The company illegally claimed non-reimbursable marketing and advertising costs as community education;
Columbia billed the government for home health care visits for patients who did not qualify to receive them.

The government settled a second series of similar claims with Columbia/HCA in 2002 for an additional $881 million.

The total fine: $1.7 billion.

Plea deals, fraud

As part of the 2000 settlement, Columbia/HCA agreed to plead guilty to at least 14 corporate felonies. A corporate felony comes with financial penalties but not jail time, since a corporation can’t be sent to prison.

Among the 14 felonies, Columbia/HCA pleaded guilty to three counts of conspiracy to defraud the United States.

Also, four Florida-based Columbia/HCA executives were indicted. Two were convicted of defrauding Medicare in 1999 and were sentenced to prison, only to have those convictions overturned on appeal. A third executive was acquitted and a jury failed to reach a verdict on the fourth.

Was Scott close to going to prison for his part in the case?

It appears not at all.

The former CEO was never indicted and was never questioned in the case, he says. He may have been a target of the investigation — an ABC News report from 1997 says he was — but that never translated into charges.

Sorting it out

Let’s boil this down.

Was Scott running Columbia/HCA when it found itself at the center of a massive federal investigation? Yes.

Did the company pay a record $1.7 billion in government penalties and fines? Yes, Columbia/HCA paid.

And as we checked in this item, did his former company commit fraud? Yes, it pleaded guilty to fraud charges as part of a settlement.

Of course, the million-dollar question is how much of the blame ultimately falls on Scott? And that’s an answer we can’t provide.

Scott was in charge so he bears some responsibility and has said so. But there has yet to come to light any detail of how much he knew, and when he knew it.

Though that won’t keep us from looking.

McCollum's campaign, in a statement, said Rick Scott's former company Columbia/HCA committed fraud. We rate the statement True.

The LCN runs a phone scam and the participants get 5 years in Jail, this piece of work Rick Scott rips off Medicare and is elected Governor. I hear after his second term ends he is going on the lecture circuit to do trainings for wiseguys on how to rip off the government and get rewarded for it.

nice post thanks : )

NNY thank you for that. If your a wealthy man and pay the government or work with them. You can do pretty much anything and get away with it, to a certain degree.

Joey is sexy as they come. It would b wise fir him to stay in Boca tho.