2 wise-guy suspects plead guilty

By MICHAEL HINKELMAN
Philadelphia Daily News

hinkelm@phillynews.com


Federal prosecutors appear to have obtained guilty pleas against two of the 13 defendants charged in a sweeping indictment in May against reputed Philadelphia mob boss Joseph "Uncle Joe" Ligambi and some of his top lieutenants.

A court document filed Monday in federal district court said Louis "Bent Finger Louie" Monacello, 44, and Eric Esposito, 40, both of Philadelphia, have agreed to plead guilty. Monacello was charged with conspiracy and extortion offenses. Esposito was charged with operating illegal gambling devices.

The plea documents in Monacello's case have been filed under seal, which may indicate that Monacello may be cooperating with the government.

Monacello is allegedly a top figure in Delaware County-based gambling and loan-sharking operations. He was sentenced in 2009 to 11 1/2 to 23 months in state prison. The feds said he was caught on a wiretap paying money to have Martin "Marty" Angelina, a co-defendant and a "made" man, beaten up.

Esposito allegedly was an assistant to co-defendants Angelina and Damion Canalichio. The feds say all three operated video-poker machines at a private club in South Philadelphia, the First Ward Republican Club. The club, which sometimes brought in $2,000 a day, authorities said, was not related to the Republican Party.

funny i live in pa the 11 1/2 to 23 months is the longest county sentence one can get not a state prison sentence!

You know phatmattress he was on work-release that whole time.I remember pictures of him driving around in that constuction truck

pretty clear bent finger is gonna rat.. he is isolated from everyone else in jail.. he has a sealed document.. everything pointing toward this.. im very disappointed.. if nobody flipped, this would be a weak case with weak sentences.. Lou would have done 4 yrs prob... wat a joke..

I wonder if Borgesi will flip if Monacello has the goods on him. He could bring them all down.

I wonder if Borgesi will flip if Monacello has the goods on him. He could bring them all down.

I still don't get where everybody thinks this is a weak case.If it is so weak why are the big boys being held without bail.Just because there are no murders that means its weak.Ok last time there were murders and attemtpted murders.Back in 01 Borgesi beat that but he got convicted of the gambling and extortion,etc.He got 14 years for that.So 10 years later he is facing the exact same charges,so what will he get a slap on the wrist,4 years,don't think so.Ligambi beat a murder rap when it was overturned,don't you think the feds want him.He is facing 10 - 20,there are no witnesses to casually forget its words out of their own mouth.When staino says he doesn't want to hurt you but if u don't pay he has 2 gorillas that will make sure u pay,what is he going to say the old athelete phrase ''my words were taken out of context'',come on man.

for all we know the feds played a tape to lou of ligambi planning to whack him for bringing the rat frankie the fixer around

Here come the dominos' fallin'. What a bunch of knuckle heads!

i think in lcn and mob standards this a weak case. the feds usually don't just go after gambling and stuff like they did here. they knew they could get someone to flip. they have suceded.

That's exactly what the Feds do, Phat. They target guys on the lower rungs of a criminal organization, usually on something small like gambling or perjury, and find the one weak link that will set the whole thing to crumbling like a house of cards. It's Prosecution 101. And I have to say, it worked awful fast in this case. Geez, the guy was inside for barely a month.

But seriously, this should be a lesson to some of the guys out there who believe there's still any honor in the mob life (if there was ever any to begin with). Today, these guys have their deals already worked out in their heads before they commit their crimes. When they get caught, they already have a contingency plan (a deal with the Government) to fall back on.

totally agree pizza boy. i just meant that when people are like ohhhhh they have such a strong case they usually have about 6 murders, racketeering with witnesses and the whole 9 yards. sometimes off the bat and the boss or head isn't usually charged with weak charges like uncle joe was. or atleast in MY research this has been the case although i have been known to be wrong a time or 2. this case did not start off like that, but it has fast turned in to it. uncle joe is gonna bite the big one i do believe on. the feds sure did go all 101 on philly lol

I no nobody wants to go prison,especially not in your upper years but I almost feel like Uncle Joe is playing with house-money.I mean the last 14 years he has lived large including weekends at the shore instead of being locked up at Graterford Prison in probably deplorable conditions.I have said this before how many mob guys get their murder convictons overturned.Apparantley the judge made a minor mistake and the prosecutor called the defendants ''a pack of wolves'' why that calls for a new trial ,I don't no.Gino Milano,Tommy DelGiorno,and the same witness testified exactley the same in the 2nd trial,but this time the jury found them innocent.Why?They said they were tired of government informants like DelGiorno who had been paid about 700.000 thousand dollars by the government at that time.At the 1st trial Delgiorno had only been co-operating for about 3 years,but about 11 years by the 2nd trial.And that just pissed the jury off.So Uncle Joe has had 14 years of freedom,he's very lucky to have been set free.