http://articles.philly.com/2013-10-28/ne...tplus-financial

Mob-related case heads to trial in Camden

By Julia Terruso, Inquirer Staff Writer
Posted: October 28, 2013


Five years after the FBI raided the offices and homes of lawyers and reputed mobsters, looking for evidence of a massive business-looting operation that a federal prosecutor said gave new meaning to the term "corporate takeover," the case is headed to trial.

Nicodemo Scarfo, son of infamous jailed Philadelphia mob boss "Little Nicky" Scarfo, is charged along with alleged mob associate Salvatore Pelullo in a 25-count, 107-page indictment peppered with lines from wiretapped conversations that sound like they were ripped from a mob movie script.

On Monday, potential jurors will arrive at the federal courthouse in Camden to fill out questionnaires - the first step of jury selection, expected to take two to three weeks. The trial will likely last six months.

Scarfo, 47, has been on the scene for years, known as "Mr. MacIntosh" and "Mr. Apple" for his tech-savvy cons. In May 2010, he was sentenced to 33 months in prison for running an illegal sports-betting operation.

Pelullo, 45, is an Elkins Park businessman with alleged ties to Scarfo's crime family. Prosecutors say Scarfo and Pelullo targeted the Texas financial-services company FirstPlus Financial for takeover, dismantled its board of directors, and replaced it with pawns who ran a racketeering scheme that defrauded shareholders of more than $12 million from June 2007 to May 2008.

Four lawyers and a former CEO of FirstPlus, John Maxwell, are also charged with mail and wire fraud and other charges related to the operation of the company.

The government will have to prove Scarfo and Pelullo were behind the scam, though their names appear nowhere in business documents. According to the indictment, wiretapped conversations and alias companies associated with the takeover provide evidence of their involvement.

For the lawyers on trial, legal arguments become a little more complex. New York City attorneys Gary McCarthy and David Adler, Texas attorney William Maxwell, and Scarfo's longtime criminal defense attorney, Donald Manno, will aim to prove they were working in a legal capacity - representing mobsters - and not working with them.

Some of the lawyers charged had requested separate trials, concerned that being listed on the same defendant sheet as an organized-crime figure would deny them due process.

Manno, who is representing himself, argued in legal motions for severance based partly on the fact that his main defense is inadmissable. Manno has represented Scarfo for more than a decade and was continuing in that capacity, he says. But to detail their relationship would reveal Scarfo's record to the jury.

The indictment charges that in April 2007, Scarfo and Pelullo devised a plan to take over FirstPlus and then acquired grossly overvalued straw companies to loot hundreds of thousands of dollars from FirstPlus and its subsidiaries through fraudulent consulting agreements. According to the indictment, they used the stolen money to buy jewelry, luxury cars, a yacht, and a plane.

The evidence includes 8,500 recorded conversations, one million hard-copy documents, and tens of millions of electronic files, according to court papers.

The wiretaps, some of which are quoted in the indictment, will likely make up the crux of the government's case.

In one conversation, Pelullo says, "When I get down there, every single check card that's in the company, I'm going to burn myself."

Four defendants have already pleaded guilty.

Cory Leshner, 30, a West Reading lawyer, pleaded guilty in October and is expected to be a cooperating witness in the case.

Scarfo's cousin John Parisi and Scarfo's wife, Lisa Marie Scarfo, pleaded guilty in September. Howard Drossner pleaded guilty and admitted that at the direction of Pelullo, he created false tax returns to help Lisa Marie Scarfo qualify for a mortgage.

From his jail cell in Philadelphia, Pelullo has been blogging and writing letters to Judge Robert B. Kugler, who will hear the case.

In a recent, and somewhat rambling letter, Pelullo lamented what he's missed while in prison, paraphrases Dylan Thomas, saying, "I will not go quietly into the night," and apologizes for previous behavior in court.

"If I seem brazen or rough around the edges that is who I am," he says. "Is that a crime?"

Scarfo and Pelullo also face charges of possession of an arsenal of weapons.

In May 2008, the FBI found three handguns, two rifles, a shotgun, and more than 2,500 rounds of ammunition on Scarfo's yacht, called Priceless. Both men face 30 years to life.

Thanks for posting, Kevlar. Both here and on RD. Much appreciated.

I thought you were better than that, GC.

Posting someone's real name just ain't right. It's happened to me in the past, and trust me, when it does you find yourself mentally going through every post you ever made to make sure that you didn't post "too much" about anyone.

Now if you're on a board about sports or movies or something mundane, that's one thing. But we discuss some pretty serious people here.

Bottom line: If you "out" her you might embarrass her. But at the end of the day, she has a place to go. If someone outs you, are you gonna be able to protect yourself?

When Natalie Merlino started making threats, you literally shit your pants in that thread kissing her ass and asking everyone to respect her privacy. So I can't imagine the anxiety attack you'd have if someone posted your real name here. So in all fairness, I think you should at least delete her last name (if not the whole thing)

Just something to think about .

There you happy now PB?

And believe me if your pal knew my name she would of posted it.

Wait someone can find my true identity on the internet?

Very .

And no hard feelings. I like you, GC .

The difference is that Natalie had a legit beef. I shouldn't of posted her facebook photo. She never did anything to me so i really did feel bad for her.

But your pal from day 1 has had a real hardon for me and sending me threatening PM's warning me not to fuck with her. She contributes nothing and like a snake in the grass pops up when she thinks she can score a few points. Well if thats how she wants it then thats what she'll get. I don't start shit with anyone that didn't start it first, i'm probably the most easy going person on the board. Her shit has gotten old.

Except you neglect to mention, that this is NOT your first handle on here. You were LeroyJones and then Uncle Fester, and under those handles were PMing me. After I told you off for the last time, you decided to reinvent yourself yet again, using my husband's name as your current handle.
I've contributed plenty to this board.

And you're not even man enough to carry your current name, as you folded like the spineless coward I knew you were.

Why don't you tell them your the one who told me to join this board when you got tossed off of real deal. You thought it was pretty funny.

Tell them about slick and how you got him banned. Well everyone knows it was your fault now and nobody that knows you can stand you princess.

Whats wrong princess the guys on the new board not paying enough attention to your ass. You PM everyone here telling them to join another forum yet here you are trolling like the lowlife you are.


Post some more pictures Rachel. lol!

I had no clue how to get in touch with you after RD. If anyone searches thru your first handle on here LeroyJones, they'll see the exchange between you and me and how surprised I was to see you here. Fail! Next.

Oh and Carmela must be sicilian for Tag...what a joke you are. Everyone knew who i was you idiot. I post the exact same shit on both the forums.

Tell us another story about sicily Rachel.

Your so full of shit it's funny. Keep trying Rachel.

Slick sends his love. lol

That's why when I asked, "Kev is that you?" You said,

You know all my stories and pictures b/c you've stalked my fb page, no need to repeat them.

Look princess i never dogged you on this forum, your the one who started the shit. You tell people i'm obsessed with you...lol! what a joke. I felt bad you got banned but i can now see why everyone dislikes you so much. And your a rat on top of everything else.

Goodbye Princess.

Take this stuff off the boards!

I'm a rat? Far as I can tell, you're the one dropping guys names in here.
And I never even ratted on you about posting my name in here. I knew you'd eventually fold and take it off yourself. Game. Set. Match.

Done.

Facebook? Sorry sweetie. I didn't know shit about you until the other day when someone told me who you were. Someone you think is your pal but sold you out.

I'll say it again. TAKE THIS STUFF OFF THE BOARDS!

Take care Rachel. I honestly had nothing against you until recently. But you were too stupid to know it.

Sorry SC....i'm done. My apologies to you and the others here for having to read this shit.

Carmella don't tell me your related to frank?

So everyone on these boards knows each other in real life and is Facebook buddies??....well boy am I missing out...

Not me. I'm probably one of the few people alive that doesn't have a facebook page. Never did and at this point no plans to have one in the future.

It's ok giancArlo when I was a new poster here I was on time out for a week for simply standing up for myself while Carmella relentlessly flamed me. Seems to be her thing

actually my real nickname is cheech and i have already said too much...wish i could change my handle

Oh well...so much for this thread.

But the point of the original post was that Scarfo will be in court soon and i think he's going to go down hard. I forgot about the weapon charges...those alone are bad enough to lock him up. But with his priors i bet he'll get hammered at sentencing. And after this case he has the other one coming up for the charges with the other guys from the Lucchese's. I would bet he's going down on that one too. If i was him i'd look into a plea deal, only problem is that one is a fed case and i think the other is a state case so i'm not sure if a joint plea deal is possible.

he gets life is my opinion, if not life big numbers

last name is Scarfo...and I think that had it on wire he was kicking up to Vic

Think hes gonna flip or is he gonna stay quiet like daddy?

Don't kid yourself, GC. If Scarfo was willing to cooperate (and I'm not implying that he would be), the Feds would bully the State into dropping the charges in a heartbeat. It happens all the time when they flip Federal rats. There's almost always a State charge or two to be worked into the deal.