I agree might as well go down with a fight and maybe they get lucky on a technicality, maybe they stretch it out for a few years and witness or two dies or forgets their testimony.

Remember this case many years ago,

http://articles.latimes.com/1988-08-27/news/mn-888_1_mob-trial

Apples and oranges. That case was one for the ages .

Nicky Scarfo Jr. will come out of jail a little old man. Unless of course he rats.

But, number one, I doubt he'd do that to his father.

And number two, I doubt he has anything to trade. He doesn't know shit about the New York Luccheses or the administration.

And that's a big misconception about rats, that the Feds will take just anyone. Those pricks only want you in their program if you have someone big to trade. And I doubt Nicky Jr. has anything of value to trade for his freedom (but like I said, I doubt he'd rat anyway).

Could you see the letter SR would write to his mother if his son flipped???? That would be VERY colorful writing!

agreed. and maybe, just maybe if Pellulo didnt make a mockery out of the whole thing the feds may have agreed to not mention the mafia.

but why wouldnt they. they got pellulo going to atlanta to see Sr. and calling and mailing. make sure you help uncle vic etc. it was your typical mob bust out just on a bigger scale.

Jr. was in a tough spot. easy to say he shouldve left the life. no one knows what it was like.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2014

Judge Losing Patience As FirstPlus Appeals Continue
By George Anastasia
For Bigtrial.net

Salvatore Pelulluo and Nicky Scarfo Jr. used their mob connections to intimidate and silence officials at FirstPlus Financial Group while setting up and carrying out the multi-million dollar looting of the Texas-based company, federal prosecutors contend.

And for that reason, they argue, evidence demonstrating ties to La Cosa Nostra were legitimately presented to the jury during FirstPlus fraud trail and should not be grounds for dismissing the convictions that were delivered back in July.

Scarfo and Pelullo "allowed various FPFG officials to learn of (their) affiliation with organized crime," Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven D'Aguanno wrote in a 103-page response to a defense motion asking that the convictions be dismissed and a new trial ordered.

"That knowledge caused those officials to refrain from challenging Pelullo's and Scarfo's control of the company" and allowed Pelullo and Scarfo to carry out the "takeover and looting of PPFG," the prosecutor wrote.

U.S. District Court Judge Robert Kugler has scheduled a hearing for Friday on the defense motion and government's response. Scarfo, Pelullo and brothers John and William Maxwell, who were also convicted, are scheduled to be sentenced in January.

Kugler has dismissed similar defense arguments in both pre-trial motions and during the six-month
trial. It is unlikely the judge would reverse himself, but the motions set the stage for what is likely to be protracted appeals by the defendants, all of whom could be facing lengthy prison terms.

Scarfo, 49, and Pelullo, 47, both have prior federal convictions and could be looking at from 30 years to life. John Maxwell, the former CEO of FirstPlus, and William, a lawyer retained by the company during the scam, do not have criminal records and will probably receive substantially less time.

It also appears the judge's patience is running low with regard to the constant bickering and posturing in the ongoing legal battle. In a brief letter to Michael Riley, Scarfo's court-appointed lawyer, Kugler sounded a bit miffed over a request for an extension of time requested by the defense attorney in order to review the transcript of a recent hearing. Kugler said he was surprised that review had not been undertaken before the defense began slinging its charges in post-trial motions.

"I would have hoped that before attacking the ruling of a court, one would at least review the ruling if for no other reason that to accurately depict what happened," Kugler wrote last week. "But that seems to be a theme here."

All four defendants have joined in motions seeking to have their convictions overturned and a new trial ordered. The principal defense argument is that neither the evidence nor the testimony supported the government's contention that the looting of FirstPlus was an organized crime scheme. Introducing the spectre of the mob, the defense argued, created undue prejudice and denied the defendants a fair trial.

The defense labeled the alleged scam a "garden variety white collar crime." Given the amount of money that was taken -- in excess of $12 million -- that would be quite a garden.

In response to the government's reply brief, Pelullo's lawyers continued to hammer away at the same themes, arguing in a 24-page response filed last Friday that the organized crime allegations, the alleged threats made by Pelullo to FirstPlus employees and the judge's decision to have an anonymous jury "all resulted in a miscarriage of justice."

The defense contends that the prosecution's arguments were both "inaccurate" and "contemptuous" and that the government's conclusions were "unsupportable, unreasonable and often simply ludicrous." That verbal bombardment is expected to continue when the sides square off in person in front of Kugler on Friday.

In its legal brief, the prosecution has argued that there was ample evidence to show that Pelullo and Scarfo used their mob ties to insinuate themselves into the company and to instill fear in any company official who might have raised questions about who they were and what they were doing.

While neither Pelullo nor Scarfo held any position in FirstPlus, the prosecution argued that Pelullo, an Elkins Part businessman with two prior federal fraud convictions, was the "de facto" head of the company after he and Scarfo took behind-the-scenes control by installing their own board of directors in the summer of 2007.

That "figureheard board," D'Aguanno wrote, took directions from Pelullo who was listed as a consultant but who in fact was the "de facto Chief Executive Officer."

Pelullo was described as an "associate" of both the Philadelphia crime family and the Luchese organization, a New York/North Jersey mob family. Scarfo was identified as a "made" or formally initiated member of that organization.

The government's response to the defense motion highlighted several of the key issues raised during the trial, including references to frequent meetings and phone calls in which either Pelullo or Scarfo discussed the FirstPlus scam with Scarfo's jailed father, Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scarfo, the former head of the Philadelphia mob.

The elder Scarfo, 84, was serving a 55-year sentence for racketeering and murder in a federal prison in Atlanta at the time. He was visited on almost a monthly basis by Pelullo while the scam was unfolding in 2007 and early 2008, prosecutors said. Scarfo and a fellow prison inmate, Luchese crime family boss Vittorio "Vic" Amuso were named unindicted co-conspirators in the scam.

Among other things, the prosecution contends that Amuso and the Luchese crime family were to share in the looting of the company. This was in part an obligation the younger Scarfo had to the crime family to which he belonged. It also was a payback, authorities contend, for Amuso interceding after the younger Scarfo was shot and nearly killed at Dante&Luigi's Restaurant in South Philadelphia on Halloween night 1989.

The shooting effectively ended any attempt by the elder Scarfo to control the Philadelphia crime family from prison after he was jailed in 1986. Amuso, according to testimony, arranged to have the younger Scarfo formally inducted into the Luchese organization. That membership, according to underworld protocol, made any future attempts on his life unlikely.

Prosecutors contend that one recorded conversation between the two Scarfos in which they discussed "Uncle Vic" sharing in the FirstPlus bounty was a clear reference to Amuso.

The government conceded the defense point that the FirstPlus investigation grew out of an organized crime probe into reports that the elder Scarfo, through his son and with the backing of the Lucheses and other New York mob families, was attempting in 2006 and 2007 to wrest control of the Philadelphia crime family from the anti-Scarfo group that was then in control.

The FirstPlus scam was uncovered during that probe and then became the focus of the investigation, prosecutors said. But providing the jury with the background and genesis of the case did not create undue prejudice and was not grounds for dismissing the convictions, the government argued.

Evidence of mob involvement, D'Aguanno wrote, "was also relevant to prove how the fraud was successfully concealed and to rebut the defense that the takeover...was a legitimate, albeit aggressive corporate takeover."

D'Aguanno cited testimony from a company official who said he attended the celebratory dinner in October 2007 after the Pelullo/Scarfo group had taken control following a shareholders vote that day. The dinner took place in a private room at Del Frisco's, a popular steakhouse in Dallas that Pelullo frequented.

"Pelullo was seated at the head of the table while a violinist played the theme from The Godfather," D'Aguanno wrote. "When the board member asked William Maxwell why Pelullo needed bodyguards, Maxwell explained that Pelullo did consulting work for the mob."

William Maxwell, the prosecutor said, also told the board member that he was working on a legal brief and attempt to have the elder Scarfo's conviction overturned. If he succeed, Maxwell told the board member, he "would be set for life."

"The board member's belief that Pelullo's control of FPFG was backed by (the mob) deterred the board member from contracting law enforcement officials about the defendants' scheme to defraud FPFG," the prosecutor argued.

Evidence introduced during the trial indicated that Pelullo and Scarfo took $12 million out of the company through a series of phony consulting contracts and bogus business deals. The cash was used to finance a lavish lifestyle. Pelullo bought a Bentley Continental for $217,000. He and Scarfo purchased a yacht for $850,000 and Scarfo and his then new wife, Lisa Murray-Scarfo obtained a fraudulent mortgage on a $715,000 home outside of Atlantic City.

Scarfo's wife, who pleaded guilty to a bank fraud charge, and his cousin, John Parisi, who pleaded to a fraud charge linked to one of the straw companies, are scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 17.

The case included hundreds of wiretapped conversations as well as thousands of company documents, including emails which showed, the government contends, that Pelullo clearly was directing the company.

The Maxwell brothers, according to the prosecution, were aware of what was going on and helped expedite the fraud.

The government dismissed John Maxwell's claim that he was only following the advice of legal and financial advisors hired by FirstPlus.

"With respect to the securities fraud conspiracy, Maxwell conveniently ignores the government's evidence which demonstrated that (he) clearly understood that Scarfo and Pelullo were in control of FPFG and that Maxwell knowingly falsified SEC filings to conceal that control," the government's brief reads in part.

As to William Maxwell, who was hired as a $100,000-a-month legal consultant for FirstPlus and who funneled cash to Scarfo and Pelullo through company-financed consulting contracts, the prosecutor wrote that there was "overwhelming evidence of William Maxwell's guilt, particularly from the recorded conversations and his relentless funneling of money from his attorney trust account to Pelullo and Scarfo."

In essence the government contends that while the target was a financial institution, the scam at FirstPlus was nothing more than a mob bustout scheme, similar to what organized crime figures have done for decades after taking over legitimate businesses like bars and restaurants. The bustout entails using the business's credit line to run up exorbitant bills that will never be repaid while at the same time siphoning cash and selling off assets from the company.

"Simply put," D'Aguanno wrote. "the government's evidence overwhelmingly established the involvement of organized crime in the scheme to take over and loot FPFG."

George Anastasia can be reached at George@bigtrial.net.



POSTED BY GEORGE ANASTASIA AT 11:05 AM
TRIAL: SCARFO FIRSTPLUS FRAUD TRIAL

Read more at http://www.bigtrial.net/2014/11/judge-losing-patience-as-firstplus.html#eGyup1hcQOrHTwml.99

Anybody heard anything new about the case? Are they going to have a new trial?

Scarfo Jr's lawyers hint at Russian mafia involvement in scam
There might have been some mobsters lurking behind the FirstPlus Financial fraud case, a lawyer for lead defendant Nicodemo S. Scarfo says in legal papers filed recently, but their drink of choice would have been vodka not vino.

In an apparent attempt to distant himself from co-defendant Salvatore Pelullo -- and also get a shot at a new trial -- Scarfo's lawyer Michael Riley has argued that there was an "alternative theory" to the government's organized crime pitch in the high profile case and he was denied the opportunity to present it.

Pelullo, an Elkins Park businessman with two prior fraud convictions and a Ukrainian-born wife, might have been kicking back funds from the multi-million dollar scam to Russian gangsters rather than Scarfo's Lucchese crime family, Riley wrote in a motion filed last month.

"In retrospect the connections to the Russian mob are far more substantial than those with Uncle Vic," Riley argued. The "Uncle Vic" reference is to Vittorio Amuso, the jailed boss of the Lucchese crime family who was named, along with Scarfo's father Nicodemo D. "Little Nicky" Scarfo, as unindicted co-conspirators in the looting of FirstPlus, a Texas-based mortgage company.

Riley has argued that the government's failure to disclose a parallel investigation into a group of Ukrainian-born businessmen with possible ties to both Pelullo and the Russian mob denied Scarfo a chance to offer a proper defense in the high profile trial.

The government has labeled Riley's arguments and similar claims by lawyers for Pelullo in a series of post-trial, pre-sentencing motions a fishing expedition that has nothing to do with the case. Prosecutors are scheduled to reply to the defense's latest assertions by Friday. Judge Robert Kugler has scheduled a hearing for July 17.

Riley's motion cited an FBI memo in which an unnamed informant alleged that Pelullo "loans money" to Russian mobsters. The defense attorney said that information about possible links to Russian mobsters would have provided him with an "alternative theory" to the government's position that Scarfo and Pelullo were tied to the Lucchese crime family and used those connections to intimidate officials at FirstPlus and facilitate a behind-the-scenes takeover in 2007.

Authorities allege that Scarfo, 49, and Pelullo, 47, wrested control of the beleaguered mortgage company and siphoned more than $12 million out of the company through bogus business deals and phony consulting contracts.

"The government's failure to disclose the existence of another `mob' or criminal organization with which a financial obligation could have existed, barred (Scarfo's defense) from offering an alternative explanation for unaccounted monies at trial," Riley wrote.

While taking a somewhat different approach, lawyers for Pelullo have argued that the government had an obligation to turn over details of the investigation into brothers Omelyan and Stepan Botsvynyuk because the defense might have used that information to impeach prosecution witnesses and undermine the government's theory behind the FirstPlus takeover.

Two cleaning companies controlled by the Botsvynyuk brothers -- A-Plus Cleaning and U.S. Cleaning -- at one time shared offices with cleaning companies owned by Pelullo. The Botsvynyuk companies did contract work for major department stores, including Wal-Mart, Target and Safeway.

The Botsvynyuk brothers were the target of a federal investigation that began in 2000 and ended with their convictions in 2011 on racketeering and extortion charges. Omelyan Botsvynyuk, 52, was sentenced to life plus 20 years.

Testimony at his four-week trial indicated he beat, threatened and sexually assault workers while forcing then to live in housing he provided and working six- and seven-day weeks with little or no pay. The government contended the workers were told they had to work off debts of from $10,000 to $50,000, the cost of bringing them to the United States.

Riley, Scarfo's lawyer, argued that Pelullo was at least a "subject" if not a target of the Botsvynyuk investigation and that the government had an obligation to disclose that. Riley and Pelullo's lawyer, Troy Archie, have asked for access to debriefing memos and surveillance reports tied to that case. Both lawyers have argued that information in those documents might have to used to mount a defense in the FirstPlus case and that by being denied that information the defendants were denied a fair trial.

John and William Maxwell, two brothers convicted along with Scarfo and Pelullo, have joined in the post-trial motions. John Maxwell was the CEO of FirstPlus. His brother was an attorney hired by the company. Both were convicted of helping Scarfo and Pelullo loot the company. Sentencings in the case have been put off until the end of July.

Scarfo has another battle looming in New Jersey where he remains under indictment in a organized crime-linked bookmaking case. Dubbed "Operation Heat," the investigation focused on a multi-million dollar sports betting and loansharking operation controlled by the New Jersey branch of the Lucchese crime family.

Scarfo was one of more than 30 mobsters and mob associates indicted in the case back in 2010. Six major defendants, including one-time boss Matthew Madonna and former Scarfo allies Ralph V. Perna and his sons Joseph and John Perna, pleaded guilty last month and are to be sentenced in August or September.

To date, 12 defendants in that case have pleaded guilty. Four others have died since being indicted and 18 others, including Scarfo, as still scheduled for trial.

Scarfo is representing himself in that Morris County-based case. But with a potential sentence of 30 years to life for his FirstPlus conviction, Operation Heat is not a priority for the one-time mob scion.

"He's got more to worry about," said a source familiar with the Morris County investigation.

http://www.bigtrial.net/2015/07/scarfos-lawyer-points-to-russian-mob-in.html#6j3qxuRPKV5frw4s.99

30-year term for Scarfo in fraud case


Posted: Tuesday, July 28, 2015, 3:11 PM


Reputed mobster Nicodemo Scarfo Jr. - son of Philadelphia's former mob boss "Little Nicky" - is heading back to prison, this time for 30 years, following in his father's footsteps.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Robert Kugler noted that Scarfo's conviction, for racketeering and conspiracy, was his fifth, and the second in the federal system, which warranted a lengthy term. Scarfo was convicted last summer of committing bank fraud and related offenses. Three others convicted with him also face sentencing this week.


"They stole every dollar they could get their hands on," Kugler said. "It got so bad that they had to take a loan out to pay employees."

In addition to three decades behind bars, Scarfo was ordered to pay more than $14 million in restitution for money that Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven D'Aguanno said was stolen from the Texas-based First Plus Financial.


Scarfo, 50, of Ventnor and the others were convicted after a six-month trial for the fraud that authorities said they operated from South Jersey.

On Tuesday, Scarfo's attorney, Mike Riley, suggested the bank scam did not result in permanent damage to victims. The judge disputed that.

Kugler said stockholders lost out because the thefts, with Scarfo controlling financial matters with an "iron fist," forced the company into bankruptcy.

Asked whether he wanted to address the court, Scarfo responded, "No thank you, your honor."

Apparently unfazed by the long sentence, Scarfo smiled as he was escorted out of the courtroom by federal marshals. There were no family members there to speak on his behalf. Officials said he has a 7-year-old son and a 14-year-old daughter.

D'Aguanno argued for the long sentence to serve as a deterrent to others, and to stop Scarfo who he said has spent most of his adult life in jail, on probation, or committing crime.

In 1988, Scarfo served time for assault, in 1993 for racketeering, in 1996 for illegal possession of a knife, and in 2002 for bookmaking.

While on supervised release, Scarfo began the First Plus Financial scam, collecting $33,000 plus expenses a month as a consultant, D'Aguanno said. There was no indication, D'Aguanno said, that Scarfo did any legitimate work at the firm.

D'Aguanno told Kugler that Scarfo was trained as a mob man by his father, Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scarfo Sr., who is serving a 55-year sentence on similar charges.

In a battle to control the Philadelphia mob after Scarfo Sr. was sent to prison, his son was shot several times. Joey Merlino took control, and Scarfo later started working with the Lucchese crime family in South Jersey, D'Aguanno said.

On Wednesday, codefendant Salvatore Pelullo is scheduled for sentencing for his part in the First Plus Financial scheme. Brothers John Maxwell, First Plus Financial CEO, and William Maxwell, an attorney for the company, are scheduled for sentencing on Thursday.




Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/201507...Av2cpyPcMDLW.99

30 years is crazy!

He and the family totally expected that .
The kids are the ones that are the real losers as always.
I don't get him naming his son after his father and him self.
The only thing that the boy has going for him is that they call him by a (nick name) ...

Man crime just don't pay theses days....

Dam shame that they are using his mothers address in Ventnor some are using the address from the last big pinch in Galloway Twp.

The reporters are so lazy these days they don't check before they put a persons address up that don't have a clue..

You think some of that 30 is because of his surname as well?

30 years.

All of the looters on Wall Street are laughing their asses off.

I don't really feel bad for Scarfo. His choice. I just can't believe how many white collar executives get away with control fraud with slaps on the wrists.

30yrs is a long time to go without women and steak dinners.........hope he made a lot of memories

Get used to it ..It's the way of the world.
You go out and try something ,they will ruin you life for something little if you are connected...

This is his fault. He started this while on supervised release.

I feel bad for him because of his father, but he is 50 years old now.

Scams like this hurt people. Think of the people that lost their jobs so he could loot the fucking thing.

I love that phrase "as a deterrent". To who? Does the electric chair deter murder? Recidivism is what, 75 - 80 percent? So who exactly is being deterred? The 30 year sentence is a joke. I know people who stole 10 as much and got less than 10. The kid fucked up, broke the law, no doubt. But 30?

It's 2015 white collar frauds aren't getting slaps on the wrist anymore. His record and name didn't do him any favors either.

No doubt ! But I hear it's all about guidelines that the judge follows with a repeat offender ,let alone like I said if you are connected they will blow it up !!!

You got that right. Prison is full of white collar guys. Looks like the deterrent sentences ain't working if you read the papers or spend some time locked up and see for yourself.

That's the thing, these prosecutors claim reasons for heavy sentences, when it's your points that determine the time you get. Their reasons have nothing to do with it

How long will he actually do?

Maybe he can appeal!

Let's see, if he does not appeal and chooses to accept his 30 years. He will get roughly 4 years off good time and 3 years off for his 10% supervised release. So basically he will do 23

So, he is 73 when he gets out. Look what Sonny Franzese has done at 90!

The other guy, Pellullo, he must be very upset. He goes next and should expect the same. But you know he was secretly holding out hope he wouldn't get a huge sentence. It's human nature. But now, his world has crumbled

White collar guys are absolutely getting slaps on the wrist...

Or aren't getting prosecuted at all.

Yah your right they sure went light on Bernie.

British, if you ever want to figure out a federal sentence in the US. Here's a guaranteed way.
http://federal-prison.org/sentence-calculator/

Boy, you got that right, Nicky. I know I'd be shitting my britches if I were next up on that chopping block. Ouch!

In one way, I agree. Mob guy defrauds 200k,he gets 20 years. White collar guy defrauds 20 million, gets 7. But let me tell you, there's shitloads of guys doing that 7 and more. Healthcare fraud, mortgage fraud, bankruptcy fraud, money laundering, immigration fraud (yep there is such a thing) and so much more your head would spin.