At least in Mousie's case, he has been shown to be a career criminal. So, it's not just this latest case but the total sum of his history.

They've had prior convictions which is why they face such harsh sentences. Massimino has spent half his adult life in prison

Ivy beat me to it

The judge will give it to him. Hes a smart judge. He went to Rutgers Law; the Harvard of New Jersey.

Who fucking cares. Every state official from CA to NY (ie powerball bullshit) should be up for 17 to 21 years if we are finally going to stop playing the hypocritical gambling is illegal game.

Alternatively it could be argued that prior history should not factor into sentencing as his previous time was him paying off his debt to society. That should, it could be argued, square the ledger.

Conversely you're in effect saying he must be re-punished for previous transgressions.

And at the end of the day, whatever your position, prior's or not it simply boils down to Poker machines. And 15+ yrs is, lets be honest, ridiculous.

If you read the full article it sounds like Borgesi has a decent shot getting his racketeering charge thrown out because he was found not guilty on 14 out of 14 charges which his lawyer claims is the basis for the racketeering charge. And Ligambi wants the judge to keep out all the evidence from the charges he beat at the first trial.

I'm not a lawyer but i can see their point of view on this.

Mousies going to get screwed, my guess is at least 10 to 12 maybe even 15 years with all his priors. Canalichio has a bunch of priors too so he could be looking at doing another 10 years. But i'm just guessing, should be interesting to see the final numbers.

Yes. 15 years for video poker. This judge should recuse himself for the obvious anti italian bias he has shown. The fact that he didnt let Borgesi out on bail after he fucking beat the case, did 12 years on a prior WITH ZERO VIOLENCE IN THE INDICTMENT is not only illogical, its personally repulsive.

And anthony staino got 57 months for what? He made a business investment with the undercover Fed for his the feds alleged business (which didnt exist). The feds set the whole thing up. Isnt that fucking entrapment? How is that loansharking? At best it should be attempted loansharking!

You're forgetting the racketeering factor, i.e. he's a high-level member of an ongoing criminal enterprise. So, no, it doesn't really boil down to just video poker machines.

In the larger picture, I'm all for increased penalties if people prove to not learn their lesson the first, second, third, etc. time around. It shows they're non-reformable and insist on continuing to be a drain on society. They deserve no sympathy.

I see comercials for casinos, lottery, powerball, and other gambling run by state and private entities. Every day on radio, television, even highway billboards. HIm having record should not factor in to the point where a harmless crime, one that is practically legal, gets him a substantial sentence. The previous record should be considered, but not to point of making the actual crime committed seem worse.

What is racketeering? Its a conspiracy. Simply. Its coercion with others to commit a crime.

Now (IMO) the system mistakenly views racketeering as the primary misconduct not the crime itself. Racketeering is merely the systematic application of the crime.

Its application of the crime in an organised, systematic way.

Now this behaviour is obviously much more socially detracting than individual non organised, random breaches but its simply an application of the crime.

My point being, its the crime itself which is the presiding factor.

Eg: You can have Racketeering in Poker Machines, and Racketeering in murder.

So was it organised? Yes. Was it in aid of a criminal enterprise? Yes. Was it Racketeering? Yes.

But was it just Poker machines? .....Yes.



That indicates 2 things:

1. That a sentence is not punishment of a crime?

And

2. You dont believe that prison reforms criminals?

1. It is, otherwise whats the point.

And 2. 'Correctional facility' is the greatest ironical name in modern history.

(PS Not picking on you Ivy. Just enjoy a seasoned debate )

I guess my point is whats right is more relevant than whats the Law.

You seem to understand the theory of RICO, you apparently just don't agree with it. It doesn't matter so much that the individual predicate charges may seem relatively harmless to some people. The fact that it's a criminal enterprise, and Ligambi was the leader of it, provides sufficient grounds for stiffer penalties.



Some it does, others it doesn't. It's obvious what category Massimino falls into.

TUESDAY, JUNE 18, 2013

Deja Vu At Ligambi Retrial?

Uncle Joe
By George Anastasia
For Bigtrial.net

Federal prosecutors want to retry mob boss Joseph "Uncle Joe" Ligambi and his nephew George Borgesi on racketeering conspiracy charges built around the same evidence that a jury largely rejected in the mobsters' first trial.

In a motions filed late yesterday, prosecutors argued that the issues of collateral estoppel and double-jeopardy do not apply to the conspiracy charge that is at the heart of the case. A jury in February could not decide on that charge against Ligambi and Borgesi.

Four other defendants were found guilty and one was acquitted.


U.S. District Judge Eduardo Robreno is expected to hold a hearing on motions filed by lawyers for both defendants seeking to limit or eliminate charges that can be used in a retrial set for Oct. 15. In fact, Borgesi's lawyer, Christopher Warren, has argued that the conspiracy charge against his client -- the one remaining count for which he is to be retried -- should be dismissed.

Borgesi, 50, was found not guilty of 13 counts related to gambling and loansharking. Warren argued that the jury verdict on those counts undermined the remaining conspiracy charge.

Borgesi

But Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank Labor, in briefs filed literally at the 11th hour -- yesterday was the deadline for the government to respond and the motions were filed close to midnight -- argued that both Warren and Ligambi's lawyer, Edwin Jocobs Jr., had misconstrued the legal issues in the case.

The doctrine of collateral estoppel "does not bar the admission of evidence of other offenses, including acquitted conduct, to prove the manner and means of a RICO conspiracy," Labor wrote.

The prosecution contends that it can use the same evidence that was presented in the first trial, including evidence tied to counts that resulted in not guilty verdicts. While layered in legal citations and Appellate Court decisions, the prosecution is arguing in essence that conspirators don't have to commit the crimes in order to be found guilty of conspiring to commit those crimes.

In asking that both Ligambi's and Borgesi's motions be denied, prosecutors said what the government has to prove is that both defendants played in a role in a racketeering conspiracy in which:

(1) Two or more persons agreed to conduct or participate in the conduct of the affairs of the Philadelphia (La Cosa Nostra) Family through a pattern of racketeering activity or the collection of unlawful debt.

(2) The defendants were party to the agreement.

(3) They joined the agreement knowing of its objective of conducting the affairs of the Philadelphia LCN Family through a pattern of racketeering activity or collection of unlawful debt and with the intent of joining with one other conspirator to achieve that objective.

A court ruling in the government's favor would allow prosecutors to use basically the same evidence and the same witnesses in the retrial that the government used in a three-month trial that began last October. Those witnesses would likely include Louis "Bent Finger Lou" Monacello, 43, a key Borgesi associate who testified at length about a gambling and loansharking operation he said he ran for Borgesi after Borgesi was jailed in 2000 in an unrelated racketeering case.

Monacello also testified that Ligambi was the boss of the operation.

Bent Finger Lou (R)


In fact, Borgesi was behind bars serving a 14-year sentence during most of the period covered by the conspiracy charge. Warren had argued that the jury's not guilty verdicts on specific gambling and loansharking charges showed that the jury had rejected the prosecution argument that Borgesi had conspired with Monacello.

Labor argued that the verdict did not necessarily support that argument. He also said that Borgesi had conspired with Ligambi and Anthony Staino, another mob leader.

The prosecution contends that it should not be precluded "from introducing evidence relating to the offenses charged in the substantive counts as circumstantial proof of the manner and means, or overt acts, of the RICO conspiracy," even if a jury returned not guilty verdicts on those substantive counts.

It appeared the jury at the first trial wrestled with the conspiracy charge. The panel deliberated for a staggering 21 days before bringing back a mixed and confusing verdict. Only five of the 61 counts in the case resulted in guilty verdicts. Three of the seven defendants were convicted of racketeering conspiracy. (A fourth subsequently pleaded guilty).

The jury found the defendants not guilty of 46 other counts and was undecided -- on hung -- on 11 charges.

Two of the charges on which the jury could not decide were the racketeering conspiracy counts against Ligambi, 73, and Borgesi. In addition, Ligambi faces two gambling counts and a tampering with a witness charge on which the jury also hung. He was acquitted of five other criminal counts.

Both Ligambi and Borgesi have been denied bail pending the retrial.

Four other defendants in the case, Staino, mob underboss Joseph "Mousie" Massimino, mob soldier Damion Canalichio and mob associate Gary Battaglini are to be sentenced in July before Robreno.

Joseph "Scoops" Licata, a North Jersey-based mob capo, was found not guilty and released after the trial. Six defendants in the case pleaded guilty prior to trial.

George Anastasia can be reached at George@bigtrial.net.
POSTED BY GEORGE ANASTASIA AT 12:48 PM
TRIAL: PHILADELPHIA MOB TRIAL

Read more at http://www.bigtrial.net/2013/06/deja-vu-at-ligambi-retrial.html#ht0PiAriUpcBYx8k.99

These prosecutors are some ball breakers arent they!

You ain't kidding. But i think Borgesi is gonna walk. Uncle Joe might not be as lucky though, he should probably cut a plea deal right now if possible.

Summarization of prosectuors argument.
"Your honor, the constitution doesn't apply to rico. Besides, these mob guys are scum and belong in jail anyways."

@Giancarlo: If Borgesi walks, it will be after a trial. Judge Robreno is SUPER CONSERVATIVE on mob cases, there aint no way he is taking the defendants side on this.

I agree, i think he beats it at trial. I really do.

I may be bringing up older posts but looks like nicodemo is holding on and looking to challenge this thing rather than flipping. Guess he could always still cut a deal before trial but we are about 8 months since the crime - am I the only one on here who is a little surprised ?

Bump

What?

As far as Nicodemo goes. I dont think hes going to flip. He could beat the state trial then the feds can pick it up and re-try him. Its a long process.
Phil leonetti waited until after he was convicted and sentenced to 40 years to rat on his uncle.

http://articles.philly.com/2013-06-20/ne...ted-mob-soldier


Mob murder victim was informant - a coincidence?

WILLIAM BENDER, June 20, 2013

RATTING ON mobsters can get you killed. Wearing a wire is risking your life.

So when a government informant is allegedly gunned down by a reputed mob soldier in South Philadelphia, it sounds like an open-and-shut case.

But this is Philly. There are plenty of ways to die.

Sources tell the Daily News that Gino DiPietro, a reformed drug dealer who was murdered in December outside his home, had previously been a confidential informant - and had helped put his younger cousin in prison by wearing a body wire.

His cousin is Victor DiPietro, a construction worker whom law-enforcement officials had once described as a mob associate. He insists he's gone legit after 3 1/2 years in prison as a result of Gino DiPietro's cooperation with the feds in 2005.

Anthony Nicodemo, who organized-crime investigators say is a "made" member of the mob, has been charged with first-degree murder in Gino DiPietro's death and is due in court next week for a pretrial hearing.

Sounds like a textbook mob hit, right? Maybe not.

Victor DiPietro says it's a bizarre coincidence. And police think he might be right.

"I can't wrap my head around it. I have no idea whatsoever how this whole entire thing transpired," DiPietro said yesterday.

DiPietro, 31, said he felt betrayed when he learned that Gino had set him up.

"Since it was my family member, it hurt a lot. But did I wish harm to him? No," he said. "Did he deserve this? No."

Sources say Gino DiPietro, 50, was busted on a cocaine-distribution charge around 2004, shortly after serving 6 1/2 years in a 1997 drug case. Facing major prison time, the father of two sons flipped and agreed to wear a wire to take down his cousin, the sources said.

Gino DiPietro's cooperation had not been publicly disclosed because his case concluded with a sealed judgment in 2009. But after he was killed, a probation officer filed a court document in January that indicated that Gino DiPietro had received only house arrest and probation on his second drug arrest - a slap-on-the-wrist sentence for a repeat offender.

DiPietro had kept his secret from his family, according to his girlfriend, Alisa Lord. They got engaged the night before he was killed.

"If he was embarrassed about something he did, he's not going to tell me," Lord said.

Police have looked at the mob angle in the DiPietro case, but so far haven't found any indicators that he was killed because he was an informant. A police source said the motive for the shooting could be as simple as a street argument - two South Philly tough guys who wouldn't back down.

"He must've gotten somebody upset," Victor DiPietro said. "But it had nothing to do with me."

Gino DiPietro appeared to have turned his life around, and there was no evidence that he was involved in drug dealing at the time of his death, according to a law-enforcement official. Lord said he was delivering parts for BMW and Mini Cooper.

"He did straighten out," she said. "I lived it. I saw it, firsthand."

Victor DiPietro, who found John "Johnny Gongs" Casasanto shot in an unsolved 2003 mob hit, said he once ran with guys with mob connections, but not anymore.

"I go to work every day," he said. "I don't jaywalk."

Pr0n=$$$$$.

Is he related to that other guy?

Anyone hearing anything going on in Philly besides the same stuff Dave S and George A have been saying ever since Ligambi n Borgesi beat the case?

I have also come up with a shit ton more pictures and just found out some either interesting or coincidental information yesterday, but I wanted to see if anyone else has heard anything yet...

There's a rat in uncle joes camp.. Will be on Fox to tonight. Feds r going to ruin easter for sp

Anthony Borgesi being held vehicular homicide

http://articles.philly.com/1994-03-01/ne...-auto-body-shop


Old article but mentions Galati

Are you just talking shit? Not seeing any of this posted anywhere.

What's up. Post the pics and hit us with some gossip