Retired mob boss “Skinny” Joey Merlino, who served 14 years in prison for racketeering, and a group of investors are set to open a restaurant in the heart of Boca Raton.
The ex-Philadelphia organized crime head, now 52 and a Boca resident since 2012, was the subject of a Miami Herald profile headlined “The Mobster Next Door.” He is scheduled to get off his three-year supervised release next month.
And obviously, Merlino now wants to hit the ground running after swearing off a life of crime because, he said in a recent interview, “too many rats” surround him.
Two real estate sources who asked not to be named told Gossip Extra that Merlino will be heavily involved in a restaurant that’s supposed to open at 39 SE First Ave. by year’s end.
A three-year deal has been inked with the property owner, a company linked to controversial Palm Beach County landowner Jim Batmasian.
Daron Tersakyan, who worked on the contract for Batmasian, said he isn’t familiar with Merlino’s name but confirmed the restaurant will be “a high-end, South Philadelphia-style Italian place.”
Lewis Kasman, who also retired in the Boca area after working for famed New York crime boss John Gotti then turning FBI informant, said he’s heard the buzz about the venture.
“I can’t confirm nor deny that Joey is opening his own place, but I’ve been questioned about it by law enforcement over the past week,” Kasman said.
Because he is a convicted felon, Merlino cannot obtain a liquor license under his own name.
But in his latest interview with a reporter last year, Merlino said he was looking for investment opportunities. Merlino talked to Philly mob writer George Anastasia about opening restaurants, cafes, a Philly cheese steak shop and a cigar bar.
