You can call Charles A. Lightbody a felon, just don’t elaborate on his criminal past, and don’t refer to him as a New England Mafia associate.

Don’t mention King Arthur’s, the adult entertainment club in Chelsea. If you do, describe it as a bar and nightclub, and definitely don’t refer to defendant Dustin DeNunzio’s visit to a similar establishment in Boston. In fact, don’t refer to his social life at all.


And, of considerable importance, please limit discussion of Lightbody’s jailhouse conversations with reputed New England Mafia soldier Darin Bufalino, because it might unfairly link his codefendants to La Cosa Nostra. Especially DeNunzio, whose name is similar to high-ranking Mafia figures Carmen and Anthony DiNunzio.

Those demands are just a few in a lengthy list made by lawyers for DeNunzio, Lightbody, and codefendant Anthony Gattineri and filed with a federal judge this week. The filings, called motions in limine, are meant to resolve last-minute legal disputes, and they offer a behind-the-scenes look at the legal maneuvering on points large and small that typically occurs in advance of a complex trial.