Boca Resident, Former mob Boss Under investigation again?
Photo Credit – bigtrial.net
By William Bender
Boca Raton resident Joey Merlino insists that he’s gone legit, but the number of people who actually believe him is dwindling.
Sort of like the mob.
The former South Philly mob boss – or current boss-in-exile, some law-enforcement officials would say – is facing a new round of legal troubles.
Merlino, 52, will have to travel to Philadelphia in the coming weeks to face allegations that he violated the terms of his probation by associating with two felons and a member of La Cosa Nostra in mid-June.
Perhaps more interesting, though, is why the feds waited until last week – days before Merlino would have completed his three-year period of supervised release – to reveal what they’ve known all summer.
Sour grapes? No.
A source familiar with the case said that the process was delayed due to the possibility that Merlino could have been indicted on new charges. When that didn’t happen, they showed their cards.
Probation officers say that Merlino, who served 12 years in prison on a 2001 racketeering conviction, was spotted on June 18 hanging out with reputed Philadelphia mobster John Ciancaglini at the Havana Nights Cigar Bar & Lounge, in the Royal Palm Plaza. Ciancaglini was convicted alongside Merlino in 2001.
Broward County Sheriff’s Office detectives saw Merlino in the bar’s VIP area with Ciancaglini, as well as Brad Sirkin and Frank Fiore, who both have fraud convictions, according to the court affidavit. Fiore also was charged this summer in a counterfeit-drug case.
“If Ciancaglini shows up, that’s a red flag up,” a law-enforcement source said. “That’s what they do. They associate and they network and they create a criminal organization.”
Merlino, who was released from a federal prison in Indiana in 2011, is prohibited from associating with felons and members of La Cosa Nostra or other organized-crime groups.
Merlino’s lawyer, Edwin Jacobs Jr., declined to comment on the affidavit, but said he planned to schedule a court hearing soon.
“I’m going to do what I can to bring this matter to a conclusion,” Jacobs said.
Merlino could be thrown back in jail, but a law-enforcement source said that the judge could also decide to simply extend his supervised release so that he can continue to pay down the $337,943.89 in restitution owed from the 2001 case.
Merlino has reportedly been considering opening an Italian restaurant in Boca Raton, although Jacobs said last week that it’s only a rumor.
Some law-enforcement officials believe that Merlino continues to call the shots in South Philly, and that reputed mob boss Joseph “Uncle Joe” Ligambi is mostly a figurehead, similar to Ralph Natale in the 1990s.
