Mob guy can’t get off ‘hook’
HE WANTED to relax with the fishes.
Accused mobster Anthony Cirillo surrendered to the feds on Aug. 4 to face racketeering conspiracy charges following a bust of 46 alleged East Coast members of La Cosa Nostra. But that didn’t make him rethink his plans to go fishing in the Bahamas, the Daily News has learned.
After surrendering, Cirillo got out on a $200,000 bond and was permitted to travel from his South Florida home to New Jersey and much of New York without seeking prior permission, according to court documents.
Cirillo landed permission for travel outside of those areas as well, including two jaunts to his son’s Bloomington, Ind., college.
The first visit was for a parents weekend last October, after which Cirillo traveled to Chicago for a deposition, Manhattan Federal Court papers state. In total, the trip request was for Oct. 21-26. The second was for a father-son weekend at his son’s fraternity from Feb. 10-13.
He was also permitted to attend a funeral and sit shiva in Long Grove, Ill., from Jan. 12-24, according to court documents.
Cirillo next asked Manhattan Federal Judge Richard Sullivan to let him go by boat to Bimini, in the Bahamas, for a two-day family fishing trip in mid-April.
“Additionally, we are respectfully requesting that this court order the temporary release of Mr. Cirillo’s passport for this trip with the understanding that it will be surrendered . . . immediately upon his return,” wrote his lawyer, Joseph DiBenedetto.
“The fishing trip is a Cirillo family tradition,” DiBenedetto continued, explaining Cirillo would be accompanied by 14 people, including his four kids, some of his son’s frat brothers, nieces and nephews, as well as two autistic children from a charity he “is heavily involved with.”
While the trip is expected to take two days, the 51-year-old Cirillo asked Sullivan to green-light his absence from the U.S. from April 11 to April 17 because of weather.
“They use a one-week window because they pick a day with good weather and calm seas. His nephew is autistic and cannot handle rough waters,” DiBenedetto explained. “Bimini is 48 miles from Cirillo’s home. It is roughly a two-hour trip. They would fish, spend the night, fish again in the morning and then return home by the end of the second day.”
DiBenedetto insisted Cirillo “has no incentive to flee” because he’s deeply rooted in the community. “Finally, and most importantly, this trip is a meaningful opportunity for Cirillo and his children to spend time together, given that they attend college out of state,” DiBenedetto said in court documents. The judge was not reeled in. Sullivan shot down Cirillo’s Bimini bid this month — including the release of his passport — ruling: “Although the court has been accommodating to defendant Cirillo’s requests for domestic travel . . . the court is unwilling to extend Defendant’s travel restrictions across United States borders.”
DiBenedetto declined to comment on questions about his client's failed Bimini bid.