Couple united, but mob guests separated
LOVE WILL KEEP a Florida bride and groom together — and a federal judge will keep two of their wedding guests apart.
Reputed Philadelphia Mafia boss Joseph (Skinny Joey) Merlino and his racketeering co-defendant Anthony Cirillo were approved to attend the Sunday nuptials in Florida — just not at the same time.
Mobster Merlino (photo inset) is standing as best man for groom Michael Caudo, and leaving the event once the couple declares “I do.” Cirillo was ordered to skip the wedding and appear only at the subsequent reception.
Both were admonished to do so without discussing the bridemaids’ dresses, the choice of entrees or any other topic.
“Defendant Merlino shall attend only the wedding ceremony on (Sunday) and not the reception,” wrote Manhattan Federal Court Judge Richard Sullivan in his Thursday ruling.
“Defendants Merlino and Cirillo shall not speak to each other or otherwise communicate with each other.”
Merlino also received the go-ahead to attend Saturday night’s rehearsal dinner when Sullivan extended his court-imposed curfew by three hours to 10 p.m. Merlino — currently out on $5 million bond after his August 2016 arrest as part of a massive mob crackdown — is typically confined to his home between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. Sullivan agreed to let Merlino attend the Saturday dinner at the Boca Raton Resort & Club. The event starts at 6:30 p.m., making Merlino a likely no-show if the curfew was enforced. The Sunday wedding posed a different problem. Under the terms of their release pending trial, the 55-year-old Merlino and alleged Gambino family associate Cirillo, 51, of Englewood Cliffs, N.J., are barred from contact. Merlino’s lawyer Edward Jacobs first proposed the Solomonic solution of cutting the wedding in half.
“Mr. Merlino will attend the wedding ceremony ONLY, which is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m.,” suggested Jacobs in a latter to the judge. “Mr. Merlino will then leave immediately following the wedding ceremony in order to allow Mr. Cirillo to attend the remaining reception/luncheon.”
Sullivan showed some love to both defendants and signed off on the deal, with his “no contact” caveat.
Merlino, a convicted felon, was arrested in Florida last August for conspiring with members of the city’s Genovese, Gambino, Lucchese and Bonanno families in a wide-ranging racketeering operation.