New York Daily News

Eval for mob ‘lawyer’

- John Annese Andrew Keshner

A BROOKLYN federal judge on Thursday ordered a psychologi­cal exam for a mobster who twice tried to represent himself in court on extortion charges.

Government prosecutor­s charged Battista (Benny) Geritano, a reputed Gambino crime family associate, with using the mail to commit extortion.

The wiseguy tried to act as his own lawyer during his arraignmen­t last week and he was removed from the courtroom. HE DRINKS your milkshake. He drinks it up.

A cat burglar climbed into the basement to a Bronx home and made off with a tasty haul — a milkshake machine, a chocolate fondue maker and two toy race cars, cops said.

Police on Thursday released video from the odd heist, showing the stickyfing­ered fiend crawling through the window of a building on Walton Ave. by Rockwood St. in Mt. Eden just before 11:30 p.m. on May 11. He was later caught on tape leaving.

When he tried pulling the same stunt on Thursday, the judge ordered him sent to North Carolina hospital for a mental health check.

Geritano is accused of mailing threatenin­g letters last February.

The 44-year-old is already serving a 12-year sentence in state prison for a 2012 stabbing.

Though Geritano still hasn’t been formally arraigned, the charge carries up to 20 years in prison.

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