‘RAT BASTARD!’
Mob guy pals assail judge at sentencing
The reputed head of the Philadelphia mob was slapped with a maximum sentence of two years for illegal gambling Wednesday during a raucous proceeding in which one of his supporters loudly called the judge “a rat bastard.”
Joseph (Skinny Joey) Merlino pleaded guilty in April to a single count of running an illegal gambling business in Manhattan Federal Court after a jury deadlocked on more serious racketeering charges.
Judge Richard Sullivan said that after sitting through the trial, he had no reservations giving Merlino the maximum.
“I certainly would have given you more ... this is not a bad deal,” Sullivan said.
But the sentence didn’t go well with one of Merlino’s supporters, who complained Sullivan’s lengthy rundown of the accused mobster’s past was “all for show.”
“It’s all bullsh--,” the man said. “Rat bastard.”
Sullivan then spoke to the man directly.
“Do you want to take over? Is there something you want to say?” Sullivan said.
The judge asked his deputy to call the marshals, but the man left before they arrived. He declined to comment while outside the courthouse.
Merlino’s attorney, Edwin Jacobs, had argued Merlino was roped into an alleged racket involving pain cream by a gangland snitch, John (Junior) Rubeo.
Sullivan said the trial had shown Merlino was “a player” but not that he was head of the Philly mob.
As Merlino left the courthouse smoking a cigarette, another supporter called reporters “vultures” and told them to “get a real job.”
Prosecutors had alleged Merlino returned to his life of crime after he finished a prison sentence in 2011 for racketeering and moved to Boca Raton, Fla.
Merlino, meanwhile, said he agreed with the President about cooperating witnesses.
“President Trump was right. They need to outlaw the flippers,” he said with a chuckle.