Jury of their fears
‘Mistrial’ panelists sts let ‘Skinny’ skate te
Reputed Philadelphia mob boss Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino slipped through the feds’ fingers Tuesday — because some jittery jurors refused to convict him on racketeering charges, a fellow panelist told The Post.
Merlino (right), 55, scored a mistrial when the judge declared the jury hopelessly deadlocked following four days of deliberation in Manhattan federal court.
Juror No. 9, a woman whom Merlino addressed by name outside the courtroom midway through the trial, said the panel deadlocked 10-2 in favor of conviction on three of the four charges against him. The vote on the remaining count was 9-3 against Merlino, she said.
“They came up with excuses, each of them,” the juror said of those favoring acquittal. “I think they were really scared, and didn’t want to get involved.”
But she found the case against Merlino convincing, saying, “I know the streets, I know the games. I’m a black woman, almost 60 years old. I know what I know, and I have common sense.”
On Feb. 8, Merlino was scolded by Judge Richard Sullivan for saying, “Hi, Sylvia” to the woman as she waited for an elevator following the previous day’s proceedings.
“I just turned my head, like, ‘Some nerve,’ ” she told Sullivan about the incident. feds say were part of a sprawling,ing, crocross-crime-family racket frofrom Springfield, Mass., to SSouth Florida. Merlino moved to the Sunshine State following his 2011 relerelease from prison and wawas the maitre d’ at a shshort-lived Italian rerestaurant, MerThe The Post liR woman she wasn’tsn’t told lino’s, Raton. in Boca intimidated by Mer-erOn his way out lino, who beat threeee of the courtmurder raps in 2001,01, house, Merlino because “God hasas told reporters: always protecteded “Thank God for me.” tthe jury.” She also said shee Prosecutors “saw something inn dididn’t say if they him that made mee wowould retry Mernot afraid.” linolino, but before disMerlino stood missmissing the jury, Sultrial on allega-livanlivan said he extions of loan-shark-kpectedpected a do-over, and ing, bookmaking andand he set a March 2 conhealth-care fraud that the ferenceference in the case.