Wednesday, November 6, 2013

The Borgesis Rant On The Eve Of Trial Rerun

Georgie
By George Anastasia
For Bigtrial.net

It could be a packed house for what basically amounts to a rerun.

Friends and family members of mob boss Joseph "Uncle Joe" Ligambi and his nephew, mobster George Borgesi, are expected to fill the small, 15th floor courtroom tomorrow for opening statements in the retrial of the two South Philadelphia wiseguys.

Ligambi, 74, and Borgesi, 50, are facing a racketeering conspiracy charge, a leftover from a broader racketeering case that ended in February with both defendants acquitted of most of the charges they faced. Borgesi beat 13 of the 14 counts and Ligambi was acquitted of five of  nine.

The turnout in U.S. District Court at 6th and Market is expected to be a public showing of support for the two gangsters who have been held without bail since an indictment was handed down in May 2011. It also comes on the heels of a blistering attack by Borgesi's family in the Philadelphia Daily News last week in which they charged that George Borgesi was the victim of a government vendetta.

Manny and Anthony Borgesi
The article, by William Bender, generated a mixed social media response with readers anonymously blasting the government or painting Borgesi and his family as simpering crybabies. It's unclear what the family hoped to accomplish by going public on the eve of the retrial with criticism of the FBI and federal prosecutors and with an indirect slap at Judge Eduardo Robreno who, they alledged, has been described by the FBI as "our judge."

How any of that plays to the anonymously chosen jury of ten women and two men (there are also six alternates) that will decide the fate of Borgesi and Ligambi is a question that can't be answered. No one knows whether any of those jurors even read the article or what they may have thought about if they had.

But one reader who clearly wasn't happy with the Borgesi family rant was Joey Merlino. The erstwhile Philadelphia mob boss who was tried and convicted with Borgesi and five others back in 2001 is now living in Boca Raton, finishing his final year of federal supervised release (formerly known as parole) and continuing to vow that he will not be returning to South Philadelphia.

In the Daily News article published last Friday, Anthony Borgesi decried the fact that his brother has been denied bail in the pending case and pointed out that he has (like Merlino) finished his 14-year sentence for the 2001 conviction.

Joey
"Joey got out years ago," Anthony Borgesi told the Daily News. (In fact, Merlino was released in 2011). "People come up to me in the city and they can't understand why my brother's not out. He couldn't even get bail."

Merlino said in a telephone interview this week that he read the article and was surprised by Anthony Borgesi's comments.

"What's he saying, that I should still be in jail? " he asked. "Do they want me back in jail?"

Merlino also said he thought Anthony Borgesi was off base in portraying his brother as a victim of discrimination. According to the Daily News piece, Anthony Borgesi argued that his brother's constitutional rights were being denied, that the government was "playing dirty." And he added that if his brother were Black, the country wouldn't stand for it.

"Where's our Al Sharpton?" Anthony Borgesi is quoted as saying.

That kind of talk, Merlino said, does not play well with jurors, especially jurors who are African-American. (There are three African-Americans on the current panel.)

For an historic perspective, Anthony Borgesi ought to research Joe Colombo and the Italian-American Anti-Defamation League Colombo founded back in the 1970s. Like Borgesi, Colombo launched a campaign against the federal government alleging that Italian-Americans were being targeted. He picketed the FBI Office in New York and held rallies that attracted large crowds. Frank Sinatra performed a benefit concert for the organization which morphed into the Italian American Civil Rights League. 
Colombo

Colombo became the Al Sharpton of his day. But his fellow gangsters decided that kind of publicity was not good for business. Things ended badly for Colombo.

How it ends for Borgesi and Ligambi will depend on the jury and the evidence, two issues that often get lost in the rhetoric. Clearly, and this has been written here before, the conspiracy law is stacked in the government's favor.

Borgesi was acquitted of gambling and loansharking charges in the first trial. But those charges, built largely around the testimony of discredited mob informant Louis "Bent Finger Lou" Monacello, can legally to used again to support the conspiracy charge.

In fact, this jury will hear much of the same testimony that the first jury rejected.

Fair? It doesn't seem so, but that's the law.

Ligambi faces the same hardship but the mob boss has opted to keep his feelings to himself.

Uncle Joe
How the rantings of his nephew Anthony and his sister Manny (Borgesi's mother, who was also quoted in the Daily News piece) have played with Ligambi is another fascinating question. An associate who was asked about that yesterday, rolled his eyes.

"You can pick your friends," he said. "You can't pick your family."

There are those in both law enforcement and underworld circles who believe the mob boss might have been granted bail were it not for his co-defendant who among other things called Assistant U.S. Attorney John Han, one of the prosecutors in the case, "a fuckin' punk" after one court session earlier this year.

While the defense will present a united front at trial, Ligambi's relationship with his nephew has been strained at times. Monacello testified about this in the last trial and is likely to revisit it again when he takes the stand in the current case.

Anthony Aponick, a jailhouse snitch and cooperator with ties to the Bonanno crime family in New York, is scheduled to testify as well. Aponick was not called in the first case, in part because of his criminal history and questions about his credibility. He has said Borgesi and his uncle didn't always get along and that Borgesi, from his prison cell,  frequently criticized Ligambi, claiming his uncle was pocketing Borgesi's underworld earnings while he was in jail. 

Aponick was a cellmate of Borgesi's in a federal prison in West Virginia, planted there, the Borgesi family alleges, to lure George Borgesi into criminal acts. The family said that was just one example of the feds "vendetta." It failed, they contend, but it will not stop Aponick from taking the stand for the government and lying to the jury.

"They are the real criminals," Manny Borgesi was quoted in the Daily News article, commenting about witnesses like Monacello and Aponick.

Bent Finger Lou
That, of course, begs a few questions.

Monacello's involvement in the mob stems from a relationship with George Borgesi. It was Borgesi who tapped Monacello as an associate in the 1990s and later used him to handle his underworld affairs. If Monacello is a liar, a cheat, a bullshit artist, if "Fag Finger Lou" or "Rat Finger Lou" as George Borgesi now refers to his former associate, is a heartless punk out to save himself, did he become those things only after he agreed to cooperate?

Or was that who he always was? If so, why did Borgesi have someone like that in his inner circle? 

The same question could be asked about several other Borgesi associates, including Aponick (who came to Philadelphia with an introduction from Borgesi in 2003 after he was released from prison); Robert Luisi, a Boston gangster who was close to Borgesi before turning informant (and then finding Jesus and being drummed out of the federal fold) and the elusive Roger Vella, a drug dealer and admitted murderer who Borgesi referred to as a "bed bug" even as he maintained a relationship with him on the streets in the 1990s.

Those are the kinds of questions that don't get asked during a trial or in a newspaper article where the Borgesi family gets to rant and rave. But those are the questions that many who have followed the soap opera like saga of the Philadelphia mob find intriguing because they say as much about Borgesi as they do about the witnesses against him.

George Anastasia can be contacted at George@bigtrial.net.

37 comments

  1. It's an absolute disgrace what the Federal Government is doing to the defendants. Their families have every right to shine a light on the unjust practices of our government in this case. It should be known to jury and non-jury alike how our government is manipulating our constitution to keep these men behind bars.

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  2. Some good points george on goergie boy and it seems you are not one of his biggest fans as well, but he should have been out of jail on bail while waiting for this next trial because he did his time that he was convicted for initially and spent more than a decade in the can during a time period the feds are fighting an alleged mafia yet a terrorist organization planned to kill all americans, seems the feds are trying to keep their jobs

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    1. No he is not a fan at all. He smears him any chance he can. Read his previous blogs. People are focusing on the character of Borgesi but are ignoring the injustice that has been done.

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    2. Maybe George does not like Borgesi because he cannot make any money on a book deal with him. He only writes books with rats....Hey George, I heard Monacello is trying to sell his life story and get a reality show. Call him up. I am sure it would be a best selling "FICTION" novel

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    3. Georgie Fag Boy is nothing more than a crumb bum .He still walks on his toes the reason for that is he use to get his ass kicked everyday after school so he would walk on his toes so no one would here him coming he was as that scared of the other kids that fagot punk ass

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  3. Hey George do you have anything on the nicky scarfo jr case ? The one with first plus financial.

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    1. Jury selection is now under way in that case. But the trial won't start until Jan. 6. I'll post a story here before that. It's a saga!

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  4. really miss mobtalk what a shame.

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  5. Its wrong that they are being retried on the same case but no double jeopardy in the realm of RICO! Is this America?

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    1. Your right Georgie Fag Boy should be getting tried on Ralohie Mazzuca murder. His family deserves a FAIR TRIAL ALSO. At lease his mother gets to see him.It They say God only gives you what u can handle & Mrs Mazzuca could not handle any more of how they murdered her son..God knew it & made Ralph & his mother Rest in Eternal peace.Than her Husband also could not handle the pain & stress of never getting any justice and God saw how tired & sick Mr Mazzuca was & also reunited his Son & wife into eternal peace.They need to pay for what they did to this family ..Mr & Mrs Mazzuca you all are in our prayers& thoughts ALWAYS .

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    2. THANKS TO WHOME ever wrote this. Iam the sister n daughter all the Mazzuca family .You can Best Believe as long as I am living I will do everything in my will power to see that my family GETS JUSTICE. I promised my mom & dad esp Ralphie there will be JUSTICE.The time is coming sooner than we think..Rest in Peace My love ones

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    3. What justice are you waiting for? Roger Vella plead guilty to this & has already been released from prison & getting paid by the government in the witness protection program.He was just thrown out for stalking his girlfriend. Thank the government for your justice! Go knock on the Vella's door!

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    4. Who said that it was ONLY Roger involved in Ralphies brutal murder.Mine your fucking business.or youll end up worse off

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    5. Did Roger's dad have a role in that..?

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    6. 100% and 6 others thats y the scum bag father pleaded the 5th that other jerk,,, just waiting for Gorilla Nicodemo to sing hes ass off.

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  6. The government is a total wreck. Whose the bigger mob, the government or the church? FREE GEORGE! ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

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  7. Ligambi and Borgesi are still in jail? No bail? What a friggin joke. If this was 1980's, these guys would have made bail on both trial, copped a plea and gotten probation for some petty gambling charges. The US Government is a TYRANT!

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  8. Does anyone find it troubling that our government was shut down, but they somehow have endless funds to pay witnesses, $400K for Pete the Crumb, that was facing the death penalty, let along pay for a RE-TRIAL? Osama Bin Laden's son in law, responsible for 9/11, his trial has been postponed due to the government seqestration. What is wrong with this picture?? I think anyone would agree that justice for a terrorist, that is responsible for one of our country's most horrifc tragedies, surpasses a non violent, gambling case....this sounds very personal to me...

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  9. Yo George u & Ralph should get a real job - its good to break a sweat once & a while - u wrote a book w the "crow" & that other numb-scull wrote a book w "Jon-Jon" - 2 literary giants ? Don't think so

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  10. Always nice to hear from your fans. I consider it as encouragement to keep up the good work.

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    1. How about a job as a "salesman" for a trash company? Maybe you know a company that might pay about $1,000 a week plus benefits for showing up once a week to collect a paycheck. You mean a job like that?

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    2. In sales, it is not how often you show up in the office, it is how much business you bring to the table. Many salespeople and marketers don't even have an office. This was a low blow comment from you, George, and I am surprised. I always had some respect for you. But this comment towards Joe Ligambi is unwarranted. You know full well what kind of person Joe is and he never disrespects anyone. Don't bit the hand that feeds you, George.

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    3. Well George and Ralph, I am a bit embarrased by some of the comments left here. I enjoy reading you both and have found that you are accurate and your "what could happen is............" moments seem to be what everyone is thinking and usually you are not far off from what ends up happening. I really hate to see the uneducated folks out there blasting you guys. If there wasnt a crime or you didnt report it, I wonder what these other readers would complain about. Keep us posted!

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    4. George A, you make sound as if making a paycheck of a 1,000 a week is stealing from the public. The above comment is 100% correct, anyone in sales doesn't need to at any particular place at a time. Many sale rep work out of home, obviously you don't know that because you push paper and don't understand the business work like many people in the media world. It all about using " shock news" to get simple minded people to fall for the headline not to decipher the actual facts. Do you know about the lobbyist who make back door deals to the politicians where the public pays the price for in the end? What about the insurance industry, big oil, pharmecuticals their sales reps who makes figures that would make your head spin and they make sales by wining and dinning their clients but that is considered doing business. George start looking into other directions if you want to make some stories, if you need to sell the articles add some vowels at the end if their names, maybe you can use the FBI to help get some more paid actors to help make some more fictitious stories. You like to stir the pot by trying to get friends and families against each by agitating people such as using their words against them, maybe you can start playing politicians against the hand that feeds their mouths..lobbyist! You know, the power is in the pen! As you have done so well against people of certain backgrounds..a,e,I ,o ,u..

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  11. joe merlino is correct those comments by borgesi family were 100 percent wrong. merlino did his time as a stand up guy.leave his name out of it. and borgesi racial comments have no place in the trial.

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    1. Correct, they should never bring up other people's name and push race that is irrelevant. But keep in mind this family is worn out with staying quiet, it's been many years and Borgesi has served his time. The judge has put restrictions on what their family lawyer can bring up on the paid informants by the FBI. Just get into the families shoes and knowing they waited patiently for his release then comes along 2 paid informants to get out their own problems. Where are the paid informants recordings? what about their credibility? Their history? Is this family suppose to sit back and say nothing!? They are worn out, emotions are running high and they are wiling to say things that may not sit well with others. If people know them are their friendships between others who where mentioned, they know each other and how each other can be. I don't trust this article trying to cause people lives to be in danger, when that is not the case!

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    2. Oh poor Boy George mommy how about all the mothers who loss their sons bcuz Bor Gay Z I like this Name killed them of beat them half to death of course with a bat or some other object.cuz hes not tuff wth those freckled hands of his....PUNK

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    3. I don't of any of that, just trying to shine a light on the whole response by the family. This article is also trying to put a wedge between the family and other friends. Many family members in previous trials had made similar comments and referred to how other people have did less time for more serious committed crimes. I'm sure the family didn't have any intent to wish other people to return to jail. I can see their irrational comment and also I'm sure words were sad to agitate the family to refer to other past co-defendants. You make allegations the Borgesi had done some harm to other people, than why hasn't he been on trial for them.? Just stick to the facts on this trial. Monacello is the one admitting he is the violent one..

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    4. He will be on trial as soon as NICODEMO RATS......R you SERIOUS out here trying to justify so that Bor GAY Z doesnt get kill Honey dont worry Gay Z wont see day lite unless hes in a yard full of convicts like himself,,, Plz get a life and get off the Faggots pine NUTS ...I never seen so many ppl kiss some of these guys asses in all my life,, make sure you put your name on the visitors list so you can go visit him every month, Yeah im sure ur gonna jump right on that,,, wen they go away nobody care about them ,, their lucky if they have 5 friends wen they END up in prison,, go find another Hobby instead of as the Mob Tapes Turn..

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  12. Joey down in Fla. staying out of trouble did his time like a man now borgesi brings his name up thats a clown movehe should focus on his case

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  13. Georgie boy is a j--- off maybe he.ll get what columbo got he knows the deal about our bussiness u dont name names

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  14. Just look at all the people he introduced stop blaming people for ur f--- ups. U should ev got a antidepressent to the head long ago

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  15. Good stuff george if they don.t like screw them he is what he is

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  16. louie you fraud you were a flunky. I got u

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  17. Its not louie handjob

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  18. U know how many people hate that little prick the lines longer than the mummers parade lol

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