By George Anastasia
For Bigtrial.net
He was nearly killed in one of the most infamous gangland shootings in the violent history of the Philadelphia mob.
His older brother has changed his name to get out from under the family stigma.
A younger brother tried to commit suicide for the same reason and has been comatose for 25 years.
That's part of the depressing personal history of Nicodemo S. Scarfo, a story that has made its way into testimony in the now seven-week old racketeering and fraud trial playing out in federal district court in Camden.
Scarfo, 47, is the lead defendant in the case. He and Salvatore Pelullo, a 45-year-old Mafia wannabe, are charged with orchestrating the secret takeover of a Texas mortgage company in 2007 and then ripping it off to the tune of $12 million.
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Nicky Sr. |
Along with testimony about corporate structure, SEC filings and lawyerly due diligence, the anonymously chosen jury panel of 18 (six are alternates) has been getting a primer on the turbulent history of the local mob.
Scarfo and his jailed father, Nicodemo D. "Little Nicky" Scarfo, are at the center of that story.
"You're aware, aren't you, that he was shot in 1989 and almost killed?" Scarfo's lawyer, Michael Riley, asked his client's probation officer, Sharon O'Brien as she testified earlier today.
O'Brien, who is due back on the stand when the trial resumes tomorrow, said she was. One can assume the jury is also aware since this was not the first time Riley has mentioned the Halloween night shooting at Dante & Luigi's Restaurant that left the younger Scarfo with seven bullet holes in his body.