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News and Features about Organized Crime, Mafia and La Cosa Nostra taken from National and Local News Sources. In an attempt to get you this type of coverage in a timely manner we can not be responsible for the content of the following material. |
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12-10-99 Merlino denies plot to kill federal informers, families. A prosecutor alleged that the reputed mob boss, now in jail, put Ron Previte and Ralph Natale on a "hit list." 12/10/99
By George Anastasia Reputed mob boss Joseph "Skinny Joey" Merlino angrily denied allegations yesterday that he has ordered the murders of government informants Ralph Natale, Ronald Previte and their families. "That's a lie, your honor," Merlino shouted from his seat at the defense table during a bail hearing before Judge Herbert J. Hutton in U.S. District Court. Merlino, 37, has been held without bail since his arrest on drug-trafficking charges in June. Hutton withheld any ruling on the new bail request yesterday. After the hearing, Merlino's attorney, Joseph Santaguida, said that the allegations were "ridiculous" and part of a "desperate attempt" by the government to keep Merlino behind bars pending trial. Assistant U.S. Attorney Barry Gross, however, said that authorities took the threats seriously and that the allegations were being investigated. Gross declined to provide additional information, but said steps had been taken to ensure the security of the witnesses and their families. Natale, 67, of Pennsauken, has been jailed since his arrest on drug charges in June. The former mob boss began cooperating with authorities in August. His wife and five grown children have remained in the Philadelphia-South Jersey area, according to several sources. Previte, 57, a Hammonton-based mob capo or captain, had been an FBI informant for nearly two years. His undercover work led to the arrests of Merlino, Natale and nine others on drug charges. Previte was taken into protective custody at the time of the arrests. He is divorced and has two grown daughters. "The government will not comment on security arrangements, but I can assure you steps have been taken," Gross said. The prosecutor provided only broad information about the alleged threats in his comments in court and after the hearing. The threats were allegedly made Nov. 16 and subsequently reported to the FBI. Merlino was being held in the Salem County Jail in Salem at that time. He remains a prisoner there pending his trial, scheduled for Jan. 5. "The information we have received is that the defendant has placed Ron Previte and Ralph Natale on a hit list and that he wanted the family members of these people killed as well," Gross said in court. Gross brought up the threats in his arguments that Merlino, because there is a risk of flight and because he is a danger to the community, should not be granted bail. Gross described Merlino as the "acting boss" of the Philadelphia branch of La Cosa Nostra, a crime family that, he said, is "the most violent in the United States." Citing 30 mob murders in the last 19 years, Gross said the government took the threats seriously. Outside the courtroom, he also pointed out that the brother of another mob witness was killed in 1995 just before that witness, John Veasey, was about to testify in a racketeering case. The slaying of Billy Veasey remains the focus of a federal investigation. Santaguida, in asking for bail, said that Merlino had been acquitted of a charge that he threatened an arresting officer in the drug case, one of the issues raised when Merlino was denied bail this year. He also said that 15 friends and family members, including Merlino's mother, had offered their homes as bail collateral. "He's not going to leave 15 people, including his mother, homeless by running away," said Santaguida, who asked Hutton to consider some form of house confinement so Merlino could spend the Christmas season with his wife and two young daughters. After the hearing, Santaguida said that Merlino was "upset" by the "ugly allegation" that he had ordered anyone murdered. "It's unfounded and ridiculous," he said. The defense attorney said that he and Merlino were also confident that they could beat the drug charges, which, he said, are based on a series of taped conversations that Previte recorded while working for the FBI. Santaguida said the tapes were not as clear as the government contended. And he said the credibility of Natale and Previte would be major issues at trial. Natale, Santaguida said, "is a known drug dealer facing life in prison. Would you believe him?" And Previte? "He's worse," Santaguida said.
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