MERLINO SENTENCING CHANGE SIMPLY THAT, A CHANGE.

Speculation galore again. For those following the "Skinny" Joey Merlino case, speculation has sort of rooted it's ugly head once again.   The fact is, there is nothing to speculate, but simply just a scheduling change.

As I reported months ago, Joey was due to be sentenced September 13th, in front of Judge Sullivan in Manhattan Federal Court.  What has happened since, is the sentencing date has been changed until October 13th.

I would largely assume this is due to an overbooking by the prosecution, trying several cases, and a scheduling conflict with the Judge.  What you can expect, is for Judge Sullivan to render a decision on the amount of time Joey is to serve in the federal system.

The mandated penalty for gambling, on a sliding scale of course in the maximum of 2 years.  While Judge Sullivan can opt for lesser time, having taking into consideration the sliding point scale; which is based on priors, the crime itself, those damaged by the crime and etc, it's unlikely even with the coming legalization of sports betting in most states, that Joey will receive less than the maximum penalty.

Keep in mind, Joey plead guilty to gambling charges stemming from the large sweeping indictment, and admitted to receiving $2,5000 in cash.  There isn't a whole lot to distinguish here. It's a gambling charge, which is a non-violent offense, and if we judge how Judge Sullivan has rendered decisions in the last few months with other alleged "mobsters," the penalty will likely be the max.  Joey would likely be sent to Ft. Dix, for a term just hovering past 18 months.

Patsy Parello wasn't as lucky as Sullivan hammered him in court, saying "Someone of your age, should know better."  For Parello, 73, was blasted by the Judge. "There has been a long history of Capo's dying in prison, you should have thought about that before joining the mob, if you didn't want to die behind bars."

Despite a ton of letters written by friends and loved ones, Judge Sullivan didn't want to hear it. "I don't think Roman Catholicism take a favorable view on extortion."  Patsy had accepted a plea deal that called for lesser time, but in this instance Judge Sullivan rebuked the prosecution.

Sullivan shoots from both ends of the pulpit a bit, and I say that because another defendant in this case John "Tugboat" Tognino, whose 75, and was widely accused of many things, accepted a plea deal for running gambling schemes with another defendant, and the sentence called for 4-10 months in prison.  Sullivan stated in court that "Tognino had repeatedly been involved with organized crime, but he believed that his addiction to gambling played a major role in his crimes."  He would sentence Tognino 6 months of home confinement.

So there we have two different people, same sort of set of crimes, two very different sentences. As much as I believe Merlino won't get anything shy of the max because of who the government says he is, there is always the off chance that Sullivan lets him off easy, when you consider the government caved on the fraud charges.  He admonished the prosecution in court when they refused to retry and offered Merlino a plea deal.   Merlino is due in court October 17.