I WON'T STOP DEFENDING THEM, NO MATTER WHAT

It's like anything else.  People will make assumptions and assertions.  They will attempt to subterfuge you by making up wild stories, and believe me, some of the stuff they come up with is pretty hilarious.  The sad part is, they are only speaking to thin air.  If they were more intelligent they might stop yapping for ten seconds to breathe to give the two brain cells they have left some seriously needed oxygen.   Just so you know, I don't care what the fuck anyone thinks, however, I won't stop defending people, I know, or people I've met.

The one thing, I will stand up for is them.  Yes, alleged street guys.  Do they all like me? Nope.  Do I care? Nope.  Am I scared of them?  Nope.   In life people are gonna like you, and some will down right hate you.  The one thing you cannot take away from anything I do, is the passion I have about defending friends, those I know, and those I don't know, but do them a solid because someone asks me to.  Never ever, do I just jump out there and lay someone's business out there. Everything I do is thought out, and planned.  Never on the whim.

I don't care if you like Joey Merlino.  I don't care if you hate Joey Merlino. At the end of the day, what matters to me, is that people like Joey, get a fair shot.  I don't care what the public perception of him is.  I don't care what George Anastasia or Dave "Rattwiser" Schratweiser thinks, cause that's some borderline fuckboy behavior out of them two when it comes to Joey.  

Throughout the history of organized crime, no reporter has ever defended those whom the government levied allegations against.  It's always the same shit with them.  It's very gaudy and fire and brimstone articles meant to sell papers, and I get that.  The problem is, they take a very caustic stance, and always are afraid to let their opinion come through.   They also don't report facts.   Take the New York Post, during the Merlino trial they would rather focus on lies by an informant about infidelity than the truth that this informant, in fact broke how many laws while under the FBI's supervision.  He in fact was caught lying non stop.  Never mind two FBI agents fired or reprimanded for their behavior.  Instead of the real story, we have to read articles written by hipster millennial jerkoffs who'd rather talk about rough sex with midgets then the actual facts of the case.  No, there were no midgets, but you get the point.

When the government brings a case, they have a blank check.  They can spend millions, take the most disgusting humans on the planet, which LIE, and in return for their service of telling on someone else, can make up to a half a million dollars a year, and in addition they may be eligible for 25% of the net value of any property forfeited as a result of the investigation up to $500,000 per asset.  That's over a million dollars depending on who they rat on.    That fat pile of shit, Ron Previte boasted of making a couple of million dollars off the FBI, got off his charges, and went back to bookmaking.

The government gives these rats a voice.  The newspapers give them a voice.  Why?  Salvatore Gravano, perhaps one of the biggest shit bags to ever walk the earth, whacked 19 people admittedly, got government absolution, a nice face lift(which obviously isn't working anymore, he looks like a lizard) and got relocated, paid millions, was able to keep millions, and then what does he do?  He sells drugs, gets caught and does another 20.  Never mind he along with Louie Milito killed an innocent 17 year old named Alan Kasier in a case they called mistaken identity.  He was never charged with that murder, and the Kaiser's have had to live with that their entire life. There is a reward system for being the class bigmouth piece of shit.  To the FBI if you got something on someone they want you're a fucking star.  Doesn't matter what you did.  They play Jesus.

So, as you are fighting your case, if you don't have any money, you have three.  Either plead out, or become a cooperator or take it in the ass. If you are lucky to have a good lawyer, don't worry, that's a mere $250,000 plus and if you're really lucky, you'll get a mistrial.  No worries, the government is fully prepared to go at it again and again and again, like a 70 year old with a fistful of Viagra.  You cannot beat the government in the long run.  The scales are tipped.   

Take the case against Philip Narducci, alleged Capo in the Philadelphia mafia.  He gets indicted for extortion.  Along the way, we find out the informant in this case is a drug dealer, prostitute, thief, degenerate gambler, a liar, and oh yeah a TERRORIST.   Yep.  A fucking terrorist.  This pos, was in this country on a bullshit visa, protected by the FBI because if he was returned to Lebanon he would be killed because he was in Hezbollah.  Never mind this ass-wipe, was caught on tape trying to borrow money from a dozen of so others.  To make the situation even more disgusting this informant, signed legal paperwork to acquire the loan.  It was done legitimately.   

In this case, the prosecution wanted words like "terrorist," stricken out.  They wanted this informants past buried because the truth hurt their case incredibly.    I had a copy of the tapes of this informant trying to borrow money from two Philadelphia guys.  He used the same lie with them he used with Phil.  "My mother needs a surgery, she has cancer, she will die without it."  The feds didn't want any jury to know he was a degenerate gambler.  They didn't want any jury to know of his own character flaws.   With the Judge agreeing that this informants "terrorist status," could taint a jury, how can Phil fight that case?  You can't.  See that's how this works.  Not only can the feds bankrupt you and try you time and time and time again, but they can get facts sealed.   How it is fair that a jury can hear about an alleged murder Phil was involved in, yet acquitted of, to use against him as proof of criminality or character defect?  It's not fair, it's bullshit.    Phil only took a plea because he was worried if the jury heard that he was allegedly involved in a murder, yet FULLY AQUITTED OF THAT ALLEGED MURDER, then how in the fuck can you fight that?  Talk about tampering a jury pool.  So it's plead out, or fight and hope you can win, or go bankrupt doing it.  

No reporters covered the truth of that.  I did.  I was way ahead of everyone on that.  When Anthony Persiano ripped off a dozen or so people for their life savings while under the jurisdiction of the FBI, where the fuck was the FBI?  They knew he did it, yet turned a blind eye to those he ripped off, because the prize on the scale was worth more to them, then the people he fucked over.  These were not criminals he ripped off, but good hard working people. No accountability whatsoever.  It's a joke.  I broke that story, and it took other journalists over a year to even mention that.   They don't care about the truth, just fucking headlines.  It's sick.  Even until now, have those been paid back by the federal government?  NOPE.  Sorry, but our bottom line is the mob.  Get on welfare.

Over the years I have watched Joey get accused of stuff he never had anything to do with.  Is Joey a saint?  No.  I don't think he'd tell you he was either.  It's been my experience that he's a good guy, whose very misunderstood, and who was called "boss of Philadelphia," by informants and the FBI, never by any of his friends.  The FBI would tell you he killed Hoffa, whacked Elmer Fudd if they thought a jury would believe it.   I defend him, like Phil, and anyone else in those circles, not because I have some sort of jaded or love affair with "gangsters."  I don't see "Skinny" Joey Merlino.  I see Joe Merlino.  He's not a celebrity in my frame of mind. He's normal guy, whose been thrust into a spotlight he didn't ask for.   He doesn't seek out the press, doesn't seek out cameras.  He's not John Gotti.  John Gotti had a 6 year run.  Joey? Try close to 30 years, if you believe what the feds say.  It's not my job to discredit him, or credit him, to say he's this or that, or deny he's this or that.  Joey is Joey, and I defend him because I love the guy, and he's my friend, no matter what anyone says or thinks.  I will stop at nothing to defend him, his name.  That's what friends do.   The same goes for other guys as well, and they know it.  I won't stand down, not as long as these bullshit hack reporters are blaming him for the Hindenburg disaster, the ending of the Smurfs and Mash getting cancelled.

Nobody defends them.  The only voice they have costs them $2000 an hour.  Sometimes that isn't enough.  This is why I do what I do.  They can defend themselves, but someone has to stand up and scream the truth, and that's what I do.  If I thought any of these guys killed people or I had facts to support that laughable theory believe me I would say so.  I'm not blind to the fact that my support of them comes with no cost.  It comes with great cost.    In Phil's case, John Han wanted to come after me, levying accusations I worked hand in hand with Phil in releasing of sealed documents.  The allegation could have put Phil back in jail, and he could have faced more charges.   Han wanted my house searched, with the confiscation of all electronic devices.  That's how sick these people are.  They thought I acted in some sort of collusion with Phil.  I didn't.  You notice they didn't want the tapes I had in my possession, because that would make their witness look fucking horrible, yet they wanted some sort of imaginary proof I worked with Phil to do something illegal.  It's all bullshit. They were hell bent on getting Phil, they would say and do anything to drive that point home. 

I consulted an attorney when all this happened, and one of the things I was asked, before I grabbed a bag and headed out of state to avoid any sort of bullshit subpoena, because I don't trust the feds after what I have seen them do, and attempt to do, was I willing to go to jail for refusing to cooperate with a subpoena.   I was, and still am.  I will not give them anything, or help them in any way against people I care about or am friendly with.  How many others in this genre would do that?  Zero.   I was willing to take pinch because I did nothing wrong, and I'm not giving them the satisfaction of hearing my voice or seeing my face.  Some may say that's a stupid thing to do, but it's how I operate.  I'm loyal to my friends, and if you tell me your friend is loyal to you, then I give them the respect they rightfully deserve.  Someone may ask, why pack up and leave the state if you did nothing wrong?  Simple.  In what I do, I have information that doesn't need to be public.  I have sources, and information about them, and they don't deserve to be outed because the feds decide to have a circus party in my apartment.  It's bullshit.

For guys like Joey, no matter your opinion, I have my own, and I won't let anyone say a disparaging word about him or against him, and twice I got face to face with people over it.  While an opinion in simply that, it doesn't give you the right to open your mouth sideways.   This is also why I went at Rattwiser.   He has a right to do his job, but it's borderline creepy some of the stuff that guy does.  Like anyone wants to see Joe Ligambi sunning himself in his own backyard, or wants to see him sitting at his table reading the morning paper.  It's guys like that I can do without. 

So like me, hate me, I don't care.   Nobody does what I do.  Nobody risks anything for telling the truth even when it goes against what the government alleges.  Whether you have a distain for me or what I do or not, you at least have to acknowledge that nobody else has the balls to do what I do.  It's not boastful, it's not ego driven, it's just the only way I know how to go about it.  Sure, it will eventually get me into a position that could be unfavorable, but I have dug my heels in deep, and I refuse to give in or up.