In a First, Skinny Joey's Attorneys and Fed's Reach Plea Agreement
Joseph (Skinny Joey) Merlino, the alleged Boca Raton-based boss of the Philadelphia Cosa Nostra, has inked a plea deal weeks after his racketeering trial ended with a hung jury. Merlino has made refusing plea deals a badge of honor. In a filing this week, the judge who presided over the case said the government and lawyers for Merlino had reached a plea deal, the Associated Press reported. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Merlino’s hearing on the plea is scheduled for April 27. This case would be the first time Merlino has plead guilty to a crime. Merlino has made going to trial and refusing plea deals a badge of honor. Merlino, 55, moved to Boca Raton when he was released from federal prison in 2011 after serving most of a 14-year sentence for racketeering, extortion and illegal gambling. He's insisted he'd retired from any illegal activity he may have been involved in. He opened a Boca restaurant that bore his name and hung around th...