Key Philly Mob Defendant Staying In Prison
George Borgesi, a.k.a. "Georgie"
The lead attorney for 13 local mobsters and associates spoke with Fox 29's Dave Schratwieser on Wednesday from the federal detention center where seven of the defendants are being held
Mob captain George Borgesi plead not guilty to the charges, but will remain locked up at the detention center with the rest of his codefendants.
Borgesi won't be getting out anytime soon. But he will be getting lots of attention when this case goes to trial, with most of it from prosecutors using secretly recorded FBI and prison tapes .
The last time Borgesi appeared in public he was in handcuffs headed off to federal prison. Fast forward 12 years. Borgesi was just months away from being released from jail when he was hit with another multi-count racketeering indictment. This one is based largely on tape recordings and could put him away for a long time.
Sources say the case against Borgesi will be based on some secretly recorded and not so secretly recorded jailhouse tapes of Borgesi and his visitors to the North Carolina prison where he was housed and phone conversations from behind bars..
Renowned defense attorney Ed Jacobs specializes in cases dealing with extensive wiretaps and tape recordings. He represented mob boss Joey Merlino in the last big indictment. Now he represents current mob boss Joseph Ligambi.
"I'm lead to believe there are upwards of 10,000 intercepts, so until you get your feet on the ground and understand what people have said and what it actually means you can't really assess the provability or defendability of the case," Jacobs said.
Jacobs says he also expects some cooperating witnesses and former mobsters to surface and testify.
"I'm sure the government has done a good job putting it together their way, now the defense team, which is now being assembled will do an equally good job," he said.
Borgesi was ordered held without bail today until the trial which could be a year away.
Jacobs acknowledges that some defendants could plead guilty to the charges.
He says Ligambi and others will go to trial. Getting past all these tape recordings will not be easy, but Jacobs has serious skills when it comes to dissecting those tapes and scoring points with the jury in the process.
http://www.myfoxphilly.com/dpp/news/local_news/key-mob-defendant-staying-in-prison
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