Colombo crime family associate Scott Fappiano facing jail time
A reputed Colombo crime family associate who served more than 20 years in prison on a wrongful conviction now faces more jail time for a new crime he admits committing.
But an attorney for Scott Fappiano argues that the trauma of his criminal justice ordeal has taken a toll on the man - and has asked a judge to keep this in mind when sentencing the wiseguy later today.
Since being exonerated through DNA evidence that cleared him of raping a NYPD officer’s wife, Fappiano has grappled with problems of substance abuse directly linked to his conviction for a crime he didn’t commit, his attorney says.
“In the years following his release, Mr. Fappiano struggled with alcohol and drugs in a misguided attempt at self-medicating for the severe anxiety and post-traumatic stress from which he was suffering,” his lawyer, Harlan J. Protass, wrote to a federal judge.
Following a DUI arrest in New Jersey in 2010, Fappiano has tried to confront these substance abuse problems and is wrestling to conquer them, his attorney says.
Late last year, the 50-year-old wiseguy checked himself into a long-term residential drug and alcohol treatment facility in Queens and spent six months as an in-patient there. The program proved to be a "success," Protass said.
Since leaving re-hab, Fappiano has started a new regimen - participating in weekly counseling sessions and attending Alcoholics Anonymous/Narcotics Anonymous meetings "on an almost daily basis," Protass said.
But Brooklyn federal prosecutors have written to Judge Kiyo Matsumoto to highlight another side of Fappiano's life.
The feds say that after Fappiano left prison after being cleared, he was quick to resume his association with mobsters.
"He schemed with members and associates of the Colombo family to assault the ex-husband of his current wife, to commit a violent armed robbery, and to distribute marijuana," Assistant US Attorney Liz Geddes wrote to the judge.
Last year, Fappiano pleaded guilty to participating in a mob-connect extortion plot.
The FBI captured the wiseguy discussing his debt collection methods with the help of a government informant wearing a hidden "wire" tape recorder.
"I want to be diplomatic," Fappiano said about pressuring the debtor to repay a loan.
If "it gets to the point where he may have to get his f--ing leg broken... I’ll make sure I’m in court somewhere or doing a
deposition," Fappiano said, according to a transcript filed with court documents.
Under the terms of his plea agreement with federal prosecutors stemming from the mob extortion plot, Fappiano will face prison time ranging from 21 to 27 months - but could also be sentenced to house arrest or even probation.
Back in 1985 - when he was just 23 years old - Fappiano was convicted of the sexual assault in Brooklyn Supreme Court.
After DNA testing eventually determined that Fappiano was not responsible for the attack, his convictions were reversed in October 2006 and he was released at the age of 45 - after serving more than two decades in prison.
He is scheduled to be sentenced later today in Brooklyn federal court for the mob-connected extortion plot.
But an attorney for Scott Fappiano argues that the trauma of his criminal justice ordeal has taken a toll on the man - and has asked a judge to keep this in mind when sentencing the wiseguy later today.
Since being exonerated through DNA evidence that cleared him of raping a NYPD officer’s wife, Fappiano has grappled with problems of substance abuse directly linked to his conviction for a crime he didn’t commit, his attorney says.
Scott Fappiano.
Following a DUI arrest in New Jersey in 2010, Fappiano has tried to confront these substance abuse problems and is wrestling to conquer them, his attorney says.
Late last year, the 50-year-old wiseguy checked himself into a long-term residential drug and alcohol treatment facility in Queens and spent six months as an in-patient there. The program proved to be a "success," Protass said.
Since leaving re-hab, Fappiano has started a new regimen - participating in weekly counseling sessions and attending Alcoholics Anonymous/Narcotics Anonymous meetings "on an almost daily basis," Protass said.
But Brooklyn federal prosecutors have written to Judge Kiyo Matsumoto to highlight another side of Fappiano's life.
The feds say that after Fappiano left prison after being cleared, he was quick to resume his association with mobsters.
"He schemed with members and associates of the Colombo family to assault the ex-husband of his current wife, to commit a violent armed robbery, and to distribute marijuana," Assistant US Attorney Liz Geddes wrote to the judge.
Last year, Fappiano pleaded guilty to participating in a mob-connect extortion plot.
The FBI captured the wiseguy discussing his debt collection methods with the help of a government informant wearing a hidden "wire" tape recorder.
"I want to be diplomatic," Fappiano said about pressuring the debtor to repay a loan.
If "it gets to the point where he may have to get his f--ing leg broken... I’ll make sure I’m in court somewhere or doing a
deposition," Fappiano said, according to a transcript filed with court documents.
Under the terms of his plea agreement with federal prosecutors stemming from the mob extortion plot, Fappiano will face prison time ranging from 21 to 27 months - but could also be sentenced to house arrest or even probation.
Back in 1985 - when he was just 23 years old - Fappiano was convicted of the sexual assault in Brooklyn Supreme Court.
After DNA testing eventually determined that Fappiano was not responsible for the attack, his convictions were reversed in October 2006 and he was released at the age of 45 - after serving more than two decades in prison.
He is scheduled to be sentenced later today in Brooklyn federal court for the mob-connected extortion plot.
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