Bonanno consigliere argues turncoat captain is too tight with the feds

Bonanno consigliere argues turncoat captain is too tight with the feds

  January 21, 2019    Dapper_Don

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A reputed Bonanno consigliere argued in new papers Monday that a Staten Island snitch expected to testify against him at trial is too tight with federal prosecutors.

John "Porky" Zanococchio, who is accused of bookmaking and loan sharking, charged that Manhattan Federal prosecutors had improperly handed over evidence to mob rat Peter "Pug" Lovaglio.

John Meringolo, an attorney for Zanococchio, wrote that a prosecutor gave Lovaglio all recordings of phone calls and texts with his NYPD handler. Meringolo called the move an “abomination” that amounted to prosecutorial misconduct because he planned to use the communications to attack Lovaglio’s credibility. The communications, Meringolo said, were under a protective order.

Lovaglio is currently serving an eight-year prison sentence for a 2015 slashing in a Staten Island sushi joint that left a rival with a severely damaged eye. Despite his criminal record, authorities have continued to depend on Lovaglio as a cooperator, Meringolo wrote.

John "Porky: Zanococchio, pictured in this undated photo, thinks Manhattan Federal prosecutors had improperly handed over evidence to mob rat Peter "Pug" Lovaglio.

“It is beyond defense counsel’s comprehension as to why he flagrantly handed materials to (Lovaglio) that are so critical to the defense and the impeachment of this witness at trial,” Meringolo wrote.

In one recorded phone call from state prison, Lovaglio said prosecutors were “trying to get my sentence vacated,” according to papers. In another Lovaglio tells a federal agent he wouldn’t supply information unless he got money in return.

“Without the money don’t bother,” Lovaglio told the agent, according to papers.

In yet another, Lovaglio allegedly boasted “They’re trying to get my sentence vacated. So we’re working on it.”

The snitch’s relationship with his NYPD handler eventually fell apart. Filings indicate the communications were turned over to Lovaglio through a civil lawsuit he filed last year against the handler.

A spokesman for Manhattan Federal prosecutors declined to comment.

Lovaglio took the stand in the trial of reputed Philly mob boss Joseph "Skinny Joey" Merlino, who was sentenced to two years in prison.

Zanococchio is best known for taking bets from baseball's banned all-time hits leader Pete Rose. He says the charges against him should be dismissed due to the feds’ cozy relationship with the cooperator. His trial is scheduled to start next month.

A call to an attorney for Lovaglio was not returned.

https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-metro-zancocchio-prosecutor-misconduct-20190121-story.html