Look At Deeds, Not Talk, Says Accused Philadelphia Mobster's Lawyer

 

George Anastasia, the Philadelphia Inquirer's veteran organized crime reporter, offers a piece on Edward Jabobs Jr (seen in the above photo), the lawyer who is defending seven of the accused Philadelphia organized crime figures on trial in Philadelphia.

The case against reputed mob boss Joseph "Uncle Joe" Ligambi and six codefendants should not be decided based on who the government says they are, Ligambi's lawyer argued Thursday, but rather on what they've done.

And, Edwin Jacobs Jr. told a federal jury, neither Ligambi nor any of the other defendants actually did anything.

"It's not a crime to be associated with or to be a member of the Mafia," Jacobs said in his opening statement as the long-awaited mob racketeering conspiracy trial got under way in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia.

"In America, you can be a member of almost anything," he said. "It's not about being a member. It's about what you do."

The "real charges" in the case "wouldn't support an episode of The Sopranos," Jacobs said.

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