Prosecutors Ask Judge To Keep Reputed Philadelphia Mob Boss Joseph Ligambi In Jail

John P. Martin at the Philadelphia Inquirer reports on the federal prosecutors who plan to retry Joseph "Uncle Joe" Ligambi, the reputed head of the Philadelphia Cosa Nostra organized crime family.

Prosecutors want a judge to keep reputed Philadelphia mob boss Joseph "Uncle Joe" Ligambi in jail pending a retrial, arguing that the mixed verdicts this month against him and others only bolster their claims about the crime family and its leaders.

Brushing aside the jury's acquittals on 46 counts and deadlock on 11 others, the trial team from the U.S. Attorney's Office noted that 10 of the original 15 defendants in the case have pleaded to or been found guilty of felonies. And that the evidence that led to the convictions showed the mob and its leaders ran bookmaking, loan-sharking, and other rackets.

"The government has proven beyond a reasonable doubt, by numerous guilty verdicts and guilty pleas, the existence and operation of the racketeering enterprise known as the Philadelphia La Cosa Nostra," assistant U.S. Attorneys Frank Labor, Suzanne Ercole and John Han wrote in a motion to U.S. District Judge Eduardo Robreno.

After a four-month trial, jurors acquitted Ligambi, 73, on five counts of loansharking, theft and bookmaking but were undecided on four other charges, including racketeering conspiracy, which accused him of leading the criminal enterprise.  

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http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20130222_Prosecutors_ask_judge_to_keep_Ligambi_in_jail.html