Joseph "Uncle Joe" Ligambi Has Feds Dismiss Case After He Beats Gambling and Racketeering Charges Twice

Federal prosecutors abandoned their pursuit of a reputed Philadelphia mob boss on Monday after he twice beat charges in a gambling and racketeering case.

Joseph "Uncle Joe" Ligambi could have faced a third trial after jurors acquitted him last week of witness tampering while deadlocking on three other charges. But prosecutors filed a motion seeking to dismiss the remaining counts — a rare setback in their decades-long campaign against the Philadelphia mob.

Ligambi's attorney, Ed Jacobs, praised the decision and said he expects his client to be released from a federal detention center Tuesday. A judge still has to sign off. "They have properly exercised their discretion," Jacobs said. "They have failed twice in their efforts to convict Joe, and I don't think they think the third time's the charm."

A spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Zane Memeger declined comment.

The Ligambi case largely involved the collection of small gambling debts and loans, and the operation of video poker machines at neighborhood bars.

Prosecutors won convictions against Ligambi's reputed underboss and enforcer — who were sentenced to 15 years and 11 years in prison respectively — and several associates. But two juries deadlocked on the main racketeering charge against Ligambi, 74, and he was acquitted of six of nine counts overall.

Authorities say Ligambi took over a weakened La Cosa Nostra after his predecessor, Joseph "Skinny Joey" Merlino, was convicted and sent to prison in 2001.

An indictment unsealed in 2011 said Ligambi and other reputed mobsters remained dangerous, using threats to kill or harm people who hadn't paid their debts to the Mafia.

Ligambi has spent nearly three years in prison following his arrest.

Jacobs, who has called the case a witch hunt, said Monday the government should "put all this time and effort and money to better use chasing somebody else."

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Adam Christopher Vega Arrested, Charged with Meth and Marijuana Trafficking Conspiracy

Adam Christopher Vega, 30, of Bakersfield, was arrested in Bakersfield after being charged in a seven-count federal indictment alleging that he and four co-conspirators trafficked in methamphetamine and marijuana, Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Jay Fitzpatrick and United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

The superseding indictment, returned by a federal grand jury in Fresno on January 16, 2014, charges Vega and co-defendants Baltazar Castaneda Garcia, 23; Jesus Manuel Peraza Ruiz, 54; and Robert Anthony Canchola, 26, all of Bakersfield, with conspiring to distribute methamphetamine. Those four persons and Eduardo Ortega Chavez, 32, of Oakland, are also charged with conspiring to manufacture and distribute marijuana.

According to court documents, Vega was the owner of the California’s Best Cooperative Inc., a medical marijuana dispensary in Bakersfield during the time he was allegedly trafficking in methamphetamine and marijuana. Court documents indicate that the defendants trafficked in marijuana and other controlled substances between Kern County and Oakland where defendant Chavez maintained a marijuana grow operation. In October 2013, Ruiz was stopped in Bakersfield with approximately six pounds of methamphetamine concealed in his vehicle as he was returning from Southern California. Garcia and Canchola are also charged with possession of methamphetamine and manufacturing marijuana in connection with substances that were seized during searches at three residences in Bakersfield on January 8, 2014, including two that contained indoor marijuana grow operations.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Bakersfield Police Department, Kern County Sheriff’s Office, and Kern County Probation Department. Assistant United States Attorney Laurel J. Montoya is prosecuting the case.

Vega will make his initial appearance before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in Bakersfield. Defendant Ruiz was previously ordered detained in this case. Defendants Garcia and Canchola are temporarily detained pending a detention hearing. An arrest warrant has been issued for defendant Chavez.

If convicted, Vega, Garcia, Ruiz and Canchola face a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years to life in prison and a $10 million fine. If convicted, Chavez faces a maximum statutory penalty of five to 40 years in prison and a $5 million fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

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Leonard "Juice" Coker, Wilkinsburg Shooting Suspect, Captured by US Marshals Fugitive Task Force

The U.S. Marshals Western Pennsylvania Fugitive Task Force (WPAFTF) arrested fugitive Leonard “Juice” Coker at approximately 12:30 pm this afternoon at a residence in Penn Hills. Coker, age 22, was charged by the Allegheny County Police on December 24, 2013 with Criminal Attempt - Criminal Homicide, Carrying a Firearm without a License, Aggravated Assault and Recklessly Endangering another Person. These charges arose out of an incident occurring at a Wilkinsburg barber shop on October 31, 2013. Coker is alleged to have entered the barber shop and shot the male victim multiple times as he sat in a chair getting his hair cut.

Coker was also wanted by the Penn Hills Police Department based on a December 19, 2013 arrest warrant charging him with Carrying a Firearm without a License, Carrying a Loaded Weapon, Resisting Arrest and Escape. Additionally, Coker was also wanted pursuant to an Allegheny County Court of Common Please probation violation arrest warrant issued December 19, 2013 for the underlying offense of Firearms not to be Carried without a License
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Coker was last known to reside in the New Kensington area and was known to frequent the Penn Hills, New Kensington and Arnold areas. WPAFTF members arrested Coker this afternoon without incident in the first floor of a residence in the 100 block of Marose Drive, Penn Hills. Following his arrest, Coker was turned him over to the custody of Allegheny County Police Homicide Detectives.

The U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force is comprised of officers from the Pennsylvania State Police, Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole, Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, Allegheny County Sheriffs, and Westmoreland County Sheriff’s. These agencies, along with the United States Attorney’s Office, are participating members of the U.S. Marshals Western Pennsylvania Fugitive Task Force (WPAFTF.

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Jeffrey Leonard Wanted in Connection With Two Armed Robberies Arrested by U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force in New Hampshire

Members of the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force from both New Hampshire and Massachusetts arrested fugitive Jeffrey Leonard, age 29. Leonard was being sought in connection with two armed robberies in MA.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force in Massachusetts had been requested to assist in the location and arrest of Jeffrey Leonard. Leonard was wanted by both the Yarmouth and Dennis, Massachusetts Police Departments on outstanding arrest warrants for armed robbery while masked with a firearm. Information developed by the Marshals Task Force in Massachusetts, led investigators to NH, where Leonard was originally from and had a previous conviction for another armed robbery.

Investigators narrowed their search to a residence in the 900 block of Union Street in Manchester, NH. After a period of surveillance, it was determined that Leonard was likely inside the residence. Officers initially checked the apartment that Leonard was believed to be in without finding him. A further search of the residence led investigators to the basement where Leonard was found hiding, and he was arrested without any further incident.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office has charged Leonard as a fugitive from justice on the two outstanding Massachusetts arrest warrants.

These arrests were made by members of the task force, including; Rockingham, Hillsborough, & Belknap County Deputy Sheriffs, deputy U.S. Marshals from MA and NH.

Since the inception of the New Hampshire Joint Fugitive Task Force in 2002, these partnerships have resulted in over 5,523 arrests. These arrests have ranged in seriousness from murder, assault, unregistered sex offenders, probation and parole violations and numerous other serious offenses.

Nationally the United States Marshals Service fugitive programs are carried out with local law enforcement in 94 district offices, 85 local fugitive task forces, 7 regional task forces, as well as a growing network of offices in foreign countries.

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Dr. Charles DeHaan of Housecall Physicians Group, Arrested on Charge of Health Care Fraud

A local physician whose license was suspended this month was arrested on a federal complaint alleging health care fraud. Charles S. DeHaan, 59, of Belvidere, Illinois, was charged with engaging in a scheme to defraud Medicare. The complaint alleges that as a part of the scheme, DeHaan operated Housecall Physicians Group of Rockford, S.C., located in Rockford. The charge alleges that DeHaan submitted false claims to Medicare in December 2013.

In support of the charge, the complaint alleges that between 2010 and 2013, DeHaan billed Medicare for medical services that he did not provide to at least five patients. Instead, DeHaan engaged in sexual misconduct with four of these patients, all women, and offered or provided prescriptions for controlled medications, according to the complaint affidavit.

DeHaan appeared before United States Magistrate Judge Iain D. Johnston, who ordered that he be held in custody until a detention hearing is conducted.

The charge of health care fraud carries a maximum potential penalty of up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and full restitution.

The charges were announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Robert J. Holley, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Lamont Pugh, III, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG)

The federal case was investigated by the FBI and HHS-OIG, with the assistance of the Illinois State Police Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. The government was represented in federal court by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jolm G. McKenzie.

The public is reminded that a complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to indictment by a federal grand jury and, if indicted, to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

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