But you'll notice it's the kind where the owners got ripped off, not the investors.
This is the son of "Little Nicky" Scarfo Sr, former head of the Philadelphia mob, who's cooling his heels in prison. The statement from the U.S. Attorney's office said Scarfo and his partner Salvatore Pelullo, 44, of Philadelphia, "used threats of economic and physical harm to members of the company to gain control of FirstPlus — forcing the board of directors to resign, while new ones friendly to their enterprise were appointed."
CAMDEN — Nicodemo S. Scarfo, a Galloway Township resident who is the son of a former mob boss with Atlantic City ties, was named in a 107-page indictment Tuesday that said he and a partner from Philadelphia forcibly took over the Texas financial services firm FirstPlus Financial Group in late spring 2007 and allegedly looted it for $12 million through a string of fraudulent acquisitions and consulting agreements over a year.
Ultimately, Scarfo and associates planned a “pump-and-dump” scheme, which would artificially boost the price of shares and allow the principals to cash out, as their “piece de resistance,” U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman said, but federal agents stepped in before that could happen.
Scarfo, 46, was arrested Tuesday morning at his home in Galloway Township, and he appeared in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Ann Marie Donio on Tuesday afternoon.
He appeared rumpled and unshaven, wearing mismatched sweat clothes, bound in chains. He sought a public attorney, saying all he had was $125 in a checking account. A hearing on bail and his request for a public defender will take place in court at 11 a.m. Friday.
Scarfo was named in 25 counts, including racketeering, wire fraud, and firearms charges, in addition to conspiracy counts over wire fraud, money laundering, bank fraud and obstruction of justice. He faces a maximum of 175 years in federal prison and $7 million in fines, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Beyond the indictment, Scarfo faces seven additional charges since the alleged crimes happened when he was under supervised release following 33 months in prison for a 2002 conviction of running a gambling operation.
