Petti’s Attorney Appeals Denial of Bail on Money-Laundering Charges

Attorneys for Chris Petti, charged along with prominent businessman Richard T. Silberman in an alleged conspiracy to launder Colombian cocaine profits, have appealed a federal magistrate’s order detaining the reputed organized-crime figure at the Metropolitan Correctional Center until his trial.

At a hearing last week, U. S. Magistrate Roger Curtis McKee characterized Petti as a danger to society and rejected defense attorney Oscar Goodman’s request that conditions be set for his client’s release on bail.

In a written order released Monday, McKee reiterated his belief that Petti should remain in custody and said the conditions proposed by Goodman “would be insufficient to ensure the safety of the community.”

Represented Ex-Mayor

Goodman, a noted Las Vegas attorney who represented former San Diego Mayor Roger Hedgecock on perjury and conspiracy charges in 1985, argued in court documents that McKee’s order “is utterly lacking in the barest minimum of factual support” needed to detain a defendant without bail.

He noted that the bulk of evidence presented to support Petti’s detention relies on information provided by FBI informant Robert Benjamin, who was characterized by Goodman as an “eight-time felon who was cooperating with the government because he was caught participating in a bank fraud.”

Goodman also argued that a government affidavit alleges only that Petti introduced Silberman to an undercover FBI agent posing as a representative of Colombian cocaine traffickers. Petti, Goodman maintained, “played no active role” in the alleged money-laundering scheme and has not been charged with a violent crime that might make a magistrate justifiably leery of releasing him.

Proposed Conditions

Moreover, Goodman said, the conditions he proposed--that Petti use a telephone only to talk with members of his family and attorneys and that he be barred from any contact with witnesses or other parties to the case--are sufficient to safeguard the community.

“I’ve always maintained that, if, in fact, there are conditions that assure there won’t be a problem, the court is obliged to adopt those--no matter how vilified the defendant is by the prosecution,” said Goodman.

His court filing also noted that Silberman and the other two co-defendants in the case have been released on bond.

Conversations Tapped

An FBI affidavit that relies on numerous wiretapped conversations characterizes Petti as a middleman who linked Silberman with the undercover agent at Silberman’s request late last year. The affidavit describes in vivid detail how Silberman allegedly laundered $300,000 provided by the agent through two transactions in November and February. Silberman purportedly was negotiating a third deal involving $1.1 million when he was arrested by FBI agents at the Hyatt Islandia Hotel April 7.

Also arrested and charged in the alleged scheme were two Los Angeles County men--Darryl Nakatsuka, 42, and Jack Norman Myers, 43--who the FBI says acted as bagmen for Silberman.

The money-laundering charges carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

In his five-page order, McKee notes that Petti, 62, was on probation for a federal bookmaking conviction when arrested on the current charges by FBI agents. In addition, the magistrate cited evidence presented by prosecutors that Petti was plotting an armed robbery of a Las Vegas sports bookmaker known as “Marty the Jew” at the time of his arrest.

Extortion Alleged

McKee also said testimony by FBI Special Agent Charles Walker indicates that Petti ordered reputed strongman Carmen DiNunzio to extort money from several men indebted to the late Anthony (Tony the Ant) Spilotro.

And he cited Petti’s 1984 conviction of assault with a deadly weapon stemming from a 1979 incident in which Petti struck another person with a baseball bat.

A hearing on Goodman’s appeal of McKee’s order is scheduled for Friday afternoon before U. S. District Judge Rudi M. Brewster. If Brewster affirms the magistrate’s decision, Goodman said, he will take his case to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Friday.