Court Acted Properly, Should Keep Petti in Jail, Prosecutor Argues

The battle over whether reputed mobster Chris Petti should be held without bail pending his trial on money-laundering charges continued Thursday, with prosecutors arguing in court documents that a federal magistrate acted properly in rejecting Petti’s request to be released on bond.

Petti, 62, is charged along with powerful political fund-raiser Richard T. Silberman with conspiring to launder $300,000 they allegedly believed came from Colombian cocaine traffickers. The two men were arrested April 7 by FBI agents after a “sting” operation involving an undercover agent posing as a representative of drug dealers.

Silberman and two other men charged in the case have been released on bond. But Petti, described in a government affidavit as the person who linked Silberman with the undercover agent, has been in custody at the Metropolitan Correctional Center since his arrest. At a hearing last week, U.S. Magistrate Roger Curtis McKee characterized Petti as a “danger to the community” and refused to free him.

‘Not Crime of Violence’

Petti’s attorney, Oscar Goodman of Las Vegas, has appealed that decision, arguing that conditions could be set to ensure that his client would not threaten society. Goodman contended that Petti’s record--which includes convictions for assault with a deadly weapon and bookmaking--does not warrant his continued jailing and noted that the offense he is now charged with “is quite obviously not a crime of violence.”

Goodman also argued that the bulk of the evidence presented by prosecutors to detain Petti was provided by FBI informant Robert Benjamin, derided by Goodman as “an eight-time felon” who became a cooperating government witness only after being indicted for bank fraud.

On Thursday, Assistant U.S. Atty. Carol Lam struck back. She argued that information Benjamin provided to FBI agents was “corroborated by court-authorized electronic surveillance, consensual recordings, physical surveillance” and independent investigation and was confirmed by other confidential sources.

Tip About Robbery

Lam also defended Benjamin’s tip that Petti was allegedly planning the armed robbery of a Las Vegas bookmaker known as “Marty the Jew,” saying the “highly detailed” report included “briefings of the victim’s daily habits, briefings on the amount of cash the victim could be expected to carry, and the drawing of a map of the intended robbery scene.”

Moreover, Lam said that a government affidavit provides proof that Petti was planning to use physical force against a Los Angeles stockbroker who allegedly cheated the undercover agent out of $50,000 during one of the transactions with Silberman.

And she said Benjamin provided FBI agents with a note from Petti with the names of several Los Angeles bookmakers Petti allegedly intended to extort to repay debts purportedly owed to the late Anthony (Tony the Ant) Spilotro.

Also Thursday, Lam argued that prosecutors should be permitted to play at his detention hearings the wiretapped conversations involving Petti. Last week, Goodman successfully objected to the playing of such tapes on grounds that the defense had not had a chance to challenge the constitutionality of FBI wiretaps.