Alleged Crime Bosses Create a Scene : Chase: Reporters and photographers pursued reputed mobsters after a brief court hearing in which they pleaded not guilty.

In a mob scene more notable for appearances than substance, the alleged top bosses of the Chicago Mafia pleaded not guilty Monday in San Diego federal court to charges of racketeering and extortion.

The brief hearing inside the court produced only the pleas and a calendar for getting the complicated case moving toward a trial. Afterward, outside the courthouse, reporters and television camera crews chased madly down the sidewalk to jam notebooks and microphones in the faces of each of the reputed gangsters.

“Why did you plead not guilty, John?” one TV reporter asked John (No Nose) DiFronzo, alleged to be the current Chicago mob boss. DiFronzo broke stride for just a moment to shoot the reporter a withering look, then resumed a quick pace for the corner, where the TV crews had been yielding. “Because I’m not guilty,” he said.

The 15-count indictment, unsealed Jan. 10, alleges that organized crime tried to infiltrate gambling operations at the Rincon Indian Reservation in North San Diego County, viewing it as both a source of added revenue and a means of laundering money from other illegal activities. The deal never went through.

The indictment names alleged Chicago bosses DiFronzo and Samuel Carlisi, reputed San Diego mobster Chris Petti, San Diego lawyer Nicholas DePento and six others with racketeering, extortion and mail and wire fraud.

The maximum penalties range from five to 20 years in prison for each count, with fines of up to $250,000.

At the hearing Monday, dark-suited lawyers from around the country entered the expected innocent pleas. The alleged mobsters, crowded around the attorneys in a loose semi-circle, spoke only when spoken to by the lawyers or by U.S. District Judge William B. Enright.

The reputed mob bosses have been free on bail. Those alleged to be lower in the ranks still find themselves behind bars. And there was no mistaking the hierarchy Monday in court.

In contrast to Carlisi’s gleaming blue suit and shiny shoes, for example, Petti appeared in an orange jail jumpsuit and blue canvas sneakers. At a separate hearing later Monday, Enright said Petti could be released if he posts $500,000 bail.

After the pleas were entered, Enright declared the case “complex,” because it is built on thousands of wiretaps, mostly aimed at Petti.

The judge’s finding means it will be several months, not weeks, before a trial. Enright did not even set a trial date Monday. Instead, he set a June 8 hearing to consider defense bids to trim the government’s case.

Then came the crush of camera crews, outside. Because of ongoing construction at the downtown courthouse, there is only one way out of the main exit on Front Street, through a walkway that funnels traffic to the sidewalk--where the cameras were lurking.

Wading through the microphones, the alleged mobsters and their lawyers declined to say much, preferring to repeat, “No comment,” while aiming for the safety of the corner, at Front Street and Broadway.

Only DePento, who has drawn intense attention because of his status as an attorney and the government’s allegations that he covered up mob involvement in the scheme, offered more. Proclaiming his innocence, he added, “The government is trying to slowly destroy my practice.”

In a phone call later in the day, DePento’s lawyer, San Diego attorney Nicholas Cimmarrusti, said the charges appear to be a tactic aimed primarily not at conviction but at disrupting DePento’s law practice.

It was true that prosecutors had made a “courteous gesture” in asking for low bail for DePento, Cimmarrusti said. U.S. Magistrate Barry Ted Moskowitz in San Diego set DePento’s bail at $25,000, which DePento has posted.

But, Cimmarrusti said, “One possible motivation for bringing the criminal charge may be to detrimentally affect his law practice.”

“We feel the low bail is indicative of the fact that the government’s case against Nick is weak,” Cimmarrusti said.