The other Joey Merlino wants a service-industry license

ATLANTIC CITY - He's the "other" Joey Merlino, and his lawyer said emphatically yesterday that he is not a mobster and has no ties to organized crime.

He is, however, the son of Lawrence "Yogi" Merlino, a once-notorious mob capo, and the cousin of Joseph S. "Skinny Joey" Merlino, arguably Philadelphia's best-known wiseguy.

For those reasons, lawyer John Donnelly told a Casino Control Commission hearing examiner, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement "is determined" to bar his client, Joseph N. Merlino, and his construction company from working in the casino industry.

"If their name were Johnson, we wouldn't be here," Donnelly said in opening statements at a casino service-industry licensing hearing for Merlino, his mother, Phyllis, and the company they own, Bayshore Rebar.

Twice denied a service-industry license, the Merlinos decided seven years ago to apply again. Their application - bogged down by what Donnelly alleges have been deliberate attempts by authorities to undermine the process - has finally reached the hearing stage.

"It's not about the work," Merlino said during a break in yesterday's proceedings. "My company doesn't need the work. It's the principle."

Merlino, 42, was dressed in a conservative business suit, white shirt and tie. The solidly built company executive no longer fits the nickname "Fat Joey," once used to distinguish him from his thinner cousin.

He said that he and his mother, both of Ventnor, expect to testify during the hearing before Casino Control Commissioner William Sommeling, which could last at least a week.

Sommeling's findings and recommendation then must be approved by the full commission.

The process ended in 1989 and 1996 with the commission denying Bayshore and the Merlinos a license to work on casino-related construction projects. Bayshore is based in Pleasantville.

The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) is again opposing the request, citing alleged organized crime ties and what Deputy Attorney General Wendy A. Way said yesterday were deliberate attempts by the Merlinos to mislead authorities while being questioned last year.

Way and Assistant Attorney General Anthony Parrillo are expected to call several current and former law enforcement officials to testify both in general terms about the Philadelphia mob and in particular about the Merlino family and its long history of mob connections.

Way, in her opening statememt, cited phone records and surveillance reports from 1997 to 2002 that, she argued, showed a continuing association.

Phone calls to and from Joseph S. Merlino and mobster Martin Angelina, and surveillance reports placing Joseph N. Merlino and his mother at events attended by "Skinny Joe," Angelina, mobster Anthony Accardo, and reputed mob boss Joseph Ligambi were cited by Way to support the DGE's arguments.

Donnelly said in his opening that he too will call former law enforcement investigators, including ex-FBI agents who in the 1980s spearheaded the investigation that dismantled the Philadelphia mob.

They will testify about their investigation and about interviews with cooperating mob witnesses who said Joseph N. Merlino, his mother, and their company have no connection to organized crime.

One of those cooperating witnesses was Lawrence Merlino, who, after his conviction on racketeering charges in 1987, cut a deal with the government.

Phyllis and Lawrence Merlino divorced in 1979, and he was estranged from his family when he began cooperating.

Lawrence Merlino, who died several years ago, told authorities that Bayshore had no mob ties, according to law enforcement reports. Philip Leonetti, a former mob underboss, also said he knew of no organized crime links to the company.

Donnelly argued that the DGE had misidentified a friend of Joseph N. Merlino. Donnelly said Anthony Giraldi, a South Philadelphia plumber, had been erroneously labeled a "mob associate" in order to support the DGE argument that Joseph N. Merlino continues to have contact with mobsters.

"Anthony Giraldi is not a hood, never was a hood," Donnelly said. "The Division of Gaming Enforcement is slandering him . . . in order to get at Phyllis Merlino and Joseph N. Merlino."

Donnelly said that while barred from casino construction work, Bayshore Rebar has set reinforcing rods needed to pour concrete on dozens of high-profile government-related jobs.

These include, he said, work at a nuclear power plant, a garage in the statehouse complex in Trenton, and a county jail facility.

A Bayshore Rebar Web site includes a 26-page list of jobs the company has completed, usually as a subcontractor. These include projects for the Ocean County Utility Authority, Toms River Community Hospital, the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University, the Eagles, and the National Constitution Center.

Bayshore, Donnelly said, is a highly regarded company and Joseph N. Merlino is considered an industry leader. "This is an American success story," he said.

But, he added, the DGE "has made the decision that no person named Merlino will ever get licensed."