Joseph "Jojo" Giorgianni is facing federal prosecution on drug distribution charges and is a co-defendant in the corruption case against Trenton Mayor Tony Mack
Joseph "JoJo" Giorgianni is led in handcuffs by federal agents after being arrested on corruption charges Sept. 10, 2012.
TRENTON — Two of the co-defendants in the federal drug distribution case against Joseph "JoJo" Giorgianni, who faces separate charges in the Trenton Mayor Tony Mack corruption sting, pleaded guilty today for their roles in the drug ring.
Giuseppe "Joey" Scordato, 47, of Hamilton, and Eugene “Raheem” Brown, of Atlantic City, 71, entered guilty pleas to one count each of distribution of oxycodone before U.S. District Court Judge Michael Shipp in federal court in Trenton. They each face a maximum of 20 years in prison.
Brown also pleaded guilty to a count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Bruce Throckmorton, Brown's attorney, said his client had no knowledge of the pill-dealing ring Giorgianni allegedly ran from his North Trenton steak shop and only became ensnared in federal charges because of his relationship with FBI cooperator Charles Hall III.
"He really didn't know about the other case. He knew Charlie Hall," Throckmorton said.
After entering his guilty plea, Brown said Hall, a former city employee and close associate of Mack and Giorgianni, had been "like family" to him until an arrest in Pennsylvania for painkillers put Hall on the FBI's radar.
"At that point, they sent him into the street to entrap people," Brown said.
In pain from arthritis, nerve damage and sciatica, Brown was taking the oxycodone-based painkiller Endocet, which he shared with Hall, he said. Brown said he was unaware until later that Hall did not need the pills for his own leg pain and was selling them instead.
Hall also approached two of Brown's brothers for prescription pills, Brown said.
Giorgianni, 63, is accused of running the prescription pill sales from JoJo's Steak House, which operates out of a building he owns in Trenton. He was indicted last week along with his longtime companion Mary Manfredo and Trenton resident Anthony DiMatteo on multiple drug distribution charges.
Giorgianni has denied the allegations. He will enter a plea of not guilty at an upcoming court appearance, his attorney Jerome Ballarotto has said.
As reported by The Times of Trenton on Saturday, five other co-defendants in the case have signed agreements with the U.S. Attorney's Office to plead guilty in the case. The guilty pleas by Scordato and Brown today were the first to be entered before a judge.
Hall has also admitted to his role in the prescription pill sales. Hall was not initially named when the arrests were made because he was cooperating with federal authorities in the investigation of Giorgianni and Mack.
In the indictment against Giorgianni, Manfredo and DiMatteo, the federal government said the pill ring operated from May 2011 to July 2012 in Mercer and Essex Counties. They are accused of conspiring to make a pill pickup and drop-off in July 2011 and distributed pills between July 25, 2011 and Aug. 3, 2011.
The other co-defendants, Carol Kounitz and Stephanie Lima of Hamilton and Mark Bethea of Trenton, have all signed agreements with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to plead guilty, according to court documents.
Ralph DiMatteo Sr. has also been charged but not indicted in the case. He has a one-month continuance in the grand jury review due to a medical condition.
The drug ring relied on Hall, Kounitz, Lima and Brown to obtain prescriptions for the painkillers, according to federal authoriteis. Hall collected and brought the pills to JoJo’s Steak House, which is operated by Manfredo in a building owned by Giorgianni, federal authorities said. Bethea and the DiMatteos would then arrange for their sale, authorities said.
Giorgianni was recorded by Hall talking about oxycontin and Percocet after Hall began cooperating with the FBI, authorities said.
The corruption case against Giorgianni, Mayor Mack, and Mack's brother Ralphiel, is being prosecuted separately. The three men face a total of eight counts in an alleged a $119,000 bribery scheme involving a Trenton parking garage project.
The project was an FBI sting as part of a two-year investigation into the Mack administration.
Mack has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and remains mayor of the city as the charges remain pending. A trial is currently scheduled for this summer.
Previous coverage:
• Co-defendants in 'JoJo' Giorgianni drug case strike plea deals
• Trenton Mayor Tony Mack is indicted on federal corruption charges