Restaurateur Gets Wrist Slap For Laundering Money

Earlier this year, Marco Polo, a Carroll Gardens Italian restaurant from “way back in the day” (how long has it been there?) opened a new take-out shop. But the big news there now has nothing to do with brick oven pizza or linguine. The owner, Joseph Chirico, reputed to be a soldier in the Gambino crime family, has been convicted of money laundering for the mob, but his sentence is surprisingly light: six month’s house arrest, with 10 hours a day allowed at his restaurant, writes the NY Daily News. The reason for the short, sweet sentence: friends in high places. The Beeps, current (Markowitz) and former (Golden) sent “glowing letters” of reference for Chirico. The judge said he was swayed by Chirico’s character. Maybe the linguine’s not bad, either.
Mob-tied Brooklyn Restaurateur Avoids Jail [NY Daily News]
Photo by indiamos.