Joe Bruno on the Mob – More on NYC Firefighter Arrested by the Feds For Selling Cocaine.
The more I read about the arrest of NY City fireman Anthony Cilento, the more I smell a rat. Or maybe three rats.
First thing we all must realized, just because a man is arrested doesn't mean he's guilty. And just because the newspapers parrot the straight line from the FBI, doesn't mean the FBI always gets things right.
The entire case against Cilento, as far as I can determine from published articles, transpired before Cilento was sworn in as a NY fireman. In fact, although it was alleged in several published reports that Cilento, not only sold cocaine for the Bonanno Crime Family, but was in fact a heavy user himself, when he began his training at the Fire Department Academy, his drug screen was entirely clean.
No coke. No pot. No nothing.
So then I ask myself exactly what do the Feds have on Cilento, besides the testimony of three rat finks? It's entirely possible that this entire case gets whacked in court if it can be proven by Cilento's attorneys that the three rats are lying, just to reduce their jail time. These three creeps feed the Feds a NY City Fireman, and maybe, just maybe, they will get a reduction in time, or maybe no prison sentence at all.
I don't know all the facts, and in a previous blog I came down a little hard on Cilento based on an article published in the NY Daily News. But now I'm not so sure Cilento is guilty of what the Feds are charging him with.
Only time will tell.
Quite frankly, it won't be the first time the FBI made a mistake. They made a little a boo boo concerning me, right after 9/11, and due to my connections in the press, the story made headlines in several states, as well as in NY City.
But that's another story for another time.
The article below can be found on AllMediaNY
http://www.allmediany.com/details_new...
NYC Firefighter Caught in Cocaine Ring Delivery Service
25 Aug 2011 04:31 PM EST
-by Molly C. Braswell, Staff Writer
FDNY firefighter Anthony Cilento, 27, has been charged by the FBI for involvement in a drug ring located in southwest Brooklyn. He entered the Fire Department Academy in 2009 and was assigned to Ladder 166 on Coney Island.
Celinto's cocaine ring was very convenient for its customers. It was a "drugs-on-demand" delivery service where members delivered the drugs to their clients on a daily basis.
He allegedly dropped out of the ring when he entered the academy, but three snitches have ratted him out for this past business endeavor. Members of his former ring have said that he also bought drugs for his personal use, though one of them confirmed that Cilento stopped buying cocaine "when he began training for the FDNY," reports the Daily News.
The unnamed ringleader claims that Cilento was involved from 2002 to 2009. He served many purposes within the operation. Court documents state that "Cilento took drug orders over the phone, allowed his home in Brooklyn to be used to store drugs, bagged bulk amounts of cocaine into smaller quantities for sale, met with suppliers and accompanied sellers on deliveries."
Members of the ring also said that Cilento was heavily involved in the violence aspect of the business. Thus, the FBI points him out as the "muscle man" in the case. He has been accused by one of the snitches of several assaults, including breaking the nose of another member of the drug ring.
Cilento was not using when he began the Fire Department Academy, as his drug screen was clean. He is being held without bail and is suspended from the fire department without pay.
