Judge extends deadline so ex-mob boss can find affadavit

The government has called the claim of a better deal 'simply untrue.'
YOUNGSTOWN -- Imprisoned ex-mob boss Lenny Strollo has until May 1 to find his star witness -- who apparently went to Australia without supplying a crucial affidavit.
In January, Strollo filed a motion in Cleveland federal court asking that U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. O'Malley vacate his sentence and schedule a hearing to establish the facts. He alleges ineffective assistance of counsel.
The Canfield man, who turns 74 next month, is serving a sentence of 12 years and eight months. He is acting as his own lawyer in the civil lawsuit.
Plea deals
He alleges that Buffalo, N.Y., lawyer Herbert L. Greenman failed to inform him of a plea agreement that was more favorable than the one he accepted in February 1999. The federal inmate doesn't say what the more favorable plea offer was.
"Early in this case, the government told my retained counsel [Greenman] that it desired my cooperation in convicting other defendants named in the indictment and made a plea offer substantially more favorable than the plea agreement I ultimately entered into," Strollo said in his motion. "The terms of this offer are outlined in the affidavit of Paul Lynch."
In January, Strollo said Lynch's affidavit would be filed soon.
Strollo, in a letter Judge O'Malley received March 17, said he has been trying diligently to contact Lynch for weeks to get the affidavit. Strollo said his mail is delayed by two or more weeks because he is in the Witness Protection Program and the mail must go through Washington, D.C.
"I've just been advised that [Lynch] is currently out of the country and from what I gather he's in Australia," Strollo wrote to the judge. "I spoke to him prior to his trip ... he advised me that the affidavit in question was sitting on his desk. Unfortunately, he left the country before sending it off to me."
Wednesday, Judge O'Malley granted Strollo's request for more time to "re-establish communication with Paul Lynch."
Claim disputed
The government, represented by Matthew B. Kall, an assistant U.S. attorney, has said the claim that a better offer was made is simply untrue. Strollo's claim "rests on unsubstantiated, unverified allegations," the prosecutor said.
Strollo has been in federal custody since indicted in December 1997. His prison location is confidential.
He wasn't sentenced until Jan. 27. By then, federal prosecutors had exhausted his wealth of knowledge and used his testimony to convict associates.
The aged mob boss, convicted of racketeering and filing a false tax return, will serve three years' supervised release and do 250 hours community service when released from prison.
With good time, Strollo could be released by late summer 2008.
The once-powerful organized crime figure was indicted on Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations violations of aggravated murder in the death of rival Ernie Biondillo Jr. in June 1996, casino-style gambling and numbers lottery.
Judge O'Malley said in court that Strollo's federal time would include safety considerations to protect him from those he testified against. The time also runs concurrent with two concurrent 10-year state prison terms.
The state sentence was handed down in November 1999 after Strollo pleaded guilty to charges that nearly mirrored the federal racketeering case. The state convictions included the attempted murder of Mahoning County Prosecutor Paul J. Gains in December 1996.