Daily News readers help cops nab perv suspect

A career criminal who has a fondness for flashing his privates in public is once again behind bars - thanks, in part, to vigilant Daily News readers.

John Cannizzaro, 49, was arrested by U.S. marshals about 4 p.m. yesterday in East Frankford, authorities said.

He had been sought by marshals and Philadelphia police for exposing himself to four 12-year-old girls in South Philly on May 12, said Jim Burke, supervisor of the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force.

Cannizzaro was also wanted for dodging meetings with his state parole agent, Burke said. He had been on parole since 2007, after serving four years of a sentence for indecent exposure.

"To give you an idea of the person we're dealing with, out of the last 11 years, he's spent nine years in state prison," Burke said.

Detectives were anxious to get Cannizzaro off the streets because they feared he would strike again after he allegedly exposed himself on May 12.

"You hear about incidents like this, and you have to assume he'll escalate into something much worse," Burke said.

Turns out the authorities weren't the only ones who wanted to see Cannizzaro behind bars.

Daily News readers flooded investigators with information on Cannizzaro after his photo ran in a "Week's Most Wanted" column in the Aug. 31 edition of the People Paper.

"They contributed numerous tips which helped lead to his apprehension," Burke noted.

Cannizzaro, whose last known address was on 4th Street near Snyder Avenue, was found on Haworth Street near Frankford Avenue. "He was staying with a man who is also on parole for a sexual offense," Burke said.

Several readers who contacted investigators said they recognized Cannizzaro from South Philly, where he was regularly turning up at parks and outside a day-care center.

Fallon Girini said she and a cousin called 9-1-1 on April 10 when they spotted Cannizzaro allegedly leering at a group of young girls in Marconi Plaza, on Bigler Street near 13th.

"We were walking our sons through the park when we noticed him standing near the swing set, just staring at them. It was clear he had an erection," she said.

Girini claims a 9-1-1 operator scoffed at the suggestion that the incident required police attention.

A few weeks later, she said she saw Cannizzaro lingering near a day-care center where she works, at 11th and Shunk streets, then saw him grab himself as he approached young girls in the neighborhood.

Girini and several of her friends shared other stories with authorities of creepy encounters with Cannizzaro.

"As a mother and someone who works with kids, I'm so glad they got him," Girini said.