Mariano appeal of sentence rejected by court
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has rejected former City Councilman Rick Mariano's appeal of his 78-month federal prison sentence for bribery and money laundering.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has rejected former City Councilman Rick Mariano's appeal of his 78-month federal prison sentence for bribery and money laundering.
In its decision filed today, the court ruled that federal prosecutors had properly charged Mariano in his 2006 trial.
Jurors found that in 2002 Mariano took $23,000 in bribes from Louis and Philip Chartock of Erie Steel Ltd. in exchange for tax breaks and help with city regulators. The Chartocks, who were convicted at a separate trial, laundered two of the bribes through businessmen Vincent DiPentino and Joseph Pellecchia, who got favors in return.
Mariano was elected councilman for the Seventh District in 1995 and reelected in 1999 and 2003. He is at the federal correctional facility at Fort Dix. - David O'Reilly