THE DEFENDANT:  I had a glass of wine at dinner the night before last. (8/11/09, Frank DiPascali in response to a question from Judge Sullivan.)

MR. MUKASEY: He sat in our office a couple nights ago explaining to his family the possibilities and the consequences. (8/11/09, Marc Mukasey telling Judge Sullivan that Frank DiPascali would never do anything to hurt his family.) 
 

I hear Frank DiPascali's victims are about to blow their tops over the rock star status the Feds awarded DiPascali. According to the court transcript of his plea hearing on Tuesday, DiPascali and his family have continued to live the good  life they were living before he was exposed as one of the biggest con artists in American history.

(The transcript can be read here in PDF format or here in Word.)

Not only that, the Feds agreed to to let DiPascali remain free on bail until at least May 2010 and probably longer.

The Feds can thank Judge Richard Sullivan for saving their sorry asses. If DiPascali had been let out on bail under the terms proposed by the Feds, Lev Dassin's life would have become one long misery.

Bail was set at $2.5 million and guaranteed by three unnamed "financially responsible" individuals. The only collateral was DiPascali's sister's condo, the value of which was set at $400k.

Joanne DiPascali bought the condo in 2007 for $425k so it is probably not worth that much now. More importantly, it doesn't look like she has a mortgage. Gee, I wonder where Ms. DiPascali came up with $425k in cash. Just how much does she make working at JPMorgan Chase?

And just who are these three financially sound individuals who are willing to stick their neck out for Frank DiPascali, an unrepentant liar and a lifelong scam artist?

For the last nine months, DiPascali has been free to go wherever and with whoever he pleases. No ankle bracelet, no house arrest. His bank accounts have not been seized and he is still living on a 7-acre estate in Bridgewater NJ.

DiPascali still has his 60-foot Viking boat as far as I know. Since Frank is such a standup guy, I wouldn't be at all surprised if he let the Feds use it this summer.

Not only has Frank DiPascali been free as a bird, he has been allowed to spend as much money as he wants to maintain his family's luxurious lifestyle. Muskasy mentioned that DiPascali helped his daughter, Dorothy, move to Brooklyn on Monday since she is starting Brooklyn Law School. DiPascali apparently is paying her tuition.

Mukasey is the one who brought up DiPascali's "poor" children by name so I guess they are fair game now. I've known all along that Dorothy DiPascali went to Boston University and spent a semester or two in Paris. Not cheap. 

I also know Frank Dipascali III attends Villanova.

Two of the DiPascali sons, Greg and Mike, are still in high school and I have no doubt their father plans to send them to expensive private schools. I have no doubt, either, the Feds would agree to let DiPascali put away tuition for his children's education.

The DiPascali children drive BMWs and other expensive cars.  Mrs. DiPascali has never worked. The family spent their summers on a 60-foot fishing boat, complete with captain.

In February 2008, DiPascali bought a $430k condo in Montgomery County in PA so his father had a nice place to live. No word on when that property is being forfeited.

Half of the DiPascali family is on Facebook and they don't appear to be at all embarrassed by Frank's despicable conduct. Maybe they aren't.   

Who cares about Frank DiPascali's family? He ruined their happy little lives, not the investors. They can get jobs and take out student loans like a lot of other people.

Frank DiPascali didn't get caught up in something he didn't know how to get out of. He's a pathological liar who hid income and lied on a resume so he could become a member of the local school board.  

Bernie didn't talk so Frank could. These two scumbags are still working as a team. I know Frank is still lying because he lied about not knowing Bernie's family knew about the fraud.

The Feds are so wrapped up in what Frank is telling them, I don't think they are giving enough attention to how crooked the rest of the business was. Plenty of other people are ready to talk if someone will listen.  

I suspect part of the problem is that the Feds, or at least some of them, identify with Frank DiPascali more than they do with the victims.

Another part of the problem is that Marc Mukasey wants his client to get a really sweet deal so the big crooks with big bucks will call him when they got caught. Getting a deal for Frank DiPascali which allows him to roam around free as a bird for two years after being exposed as a partner in a multi-billion dollar fraud spanning thirty years would sure impress me if I was a crook.

Thank goodness Judge Sullivan has common sense.

(On a different note, part of the proposed bail agreement specifically allows Frank DiPascali to travel to the Eastern District of NY (Howard Beach etc). I wonder if Frank regaled the Feds with tales of his mafia connections and offered to help them track down some mobsters. I hope the Feds didn't fall for that line of crap.)