John Gotti’s ex son-in-law appears in court after organized crime raid in

It has been reported 10 June 2002 that Gotti has died in Missouri from complications from cancer.

Carmine “The Bull” Agnello, described by prosecutors as a former member of the Gambino crime family, made his first court appearance Friday as a suspect in a $3 million car-scrapping scam in Cleveland.

Prosecutors dropped the late mob legend’s name to no avail there Friday in asking that Victoria Gotti’s ex Carmine Agnello be held in lieu of a $1 million bail.

Agnello was arrested Wednesday by Cleveland police after an 18-month investigation.

Police in Cleveland say Agnello’s company “would buy stolen cars, fill them with sand to add weight and sell the compacted vehicles to an unidentified metal processing company”.

But Defense attorney Roger Synenberg told the court it’s been 14 years since Agnello was charged with a felony, and that he’s since turned his life around. Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Dick Ambrose set a $100,000 personal bond, ordered Agnello to wear a Global Positioning System monitoring device and to stay away from his scrap yards.

Agnello is now married to the daughter of Mourad “Moose” Topalian, whom he met while serving time with Topalian at a federal prison outside Youngstown.

At a news conference, Cleveland police Deputy Chief Ed Tomba said an investigation into Agnello’s activities began after Cleveland police noticed both a spike in auto thefts and a shortfall in the recovery of such vehicles. Authorities said Agnello was involved in a scheme to take control of scrap yards in Queens, New York. A police report said that when a Cleveland Metroparks ranger approached his pick-up truck, Agnello became “irate” and questioned why ranger Fayza Panno, who Agnello believed to be Italian, would give him a ticket.

No attorney information for Agnello was immediately available. Panno called for assistance and Agnello was arrested.