Another Friel curiosity

ALLEGATIONS THAT boxing promoter Arthur Pelullo was a mob associate had been on public record for at least 15 years before organized-crime expert Frank Friel swore to Connecticut gaming authorities that he had never heard of such evidence. Friel, named chairman of Pennsylvania's Gaming Control Board two weeks ago by Gov. Rendell, testified as a paid witness on Pelullo's behalf in 2001 and 2002 when Pelullo was seeking restoration of his license to promote boxing in casinos. The license had been revoked by Connecticut authorities because of Pelullo's alleged ties to former Philadelphia mob boss Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scar-fo's crime family. A city policeman for 28 years and co-author of a book about organized crime, Friel testified that in all his years as a mob investigator, Pelullo's alleged links to the wise guys had never come to his attention. Friel told the Daily News he could not remember how much Pelullo had paid him for his services as president of Atlantic Security International Investigations Inc., a job he took in 1997 after serving eight years as Bensalem's director of public safety. Pelullo's attorney in Connecticut, Jay Malcynsky, said that Friel had worked at an hourly rate and had been paid "barely $5,000" by Pelullo. At the time of Friel's testimony, allegations about Pelullo's dealings with the mob included: • A 1990 report by the Pennsylvania Crime Commission that Pelullo and his two brothers had "personal and business" relationships with Scarfo, Scarfo underboss Philip Leonetti and late mob captain Salvatore Testa. At the time of this report, Friel was working for Bensalem. "These reports were distributed to every police department in the state, to every big public library, and they were widely available," said Fred Martens, former executive director of the Crime Commission. • A 1995 New Jersey State Commission of Investigations report identifying Pelullo as a "Scarfo family associate" who had "threatened to kill [Atlantic City Mayor Mike] Matthews" when Pelullo had trouble getting a license for his limousine service. The report noted that Matthews had "contacted Leonetti for help." According to the report, Leonetti "made Pelullo apologize to Matthews." Sources said the SCI report had been given to the news media, to the Philadelphia Police Department and to any other police department in the region requesting it. • A 1985 SCI report with a section headed "Arthur Pelullo's Mob Friends." The section stated, "Arthur Pelullo's presence at family and holiday celebrations hosted by gangsters and their presence at his own family gatherings has a special underworld significance, denoting unusually close rapport." At the time of the report, Friel was co-chair of the joint federal-local organized-crime task force. Sources said SCI had delivered "multiple copies ofthe report" to the task force, the news media and to interested police personnel. • A 1988 SCI "profile" of Pelullo, distributed to the organized- crime task force and other police agencies identifying Pelullo and his brothers as "subordinate to" Scarfo and Leonetti. The profile said Leonetti had "provided assistance" to Pelullo's limousine firm and had "introduced Pelullo to other organized crime figures when Pelullo became involved in managing boxers." • Information in the 1995 New Jersey SCI report that Arthur Pelullo was a guest during the 1980s in Scarfo's Fort Lauderdale, Fla., home, that he attended two Christmas parties hosted by Scarfo, and that Pelullo owned Mars restaurant on South Street near 8th in Philadelphia, where the Scarfo crime "Family used to meet to discuss Family business and to socialize." • A July 1985 Daily News story about the murder of mobster Frank "Frankie Flowers" D'Alfonso that identified Arthur Pelullo as a D'Alfonso and Scarfo "associate." Friel, 62, could not be reached to comment on the basis for his Connecticut testimony that he had found no evidence linking Pelullo to organized crime. He did say this in an earlier interview with the Daily News: "In all my years that I was investigating, his name never came across my desk as a [mob] member or associate, and it didn't come across during my investigation." A longtime mob investigator who asked not to be identified questioned the thoroughness of Friel's investigation. "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to learn that Artie Pelullo was associated with the mob," said this investigator, who was fulsome in his praise of Friel just two weeks ago. "All you have to do is a Google search [on the Internet] and you'll come up with that link in seconds." Friel said he had been hired by Pelullo to investigate Pelullo and to report his findings to Connecticut gaming authorities, who were considering whether to reinstate Pelullo's license. Friel did so, and his testimony conflicted with that of James Maher, retired FBI Organized Crime Squad chief, and Leonetti, both of whom said Pelullo was a mob associate. After two years and six hearings, Connecticut's division of special revenue granted Pelullo a license 15 months ago, saying the agency had "no clear picture" of the promoter's alleged mob ties because of conflicting testimony. Rendell, who gave Friel the $150,000-a-year job putting him in charge of keeping mobsters out of the state's gambling industry, stood by his choice. "We are not in a position to comment on Mr. Pelullo's past," said Rendell press secretary Kate Philips. "We stand by [Friel]. He has an unmatched record as an investigator who has taken on the mob and broken it." Referring to a Daily News story a week ago about a 1974 Crime Commission report that identified Friel as having taken cash from a Kensington club owner, Philips said Friel had denied those accusations and had testified before a grand jury, which took no action.