Accused gangster Anthony Colombo – charged with raking in large sums through extortion, loan sharking and gambling – pleaded poverty yesterday, saying he scrapes by on a $681-a-month government disability check and needs a court-appointed lawyer.
Federal Magistrate James Francis ordered Colombo, 59 – the son of legendary mob boss Joseph Colombo – held without bail, agreeing with prosecutors who said he is too dangerous to be set free.
But Francis bought the mobster’s story of financial hard times, assigning him a lawyer at public expense.
At a hearing yesterday, Colombo’s son, Anthony Jr., 30, made an appeal for his father’s release.
Anthony Jr., a lawyer in San Diego, said his dad, who has diabetes and a heart condition, lives on a $681-a-month Social Security check.
Colombo is charged with bilking Internet ad firm DoubleClick of hundreds of thousands of dollars in bogus construction bills.
A federal indictment says he and his brother, Christopher, led a Mafia crew that specialized in loan sharking and gambling.
Christopher Colombo, 42, was ordered released on $1 million bail, but will be confined to his Orange County home.