THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, December 20, 1995 TAG: 9512200615
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Short : 30 lines
Two New York men responsible for distributing counterfeit hundred-dollar bills along the Oceanfront in August of 1994 were sentenced Monday in federal court after apologizing.
While one man's mother wept and had to be led from the courtroom, Judge Henry Morgan agreed to let Joseph A. ``Fat Boy'' Beraducci and Antonio ``Nino'' DeMaio spend Christmas and New Year's with their families.
Afterward, on Jan. 4, both must turn themselves in. DeMaio will spend 13 months in federal prison and Beraducci will spend 11.
Both men were ordered to pay $1,500 restitution for fraudulent cellular phone calls made during the counterfeit operation and $700 each in fees. The two were caught after a store clerk noticed something wrong with one of the bills and called police.
Monday, DeMaio told the judge he would change his life, but prosecutors said he faces trial in January on charges he was a runner for drug traffickers, picking up cocaine from containers at New York docks.
``DeMaio is a career felon,'' said Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Smythers. ``Breaking the law is what he does as a career. (This sentence) is a gift to these two. They've danced. Now it's time to pay the fiddler.'' by CNB