Defense Attorney Spurns Plea Deal, Gets 18 Years
A defense attorney drew a sentence of up to 18 years in prison after balking at a plea deal in which he admitted conspiring to kill a nightclub owner, distribute cocaine and launder more than $200,000.
Anthony Leonardo, 57, who once represented mobsters and crooked cops, was sentenced in federal court in Rochester to 16 years and, hours later, got a concurrent sentence of six to 18 years for his role in the gangland-style execution of Anthony Vaccaro, his business partner.
“You’ve given a black eye to the profession,” said U.S. District Judge David Larimer.
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