Pitbull mob attorney Bruce Cutler went on the attack at a tony Midtown steakhouse Thursday night when he clocked a diner in the face for being too loud, police sources told The Post.
Cutler, 65, who successfully represented former Gambino boss John Gotti in a string of trial acquittals in the 1980’s, repeatedly told John Aiello, 38, to “settle down” while they sat at adjacent tables with their friends in the Porterhouse restaurant in Columbus Circle., sources said.
Aiello and his pals blew off Cutler, who became even more enraged and got up several times to get them to pipe down, the source said.
When that didn’t work, the fed up lawyer sprang to his feet and slugged Aiello in the eye, causing swelling, sources said.
“[Cutler] wanted them to quiet down. They were being very loud. So he got up and hit him,” said one law enforcement source.
Aiello or his friends called 911, according to Cutler’s attorney and law partner, Tim Parlatore.
“The one guy got a little bump and his ego was bruised,” Parlatore told The Post. “This kid wanted to push it and demanded that the police make an arrest.”
“It was the four of them and only one of him and he wouldn’t back down to them,” Parlatore noted.
Patrol cops responded to the steakhouse and hauled Cutler into the Midtown North Stationhouse, sources said.
Cutler was given a desk appearance ticket for assault and released.
He will be arraigned on the misdemeanor charge in Manhattan Criminal Court in thirty days.
“He was very much the gentleman,” said one source while Cutler was in police custody. “He was very cooperative.”
Cutler, who has appeared in the 2001 Robert De Niro film, “15 Minutes,” has a cameo playing himself on the hit TV show “Blue Bloods” tonight.
“He walks into the precinct to get his client and walks him out, just like I just did last night,” an amused Parlatore said.
The arrest will likely not affect his stature with the New York State Bar Association.