Metro

Colombo consigliere acquitted, associate convicted on money laundering charges

The consigliere of the Colombo crime family was acquitted yesterday of all charges stemming from an FBI money laundering sting.

The jury verdict in Brooklyn federal court was widely expected.

Thomas Farese — the 70-year-old, third-in-command of the crime family — had been captured on tapes that were secretly recorded about the conspiracy by an FBI informant saying virtually nothing about the money laundering scheme.

But the jury convicted another Colombo, mob associate Pat Truglia, of money laundering.

The case grew out of an FBI sting operation that centered on the Colombo family’s faction in south Florida.

Both Farese and Truglia were asked to launder money made from illegal mob loansharking activities for fellow Colombo mobster Reynold Maragni — unaware that Maragni had become an FBI informant and was helping reel them in.

During the week-long trial, Farese’s defense attorney, Sarita Kedia, tried to damage Maragni’s credibility by cataloging missteps he made early on as an informant.

One notable misstep that Maragni has admitted was continuing to run his loansharking activities — even though federal cooperators are not permitted to break the law.

Kedia told the jury that Maragni was “a serious criminal.”

Eventually prosecutors decided not to call him to testify at the trial — even though he was the chief witness.

No date has been set yet for Truglia’s sentencing