Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Detective "Vaguely" Recalls Threat against Kessler, Family

Daniel Vile, the police detective who, with the FBI, did a major study on alleged corruption by Little Italy powerhouse Marco Li Mandri and felon Paul (Joe) Mannino, in a deposition April 8 testified that he "vaguely" recalled a Mannino threat against Scott Kessler and his family. Kessler is suing the city for wrongful termination. He says he was fired by the city administration because he cooperated with the FBI and the police detective on their study of Li Mandri and Mannino. (Vile testified that the study took much of his time over two years.) Mannino was indicted on drug, firearms and racketeering charges in New York in 1980, was convicted and went to prison. FBI documents suggest that he was a member of the New York Genovese crime family. He met Li Mandri in 2000.

In the deposition, Kessler's lawyer, Josh Gruenberg, asks Vile, "Do you recall finding a document that constituted a threat against Mr. Kessler and his family?" Vile said he did not recall. Gruenberg reworded the query: "Does that sound failiar that there was a threat against Scott and his family, his kids, that you found in Mannino's office?" Vile said, "I have a vague recollection of seeing something like that."

Vile also said he had heard an accusation that Mannino used a false Social Security number. Vile said in the deposition that the case "should have been prosecuted." District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis did not prosecute and went to Mayor Jerry Sanders to tell him so. But repeatedly in the deposition, Vile said he did not recall or did not know key details of the case -- say, whether politics or the mayor entered into the decision not to prosecute, or whether he was warned by his superiors not to cooperate with Kessler. Vile said that after the case was turned down by the DA, he was told by a superior not to talk with Kessler.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Woodpeckers are stocking away acorns, Amorous tarantulas

Stunning sycamores, Mars rising

Daniel Vile, the police detective who, with the FBI, did a major study on alleged corruption by Little Italy powerhouse Marco Li Mandri and felon Paul (Joe) Mannino, in a deposition April 8 testified that he "vaguely" recalled a Mannino threat against Scott Kessler and his family. Kessler is suing the city for wrongful termination. He says he was fired by the city administration because he cooperated with the FBI and the police detective on their study of Li Mandri and Mannino. (Vile testified that the study took much of his time over two years.) Mannino was indicted on drug, firearms and racketeering charges in New York in 1980, was convicted and went to prison. FBI documents suggest that he was a member of the New York Genovese crime family. He met Li Mandri in 2000.

In the deposition, Kessler's lawyer, Josh Gruenberg, asks Vile, "Do you recall finding a document that constituted a threat against Mr. Kessler and his family?" Vile said he did not recall. Gruenberg reworded the query: "Does that sound failiar that there was a threat against Scott and his family, his kids, that you found in Mannino's office?" Vile said, "I have a vague recollection of seeing something like that."

Vile also said he had heard an accusation that Mannino used a false Social Security number. Vile said in the deposition that the case "should have been prosecuted." District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis did not prosecute and went to Mayor Jerry Sanders to tell him so. But repeatedly in the deposition, Vile said he did not recall or did not know key details of the case -- say, whether politics or the mayor entered into the decision not to prosecute, or whether he was warned by his superiors not to cooperate with Kessler. Vile said that after the case was turned down by the DA, he was told by a superior not to talk with Kessler.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Tentative Ruling: Sanders Must Give Deposition

Next Article

La Jolla Officials Get Advice from Li Mandri

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader