Oct. 9 2002 - WorldCatch Wave - A New Bedford fish broker accused of running a ruthless local mob offered to pay more than $75,000 for a hit on a Somerset police detective who helped bring his crimes before a federal grand jury, prosecutors claimed yesterday.

``I should put a bullet in that guy's head,'' the government says Timothy J. Mello told his weight lifting buddy, a suspended Fall River cop who conveyed the conversation to a fellow officer.

The accusation in court papers drew a fast and furious denial from Timothy J. Mello's attorney, Anthony M. Cardinale, who called the claim ``urban myth'' stoked by barroom talk in a small town.

Cardinale vowed to bury the 16-count federal racketeering indictment against Mello, 45, as echoes of a long-dead criminal past and noted the government did not charge Mello with the death threat.

``The fact that it's not in there should tell you something,'' Cardinale said outside a federal magistrate's courtroom, spurring a hallway retort from Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Kelly.

``If Mr. Cardinale is asking us to bring additional charges, we will consider it,'' Kelly said.

``Bring it on,'' Cardinale fired back.

The alleged death threat against Somerset retired Lt. Jack O'Neil appeared in the government's motion to keep Mello and his codefendant Frank ``Bruno'' Moniz behind bars awaiting trial.

In an affidavit, FBI agent Robert D. Doherty says Mello and Moniz both pose a danger to the community.

``Two different sources, including one who has been a close friend and associate of Mello for approximately 20 years, advised investigators that Mello had offered $75,000-$100,000 to anyone who would `whack,' i.e. kill, Officer O'Neil,'' Doherty told the court.

The FBI later instructed Mello's attorney to warn Mello not to harm O'Neil, the agent said.

Mello also allegedly told Fall River Officer John ``Barry'' Pacheco of his desire to kill O'Neil, the agent said.

Pacheco was charged last month with lying to a grand jury about his connections to Mello's alleged drug ring and has been suspended from the force. He was released on $25,000 bond.

Federal Magistrate Judge Lawrence P. Cohen agreed yesterday to delay a detention hearing for Mello and Moniz to Oct. 21.

The pair have so far refused to cooperate with investigators and are both represented by Cardinale.

Moniz, 36, a truck driver for Mello's Tempest Fisheries and who the government calls Mello's enforcer, is a penniless ex-junkie who ``hero worships'' Mello, according to one source.

Mello, himself a former heroin addict who has been off drugs for 12 years, ordered Moniz into drug treatment, the source said.

Cardinale yesterday portrayed Mello, a Fall River native and ex-con, as a victim of his own reputation as a New Beford tough guy, who went legit more than a decade ago and makes his living in the scallop trade.

Mello, once linked with New England mob boss Francis P. ``Cadillac Frank'' Salemme, allegedly took part in a 1990 attempt to kidnap and kill a Salemme enemy. The charges were later dropped when a witness refused to cooperate.

He called Mello ``one of the greatest redemption stories of all time'' who learned his lesson from a 1980s stint in Walpole.

As owner of Tempest Fisheries beginning in 1995, Mello gave thousands to local charities, including $25,000 to a local charter school and money to Babe Ruth baseball programs, said Cardinale. He donated turkeys for an annual Thanksgiving dinner for the homeless at a local bar.

Prosecutors contend Mello took the fish company through extortion.

Mello offered to open his company's books to the IRS and prosecutors for full review, Cardinale said, but the government did not accept the offer.

He called the case against Mello an outgrowth of local political battles and blasted Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgkins' office for pushing the case.

Cardinale cast the sheriff's drug and organized crime task force as ``goofballs who couldn't make it as real cops.''

Hodgkins yesterday termed Cardinale's remark ``reckless'' and said the defense attorney ``knows nothing about the operation of our department.''

©2002 Boston Herald. All rights reserved.

New Bedford fish broker offered $75K to 'whack' police officer, prosecutors say