An alleged Philadelphia mob boss is suing prison officials and the federal Justice Department, saying his isolated jail conditions amount to cruel and unusual punishment.
Joey Merlino, 38, who is awaiting trial on charges of racketeering and murder, filed a civil complaint Friday asking to be returned to the general prison population and demanding unspecified damages and attorney's fees.
His lawsuit follows several months of letters and informal complaints over his confinement in Philadelphia's new federal prison.
Merlino says that for the past three months he has been allowed to leave his cell for only an hour a day and that he can only speak with his wife by telephone for 15 minutes a month and with his attorney for 15 minutes a day.
According to the lawsuit, prison officials told Merlino he had been segregated for his own safety and because he was ``the alleged leader of a criminal enterprise.''
Merlino's attorney Edwin J. Jacobs Jr. said he has to meet with his client in a room which is too small and confining for meetings which sometimes involve as many as nine others.
Merlino, along with eight co-defendants, is charged in an alleged federal racketeering conspiracy that includes three murders, a murder conspiracy and two attempted murders, drug trafficking, extortion and interstate theft.
Prison officials could not be reached for comment and the U.S. Attorney's Office declined to comment on the suit.