Ocean City Man Sentenced to Six Months for Providing Ammunition to Scarfo, Pelullo

An Ocean City man who plead guilty to providing ammunition to Nicodemo Scarfo Jr. and Sal Pelullo was sentenced to six months in prison and three years supervised release, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman said on Friday night, Nov. 16.

Todd Stark, 44, plead guilty in June to supplying Scarfo and Pelullo with ammunition for a 9-mm handgun, despite knowing both men were convicted felons, Fishman said.

Scarfo and Pelullo are the lead defendants in a 25-count racketeering case involving the alleged extortionate takeover of FirstPlus Financial Group Inc. (“FPFG”), a publicly held company in Texas, according to Fishman.

FPFG was then looted by members of the racketeering enterprise through a series of fraudulent consulting agreements and acquisitions involving companies controlled by Scarfo and Pelullo, according to Fishman.

A total of 13 people were arrested in connection with the indictment in November of last year.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, two boxes of the same brand of ammunition that Stark provided to Pelullo were found in Scarfo’s home in May of 2008 during the execution of a search warrant.

Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Ward in Newark; special agents of the Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Robert Panella, New York Region; and the ATF, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge is Donald J. Soranno in Newark, with the investigation that led to the sentencing and the overall Indictment. He also thanked the FBI under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George C. Venizelos in Philadelphia for its vital assistance, and the SEC for its role.