A convict's teenage son was jailed without bond, accused of scheming to free his reputedly mob-connected father from prison in a foiled escape plot with a 'self-styled mercenary' using a helicopter, grenade launcher and machine guns.
Stephen Vento Jr., 18, whose father is a reputed associate of a Philadelphia organized crime family, appeared at a heavily guarded hearing Wednesday with the 'soldier of fortune' he allegedly hired to mastermind the plot.
U.S. Magistrate David Larimer ordered Vento Jr. held without bail. Larimer set bail at $100,000 for James Dickerson, 43, of Rochester, described by the FBI as 'a self-styled mercenary who advertises in the 'Soldier of Fortune' magazine.'
Undercover agents infiltrated and foiled the plan to swoop down on the U.S. Penitentiary at Lewisburg, Pa., Tuesday and grab Stephen Vento Sr. and another man while blasting the guard towers with grenade launchers and machine guns.
Instead of escape artists, undercover agents piloted the helicopter that hovered about 20 feet above the prison yard -- signaling Stephen Vento Sr., 44, and Noah Vance, 42, to rip off their prison garb to reveal shirts stained red with cranberry juice to help their would-be rescuers identify them.
The breakout plot was derailed by FBI agents who were tipped off by a helicopter supply company suspicious of being hired at a high price to transport unspecified cargo.
FBI Special Agent John Thomas said a federal grand jury would be impaneled to bring charges of attempted escape against the elder Vento, a reputed associate of the Nicodemo 'Little Nicky' Scarfo mob family, who is serving 18 years for selling methamphetamine, or 'speed,' and Vance, of Mount Vernon, Ohio, serving 63 years for armed bank robbery.
The two remained in federal prison at Lewisburg.
The man allegedly hired to fly the escape helicopter, Charles Stearly, 30, of Jonesboro, Ark., appeared before a federal magistrate in Little Rock and was remanded to the custody of federal marshals in lieu of $10,000 bail.
The man accused of supplying arms to the group, John Valentine, 45, of San Diego, was ordered held on $200,000 bond by a federal magistrate in San Diego.
The FBI said Dickerson and the other two men were hired by Vento Jr. for a promised $90,000. Dickerson, Stearly, Valentine and the younger Vento were charged with conspiracy to commit a prison break and aiding an escape.
Each charge carries a maximum five-year sentence and a $5,000 fine.
In a related development, a Superior Court judge in Camden, N.J., increased bail on the younger Vento to $2 million on an unrelated murder charge. Vento Jr. had been out of jail on $30,000 bail since his arrest in June 1985 in the execution-style slaying of a Gloucester Township, N.J., man.
Camden County Prosecutor Samuel Asbell told Judge Stevenson Fluharty a search of Vento Jr.'s Philadelphia house showed he had a fake passport and that he had 'a penchant' for leaving the country.
Vento Jr. had $60,000 cash with him when arrested, after paying $50,000 in cash to others involved in the jailbreak attempt, Asbell said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank Geraci said Stearly and Valentine would likely be transfered in the next week or so to Rochester, where the case will be tried.
