Taxpayers foot mobster's legal bills

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - A federal judge has appointed a public defender to represent Anthony “The Saint” St. Laurent in a murder-for-hire case, after the reputed mobster failed to meet a deadline to find himself a lawyer.

Last month, the reputed mafia captain asked a judge for time to find an attorney after a falling-out with defense lawyer Victor Beretta. Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Lawson accused St. Laurent of stalling, so federal Judge William Smith gave the mobster two weeks to come up with a private attorney.

• Look at the judges order

In a court filing last Friday, Smith wrote “the financial inability of the defendant to retain counsel” is prompting the order.

Public Defender Olin Thompson first represented St. Laurent when he was arrested last year. It’s not clear if Thompson will once again handle the case -- he has not returned calls for comment.

Whoever is assigned the case will have to make quick work of combing through the legal file as the judge set March 9 as the trial date.

At the hearing last month, St. Laurent said he needed to consult with his wife and daughter to find a lawyer. But his wife, Dorothy and son Anthony St. Laurent Jr., were scooped up in a separate extortion case – along with St. Laurent Sr. – on February 5th, most likely hampering their ability to help find a lawyer.

Last month, St. Laurent filed a hand-written motion, stating he can no longer work with Beretta.

Beretta told the judge he hasn’t spoken to his client in months.

“There was clearly a breakdown,” Beretta said in court. “He wanted to pursue a strategy I thought was ill advised. I don’t think I can adequately represent him.”

Ironically, Beretta is now representing St. Laurent’s son in the extortion case. Dorothy St. Laurent has hired famed defense
attorney John F. Cicilline, who has represented “The Saint” in the past.

The trio is accused of shaking down Taunton Massachusetts bookmakers for “protection money” from 1988 to 2009. Dorothy and St. Laurent Jr. would handle collections when the elder St. Laurent was ill or in prison, according to court documents.

The murder-fore-hire case burst onto the scene last year, when St. Laurent was charged in a plot to gun down mafia rival, Robert “Bobby” DeLuca.

As Target 12 first reported last January, St. Laurent was caught on FBI wiretap trying to hire two hit-men to gun down DeLuca at his workplace, Sidebar and Grille in Providence. The hit was never successful.

• Hear the FBI wiretap in the St. Laurent case

The assignment of a public defender means St. Laurent, who has a history of chewing through attorneys, will move onto his third lawyer for this case alone.