Witnesses: Milan got van to win towing contract

By CLINT RILEYand RENEE WINKLER
Courier-Post staff
CAMDEN

Saul Febo, an admitted killer and druglord who once controlled vast street-corner sales of cocaine in East Camden, took his turn on the witness stand Tuesday as prosecutors continued to make their case in the corruption trial of Camden Mayor Milton Milan.

Blase about his drug dealing and the $80,000 a month he claims it generated, Febo added details to what the U.S. S. Attorney's Office portrays as a payoff for favorable consideration on a municipal towing contract under Milan's control.

Febo testified Tuesday that in 1996, he was asked by Domenic "Shorty" Monaco to take possession of a 6-year-old Chevy Lumina van and transfer its title to Milan's wife, Kathryn Santa. Monaco had testified earlier Tuesday that he hoped the gift of the van would induce Milan to return a leased GMC Jimmy - a sport utility vehicle he allowed Milan to use while campaigning for City Council in 1995.

Milan returned the SUV in May 1997, when his election as mayor brought him the bonus of a city-leased vehicle.

The Monacos paid the $434 monthly lease fee for the SUV while Milan used it.

Accepting bribes in return for city contracts is but one part of the 19-count indictment of Milan as part of a continuing investigation into corruption in Camden. Other charges include mail and wire fraud, attempted extortion and money laundering.

Milan has pleaded not guilty to all charges and is free on bail.

Tuesday was the sixth day of testimony in a trial that is expected to last six weeks.

Others who testified were Domenic Monaco and his ex-wife Kimberly.

Domenic Monaco said Tuesday that Milan's use of the vehicle angered Kimberly Monaco, who now owns Nick's Towing, current holder of a contract to tow cars abandoned and disabled in the city. In spring 1999, Kimberly Monaco said, she was concerned about rumors the city might establish its own towing department, cutting her out of the $200,000 payment from the city and payments of $9 in daily storage fees and $35 for towing. The Monacos had owned companies that held towing contracts in Camden since 1993, except for one year when the city's contract award was being litigated. The current contract, awarded in August 1999, continues through August 2001.

But in March 1999, Kimberly Monaco testified, she agreed at the request of the FBI to wear a body wire to record conversations with Milan. After several unsuccessful attempts to reach Milan at City Hall, they met at her office in East Camden, and she attempted to get some assurance the contract would be renewed.

Their tape-recorded conversation was played before the jury Tuesday:

"Do what you normally do," Milan suggested to her. "You earned your work, and that's why I recommended you continue to do the same thing."

Both Kimberly and Domenic Monaco said they were introduced to Milan in 1995 by Febo, who described him as a council candidate interested in Camden business.

"Is this going to cost me?" Domenic Monaco asked at that first meeting in his auto parts store.

Milan replied, "Everything costs money," Febo testified on Tuesday.

Kimberly Monaco immediately became involved with fund- raising activities for Milan, organizing and attending several golf tournaments.

But it was clear from the tone of her testimony that she did not consider Milan a personal friend. Although the Monacos occasionally went to dinner with Milan and his girlfriend, now wife, it was the Monacos who always paid the bill. And, she said, it was her husband who permitted Milan to use their Shore house for a week after his election as mayor in 1997.

Questioned by Assistant U.S. S. Attorney Renee Bumb, Domenic Monaco said he didn't want it to appear in November 1997 that he, a businessman interested in a city contract, had given a gift to the mayor, so he asked Febo, a fellow businessman, to handle the paperwork.

Febo, who said he knew Milan while both were children in North Camden, said he was never paid for the Lumina, and he absorbed the $300 cost of taxes, tags and transfer fees.

Febo, who had testified last winter for the U.S. Attorney' s Office in the conspiracy, drug trafficking and money laundering trial of Jose "J"' Rivera, said he visited Rivera's office in the back of his auto parts store in East Camden up to three times a day. He did legitimate business with Rivera, purchasing auto parts and supplies, but also relied on Rivera to purchase luxury vehicles for cash.

One count in the government's case against Milan is that he accepted a $65,000 cash loan from Rivera, knowing it was drug proceeds, and channeled the loan through family and friends to avoid federal currency reporting.

On Tuesday morning, Camden City Clerk Luis Pastoriza said he distributed copies of state-mandated financial disclosure forms to Milan as he is required to distribute to all elected and appointed city officials every year. He said it was the responsibility of the individuals to complete those forms. State records show Milan never listed the use of the Monacos' truck or the van on his disclosure statement.