COUPLE ASK FOR BAIL DURING APPEALS

NEW YORK - Lawyers for an elderly and ailing Connecticut couple asked an
appeals court Tuesday to release them on bail pending appeal of federal
convictions for laundering illegal drug profits for their "evil son."

James V. Monaco, 79, of Branford, Conn., and his wife of 50 years, Mary,
72, were convicted in Hartford, Conn., in February. Monaco was sentenced in
July to five years in prison, and Mary Monaco to five years and 10 months.
Both are imprisoned at medical facilities in Texas.

Monaco has about two years to live, defense lawyer Jeremiah Donovan told
the judges. "He has congestive heart trouble and can't walk a city block,"
Donovan said. "He takes 11 different medicines every day."

Donovan said Monaco also has high-blood pressure, diabetes, kidney
problems, gout and arthritis. He said his client, a house painter until he
was 70, lived in the same community virtually all of his life before his
imprisonment at the Federal Medical Center for Men at Fort Worth.

William T. Koch Jr., Mary Monaco's lawyer, told the judges that his client,
imprisoned at the Carswell Federal Medical Center for Women, took care of
her husband at home despite her own medical problems.

He said Mary Monaco has a heart blockage and needs treatment. She also
suffers from depression, hypertension, numbness in her hands, dizzy spells,
and back and shoulder problems, he said.

Donovan told the judges that the Monacos "have an evil son in Florida," a
reference to James R. "Jimmy" Monaco, 49, who is serving 55 years in a
federal prison in Illinois for drug trafficking in Florida.

"Every time he went to jail he would send them a big chunk of money,"
Donovan said. When he wanted the money or property returned, they would
give it to him, Donovan said.

Koch argued that prosecutors had never shown the Monacos took part in any
illegal transactions after the October 1986 date that the money laundering
statute, under which they were convicted, took effect.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark G. Califano said the Monacos carried out
dozens of transactions after October 1986 and had hidden assets, including
a Ferrari and large sums of money, that have never been recovered.

Califano also noted that the Monacos continue to be able to afford private
defense and appellate lawyers even though they are in prison.

The three judges reserved decision on the bail applications.

The Monacos have four children and four grandchildren. Their son, David,
and their daughter, Linda DeMaio, also were imprisoned in connection with
the conspiracy. David J. Monaco, 38, joined his parents in requesting bail
pending appeal. DeMaio, 46, did not.

David Monaco is serving 61/2 years at a prison in Lewisburg, Pa., for his
role in the drug operation. DeMaio, a former Middlefield, Conn. town clerk,
is in a prison in Alderson, W. Va., serving a 5-year sentence.

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski