DRUG DEALER'S FAMILY FIGHTS PROPERTY CONFISCATION

The wife and stepdaughter of a convicted North Huntingdon Township cocaine
dealer are claiming that several properties and businesses in two states
should not be seized by the federal government because they were purchased
with "legitimate" funds.

Martha Scalzitti and her daughter, Christine Kasunic-Laukus, and her
husband, David, want a federal judge to hold a hearing into their ownership
claims before the government seizes a restaurant, two mailing centers, an
auto dealership, several real estate companies and two condos in Florida in
connection with the prosecution of Jon Scalzitti.

The U.S. government wants to seize the properties - and also $4 million in
cash - because it contends the assets were accumulated by selling drugs. On
Oct. 7 in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh, Jon Scalzitti pleaded guilty
to smuggling $11 million worth of cocaine, methamphetamines and marijuana
into the region. The 62-year-old former car dealer faces a prison term of
20 years to life when he is sentenced Jan. 17 on drug, fraud and money
laundering charges.

Federal prosecutors also served notice that they intend to introduce Jon
Scalzitti's prior cocaine trafficking conviction in 1981 at his sentencing
in an effort to obtain a stiffer prison sentence. Jon Scalzitti was
sentenced to 10 years in federal prison after his conviction. Federal
agents contend in court records that he resurrected his drug operation as
soon as his probation ended in the mid-1990s.

As part of his plea, Jon Scalzitti agreed to forfeit his financial interest
in 18 properties the U.S government contends was amassed through proceeds
from selling drugs. Jon Scalzitti's assets include property in Somerset
County, a beer distributorship, a sandwich and six-pack shop, mailing
centers, land in Florida and several auto sales and leasing companies.

In a motion filed by her attorney, Anthony Mariani of Pittsburgh, Martha
Scalzitti argued that she was able to purchase interests in the business
with her earnings, loans, lines of credit and credit cards and not from
proceeds of her husband's drug-dealing enterprise.

"At no time prior to Jon Scalzitti's pleading guilty did Ms. Scalzitti have
knowledge of the unlawful conduct to which Jon Scalzitti admitted by
entering his plea of guilty," Mariani said.

Martha Scalzitti owns half of the stock in Armando's Cafe, located in the
Norwin Hills Shopping Center in North Huntingdon, through the purchase of
250 shares for $75,000 in 1999. The money, she added, was "derived from
legitimate sources in the form of a loan supported by a check."

The other owner of Armando's Cafe is John Scozio, a North Huntingdon
businessman, who operates a chain of supermarkets in the region.

The FBI said Scalzitti used Armando's as a base of operations and discussed
drug deals inside and behind the restaurant with a confidential informant
who taped the conversations for the FBI.

Martha Scalzitti also said she owns half interest in the Camry Building in
North Huntingdon, which was built by her husband. The construction was
financed through PNC Bank and $348,000 still is owed on the mortgage, she said.

She also owns half interest in Camry Land Development and Camry Estates, a
housing development company. The Scalzittis are partners with Scozio, who
also is claiming a legitimate interest in some of the jointly owned properties.

Martha Scalzitti also is contesting the government's right to seize a
Florida condo in North Palm Beach.

She claims she is the sole owner of the property, arguing "the property was
purchased with legitimate funds and certainly not with funds derived from
illegal conduct." She has an agreement to sell a second apartment for
$200,000, a sale the U.S. government is allowing to proceed.

Martha Scalzitti claims she and her husband were able to purchase the
properties because of income he received from his job as a contractor and
real estate manager of the Camry Building, Camry Development and Camry
Estates. They also used income from the sale of cars at First Class Auto in
North Huntingdon to purchase the land, she contends.

"Ms. Scalzitti also contributed money toward this purchase," Mariani said.
"No funds from any illegitimate sources were used to purchase this property."

Scalzitti also claims she purchased an interest in Mail Priority in Irwin
by using a loan from her daughter and from several credit cards and lines
of credit. She also claims an ownership interest in Three Star Motors.

Jon Scalzitti has been in jail since his arrest last May. He has been
involved with organized crime since the 1970s, when he purchased an auto
dealership and a motel with partners who were considered members of
organized crime in western Pennsylvania.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s he began dealing in cocaine, records
show. His downfall then also was tied to an informant working for the FBI
who purchased drugs from Scalzitti and later testified against him. He was
convicted in 1977 of running a cocaine ring with another convicted mobster
and sentenced to a decade in a federal prison.