It may be an offer they can’t refuse.
Nearly four dozen accused mobsters, including Arthur Avenue restaurateur — and reputed Genovese capo — Pasquale “Pasty” Parrello have been offered a sweet plea deal thanks to a major snag in the feds’ case against them, sources told The Post on Tuesday.
The proposed agreement involves dismissing the top charge of racketeering — which carries up to 20 years in the slammer — against the gaggle of alleged Mafiosos. It was approved by the Department of Justice in Washington, DC, recently to try to wind down the case, sources said.
The gang of 46 would still face lesser charges, including conspiracy and arson, sources said.
The catch is that at least three dozen defendants must take the deal in order for it to go through, sources said.
And at least 10 of the defendants have already said they’ll reject the offer, though it’s unclear whether that’s a negotiating tactic, sources said.
Parrello, who owns the Bronx sauce joint Pasquale’s Rigoletto Ristorante, faces as much as 40 years in prison on two racketeering charges. But his new maximum sentence could be halved — if not more – should racketeering be taken off the table, sources said.
Reputed Philly mob boss Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino also is among the defendants.
The US Attorney’s Office in Manhattan declined to comment.
The feds’ case against the crew of mobsters, including members of four of the five major Mafia crime families, crumbled after a sealed letter to a judge in March warned that two FBI agents and a supervising agent in the case are being probed internally about their interactions with a key witness.
In the letter, Manhattan federal prosecutors said they are investigating a failure by the agents to archive debriefings with John Rubio, a Genovese associate who wore a wire against his cronies.
Agents may have also leaked confidential case information to Gangland News, a well-read blog about organized crime that is now trying to get the letter unsealed through legal documents submitted to the judge.