City Man Touts Mob Ties, Intimidates Witness, Police Say

A Bethlehem man touted ties to the mob in an effort to intimidate a witness from testifying against him in a summary trial for alleged animal cruelty, according to court papers.

Cameron P. Fodero, 26, of 146 E. Fairview St., told the witness that he was a relative of late reputed Northeastern Pennsylvania crime boss Russell Bufalino and offered her $20,000 not to testify against him in a trial that was scheduled on Oct. 22, according to an arrest affidavit.

Dead now nearly 20 years, Bufalino—who served prison time for extortion and for plotting to have a witness who testified against him killed—is believed to be the man who ran organized crime in Scranton and Wilkes-Barre and the surrounding area during the 1960s, '70s and '80s.

The repeated requests not to testify, sent by Fodero via text message, apparently worked, according to police. The witness did not show up at the office of District Judge Roy Manwaring for the trial.

When Officer Benjamin Hackett of the Bethlehem Police Department arrived at Manwaring’s office on Oct. 22, Fodero told him that the witness wouldn’t be there and “initially confessed” that he had talked to her, the affidavit said.

The witness told police that she had received “several requests” from Fodero not to testify against him, according to the affidavit.

Her telephone contained text messages from Fodero’s phone, telling her he gave her a hammock as a present, offering her $20,000 not to testify and asserting his relation to Bufalino, according to the affidavit written by Hackett.

During one text exchange, the witness told Fodero that she doesn’t believe he has $20,000. Fodero insisted that he has $130,000 and offered to show it to her.

Fodero also offered to have his family attorney explain to her that she does not need to testify, the affidavit says.

Fodero was charged with intimidation of witnesses, a third-class felony. He was arraigned Tuesday before Manwaring and released on 10 percent of $10,000 bail.

The trial for animal cruelty has been rescheduled for Dec. 3.