On January 5, 2012, Tony Viola was sentenced to 12 1/2 years in jail for tricking banks like JP Morgan into making ‘no money down’ mortgage loans.  At a second trial on the same charges prosecuted by the same federal-state task force, Viola proved his innocence using evidence the government claimed did not exist.

“I utilized the government’s own documents and evidence, provided to me by a whistleblower inside the prosecutor’s office, to destroy the prosecutor’s case and prove my innocence,” Tony Viola said.  “But Federal Judge Donald Nugent refuses to grant me a hearing so I can present this same evidence in federal court.”  According to trial testimony and exhibits from the second trial, Viola obtained FBI 302 interview summaries with bank executives and internal documents from mortgage lenders confirming that bank officials specifically approved ‘no money down’ loans in writing, before closing, on all properties at issue in the federal indictment. “The government possessed proof of my innocence but never provided key documents before the first trial. Now that I have that evidence, I need your help to bring this case to the public’s attention. Imagine the outrageous injustice of having proof of my innocence is in my locker in jail but not being allowed to present that in federal court.”

For additional information about this case, please visit www.FreeTonyViola.com.  Please consider posting a comment on our blog, add Tony as a Facebook friend by searching [email protected], forward this e mail to friends, post a link to FreeTony on your facebook page, Tweet out a link to our site or help us locate an investigative reporter or blogger who has interest in criminal justice.

To read recent court filings about secretly recorded tapes and a romantic relationship between Prosecutor Dan Kasaris and Government Informant Kathryn Clover, please see Viola v. Department of Justice, case No. 15-cv-242, Western District of Pennsylvania, Judge Susan Paradise Baxter presiding, or post a note on our blog and any documents of interest will be provided to you at once.