Ralph Pecorale, a Bohemia attorney and accomplished poker player, was cleared of mortgage fraud charges in Brooklyn. Pecorale was one of seven people originally charged in 2010 for a scheme involving straw buyers and forged documents to steal money from banks for a property purchase. While the other six defendants pleaded guilty, Pecorale pleaded not guilty and maintained his innocence. After reviewing additional evidence provided by Pecorale's attorney, the Brooklyn District Attorney's office moved to dismiss all 18 charges against Pecorale due to a lack of evidence. With the case dismissed, Pecorale is considering returning to professional poker by entering the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas later this year.

1. FROM THE LONG ISLAND BUSINESS NEWS MAY 6, 2014
LI attorney cleared in Brooklyn mortgage fraud
By: David Winzelberg May 6, 2014 0
Bohemia attorney Ralph Pecorale was cleared of mortgage fraud
Monday after the Brooklyn district attorney moved to dismiss all
charges against him.
Pecorale, an accomplished poker player who has appeared in
national tournaments on ESPN, was one of seven people charged
in 2010 for a scheme to take control of a three-story residence
on DeKalb Ave. that employed straw buyers, forgery and identity
theft to steal mortgage money from banks. While the other six
defendants pleaded guilty, Pecorale was the only one to plead
not guilty. He was eventually exonerated.
Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice John Ingram dismissed the 18-
count indictment against Pecorale after Assistant District
Attorney Richard Farrell moved to dismiss all charges against
Pecorale, citing a lack of evidence.
According to his Manhattan-based attorney, Robert Altchiler,
Pecorale’s firm handled the closings for the DeKalb deal, but he
was completely unaware that the buyers of the $900,000
property were involved in a criminal conspiracy.
“I have never had a moment’s doubt of Ralph’s innocence, and
am grateful the Brooklyn DA dismissed the case on its own
motion,” Altchiler said. “Rich Farrell, who has a high level of
expertise in cases like this and truly wanted to know the truth,
was willing to listen to me, reviewing hundreds of pages of
documents we had provided to his predecessors on the case and

2. the flawed evidence and theory of the indictment that drove this
case to the eve of trial.”
With his luck turned, Pecorale, who finished second in the 2005
U.S. Poker Championship, is considering a return to this
year’s World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.
“It’s been a long haul,” Pecorale said, adding that he was grateful
for Altchiler’s efforts on his behalf.
“He was simply relentless in defending me, and kept on coming
back at the government with more and more information, all of
which showed I committed no crime,” Pecorale said.
FROM THE NY DAILY NEWS, MAY 5 2014:
Cleared of fraud, Pecorale eyes poker
BY
NATHANIEL
VINTON
NEW
YORK
DAILY
NEWS
Monday,
May
5,
2014,
6:12
PM
Accomplished
poker
player
Ralph
Pecorale
of
Long
Island
was
cleared
of
mortgage
fraud
charges
Monday
after
a
Brooklyn
Supreme
Court
judge
dismissed
an
18-­‐count
indictment
against
him.
A
real
estate
lawyer
who
finished
second
in
the
No
Limit
Hold’em
tournament
at
the
2005
U.S.
Poker
Championships,
Pecorale
was
days
away
from
trial
when
the
Brooklyn
prosecutor’s
office
agreed
to
drop
the
charges.
“I
have
never
had
a
moment’s
doubt
of
Ralph’s
innocence,
and
am
grateful
the
Brooklyn
DA
dismissed
the
case
on
its
own
motion,”
said
Pecorale’s
attorney,
Robert
Altchiler
of
Altchiler
LLC.
Altchiler
said
Pecorale
was
considering
a
return
to
poker
through
the
World
Series
of
Poker,
which
begins
later
this
month
in
Las
Vegas.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/iteam/cleared-­‐fraud-­‐
pecorale-­‐eyes-­‐poker-­‐blog-­‐entry-­‐1.1780457#ixzz30wi4ihRQ