Luthmann Wants “Full Faith and Credit” For Everything the Crooked Feds Ever Said

 

By Dick LaFonatine

If the feds are to be believed, Richard Luthmann is the most dangerous man alive. A disbarred Staten Island attorney with a law degree and a taste for memes, the U.S. Department of Justice swears he’s part lawyer, part mob boss, part terrorist, part troll—and, depending on which paragraph you read, maybe a rogue warlord with “Chinese mafia” ties.​

Their 2017 detention memo was a fever dream. Luthmann, they said, masterminded an “organized crime” scrap metal scheme, ran multiple fake companies, recruited blind people to front them, laundered cash through law firm accounts, and then kidnapped a co-conspirator and threatened to shoot him in the kneecap.​

But wait, there’s more. He allegedly hired thugs to intimidate rivals, photoshopped female politicians into porn, conspired with prison gangsters, and tried to pay a stripper $10,000 to say Staten Island DA Michael McMahon raped her – but the stripper didn’t take the money.​

If that sounds like the plot to a rejected Scorsese film written during a mushroom trip, that’s because it is.

The entire case hinged on one man: the “cooperating witness” who goes by Frank Rossi, but whose real name is Guy Cardinale.

A career con man, Cardinale is the type of guy who could sell you a Rolex that ticks. And he was the government’s star witness at the time. He still works for them today.

Still, Luthmann spent four years in a cage. That was the point.

From Lawfare to Warfare—The FBI’s Staten Island Killshot

The 2017 memo wasn’t a legal filing. It was an execution order written in Times New Roman.​

Assistant U.S. Attorney Moira Kim Penza—later famous for her stagecraft in the NXIVM trial—used the memo to spin tales of a Staten Island criminal mastermind whose crimes ranged from memes to murder plots.​

Her office claimed Luthmann called himself “Saul Goodman,” kept a “fraud box” in his office like some cartoon villain, and told people his private investigator (an ex-cop) would shoot them.

They painted a man so lethal, he had to be locked away or the world might burn.

​

And what did they find when they raided his law office? Not much. No guns or cash. No mafia members lounging around in leather jackets. Just some paperwork, a desk, and a Keurig coffee machine.

“Moira is as crooked as they come. The first thing she did when she left the feds was to go to a Democrat Party law factory and sue Donald Trump. She was the queen of #MeToo overcharging and, in my opinion, engaged in dominatrix activities. Maybe it will come out publicly what they found in her Cadman Plaza desk drawers when she left the U.S. Attorney’s Office?” Luthmann said.​

Luthmann says he’s “fishing for a lawsuit” so the whole thing can come out.

He also says that if he’s the monster Penza painted him to be, she would have been “dismembered in a Brownsville basement long ago.” Moira’s claims were a mix of bluster, half-truths, and outright lies, he says.

The entire “kidnapping” narrative involved a dispute over unpaid legal fees. The “gunman” allegedly told a guy to pay up. Nobody was hurt. Nobody called the cops. And the CW—the cooperating witness—continued to do business with Luthmann for months afterward.​

But none of that mattered.​

The New York City FBI field office, long known as a politically driven cesspool, needed a scalp. A career-minded prosecutrix needed another notch on her belt on the way to Big Law accolades.

Luthmann, the NYS Reform Party Law Chair, had publicly mocked DA McMahon, targeted corrupt judges, including his wife, and embarrassed the Staten Island Democratic machine.

Worse—he made memes about it.

In 2017, that was enough for a “domestic terrorism” label.

That’s all it took.

The Most Dangerous Man in America: If the Memo Is True, Luthmann is Deadlier Than Osama Bin Laden

If the DOJ’s detention memo were accurate, Richard Luthmann should’ve left piles of bodies since his release in 2021.

Let’s count the claims:

• He has ties to Luchese and Gambino La Cosa Nostra associates.
• He tried to hire a hitman to kill Staten Island Democratic boss John Gulino.
• He tried to have a mob associate break Staten Island Democratic Party Executive Director Kevin Elkins’ hand with a hammer like in the movie Casino.
• He conspired with “Chinese Mafia” enforcers.
• He made threats to rape and murder political opponents.
• He stalked people with a Russian-accented process server.
• He threatened to shoot people if Trump got impeached.
• He tried (and failed) to pay a stripper $10,000 to falsely cry “rape” by Staten Island D.A. Mike McMahon.
• He allegedly stole a Tom Seaver autograph.

By their math, this is John Wick meets Dick Nixon meets Sam Rothstein meets The Joker.

“Nothing they said was true, not even Tom Seaver. It wasn’t just Tom Terrific. It was the entire 1969 Miracle Mets on a framed, signed poster. I paid for the fucking thing and the Feds still twisted the story,” Luthmann said.

He says the entire prosecution was Democrat Party payback for exposing “crooked” Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon and his Judge wife’s malfeasance and politically kneecapping Hillary Clinton in 2016, among other things.

But what’s actually happened since Luthmann walked free? Nothing. No murders or revenge killings. No vigilante strikes.

“I wish it were true. I’d tell you I’m using my ‘Chinese Mafia’ ties right now on a top-secret infiltration with help from ‘The Tong’ to flip a high-ranking Chinese Communist Party official to MAGA. Really and truly,” Luthmann belly-laughs.

In reality, all he’s done is file lawsuits against certain dirty judges, prosecutors, and elected officials—and cover other dirty judges, prosecutors, and elected officials, now re-baptised as an investigative journalist.

“Yeah, I’m a journo now. Free Speech rules,” Luthmann said. “There’s no licensure board or trade commission. There’s no one to slow me down but the Radical Left Fake News Media and Big Tech. But America is on to them.”

The Most Dangerous Man in America: Scandal to Scoop or Psycho Killer Lying In Wait?

Luthmann has been decently successful in his new trade. Here’s what AI says about him:

​Richard Luthmann is a seasoned investigative journalist and commentator with academic credentials from Columbia University, New York Law School, and the University of Miami. He is recognized for his incisive reporting on corruption, judicial misconduct, and government malfeasance. Luthmann serves as Editor-in-Chief for several outlets, including FLGulf.news, NYNewsPress.com, and TheFamilyCourtCircus.com. His work is featured on his Substack publication This is For Real, where he delves into topics like family court corruption and systemic abuses. Additionally, he contributes to platforms such as the Frank Report and the Sun Bay Paper, and maintains a verified journalist profile on Muck Rack.

Recently, he reached #82 on Substack’s “Rising News” Leaderboard. One slot ahead of Judge Andrew Napolitano.

Luthmann chuckles about it.

“I doubt Judge Napolitano remembers me, but I was an intern for a semester at Fox News while I was in law school. My professor, James Simon, wanted me to get some ‘dirt’ on something controversial or salacious that Bill O’Reilly had said as part of my Legal Journalism class. I ended up quoting Judge Napolitano about related legal issues in my term paper. It was pretty cool,” Luthmann said.

James F. Simon is a nationally respected constitutional scholar and legal historian. He served as dean of New York Law School from 1983 to 1992 and taught as the Martin Professor of Law thereafter. A Yale-educated lawyer and former journalist for Newsweek and Time, Simon has written nine acclaimed books on the U.S. Supreme Court, earning him a reputation as “the preeminent historian of the U.S. Supreme Court.” He taught both Constitutional Law and Legal Journalism to Luthmann at New York Law School.

“I was chasing stories back then. Professor Simon gave me A’s. It was fun, and a far cry from what that detention memo said. The character the government created would have held O’Reilly over the side of a building until he spilled his guts,” Luthmann smirked. “If I did that, the Left would have probably made me U.S. Attorney.”

He has a point. If you believe what the Feds said in 2017, either Hannibal Lecter is now walking the streets—or they made it all up.

Guess which one it is.

You don’t have to. A federal court judge has already ruled.

The Most Dangerous Man in America: Mafia References Laughed Out of Court

The detention memo leans heavily into claims of “organized crime connections”—yet, Brooklyn Federal Court Judge Jack Weinstein laughed the Feds’ claims out of court. The “Chinese mafia,” “sit downs,” and the alleged threat to “blow out a knee” read like a rejected episode from The Sopranos.

Judge Weinstein was known for his significant impact on high-profile cases, including those related to organized crime. His judicial decisions often brought clarity and resolution to complex legal issues. His reputation for fairness and thoroughness earned him respect in high-stakes cases involving the Mafia and other serious criminal enterprises.

In Luthmann’s case, there was zero credible substantiation beyond hearsay from Cardinale, whose credibility was never tested and whose motivations were never disclosed by the Feds.

At a March 2018 hearing, Judge Weinstein grew visibly irritated as prosecutors kept referring to Luthmann’s supposed mafia ties. He kept asking, “There are five New York Families. Which one is he?”

When AUSA Moira Kim Penza admitted none of the defendants were actual made members, Weinstein snapped, “They can’t be connected to an amorphous concept of mafia.” He compared the exchange to a “Who’s on First?” routine and made clear he wasn’t buying it.

The courtroom laughed. The judge wasn’t amused. The government’s mafia narrative unraveled—and fast.

The Most Dangerous Man in America: Claims Come Unglued

The other farcical allegations came unglued just as quickly: Luthmann allegedly tried to pay a stripper $10,000 to falsely accuse DA Michael McMahon of rape—only, per the memo, “she didn’t take the money.” So… the hair-brained plot failed, nothing happened, yet it’s cited as proof of danger? This is Kafka meets Night Court.

Even more absurdly, this anecdote is offered without naming the dancer, disclosing evidence, or presenting corroboration.

“There was no plot. They make is sound like either I’m some psycho killer or that I couldn’t get laid in a whore house with a stack full of hundreds,” Luthmann said.

The government used Luthmann’s Facebook posts, memes, and political jokes, such as references to Breaking Bad’s Saul Goodman or Trump impeachment fantasy posts, as literal evidence of violent intent. Posing at a gun range with a Glock while in a red state is hardly the smoking gun of a mobster.

This turns protected speech into prosecutable conduct—a hallmark of Lawfare.

The government labeled Luthmann’s filed lawsuits when he was an attorney as “vindictive.” Is filing litigation now grounds for detention? If so, every activist lawyer in New York is a threat to the republic. The memo references Pulizotto v. Quirk and other filings as examples of “obstruction,” which is laughable unless you’re in a banana republic.

Luthmann’s self-description as a “Roger Stone-style dirty trickster” and “man-eater” is cited as evidence of danger. Again, rhetoric becomes criminal in the FBI-NYC playbook. The memo even references anti-Semitic language he allegedly used—but not in any threatening context—again, to smear rather than convict.

Because Luthmann was charged under §924(c), a charge that never stuck, the government invoked a presumption of detention. They use that to flood the court with character assassinations and innuendo, knowing full well it would be nearly impossible to rebut under detention standards. These aren’t facts proven at trial—they’re prosecutorial hit pieces designed to prevent pretrial release and crush any public narrative other than the government’s.

However, Luthmann says he gets pinged with it every chance anyone can to tag him as “dangerous.”

“I have idiots saying that I’m dangerous. But no one can decide where I’m most dangerous. Is it Manhattan or the Northeast where I have connections to the Italian Mafia, the ‘Chinese Mafia,’ and I was ‘in-house counsel’ for the Bloods? From Montauk, to Manhattan, to Mansfield, Pennsylvania, any pipe-hitting maniac could ‘take a ride’ for me if the government’s narrative is to be believed,” he said.

Luthmann, who now lives in Southwest Florida, says they say the same thing about him in his new hometown.

“I also have idiot lawyers saying I’m ‘dangerous’ down here, too,” Luthmann said. “One moron tried to haul me in before Fort Myers Federal Magistrate Judge Kyle Dudek, because it suited their crooked narratives. I cover legal cases now as a journalist. If I write things they like, I’m great. If I write things they don’t like, I’m Ray Donovan, a thug for hire. Which is it?”

Luthmann called it “Journalistic Clockwork Orange.” He says no one can defend themselves from the claims in their eyes, not even Justices of the United States Supreme Court.

“Maybe they should recognize they are no more than ten miles from a pig farm or an alligator farm in the State of Florida. In many cases, it’s both and multiple,” Luthmann chuckled.

And we all know about pig farms.

 Meet the Real Villain—Con Man, Rat, and Fed Favorite Guy Cardinale

At the center of this farce is the “CW”—the cooperating witness, the man the feds used to prop up their entire case.

His real name? Guy Cardinale. But he goes by Frank Rossi these days. Maybe next year he’ll be Luigi Bagels.

Cardinale is a known scammer with a rap sheet as long as the Staten Island Expressway. His aliases, corporate shells, and cons span decades.

According to public records and multiple investigations, Cardinale has been tied to at least six fraudulent businesses—many of them thinly veiled shakedown operations. In 2024, VanHook Global was exposed by renowned investigative reporter Frank Parlato as a likely scam operation that sold fake services under the Rossi alias.

Cardinale’s not just a crook. He’s a pathological liar. And this is the guy the FBI used to entrap Luthmann.

He claimed he was kidnapped and threatened at gunpoint. Cardinale then continued to do business with his “kidnapper.” He said Luthmann paid mobsters to “fix” disputes. But no money trail. No witnesses. Just his word.

And the FBI believed him—because they were already handling him.

The revelations have sparked serious questions for both Cardinale and his FBI handler, Special Agent Paul Tambrino, as well as for Special Agent in Charge John J. Brosnan and Supervisory Special Agent Robert Foy.

According to several sources, FBI Special Agent Paul Tambrino gave Cardinale a “Get Out of Jail Free” card in the form of a letter. Cardinale, a skilled con artist, milked it for all that it was worth. With his newly minted “Frank Rossi” alias, he defrauded multiple insurance companies out of hundreds of thousands of dollars while an “FBI asset.”

Sources familiar with Cardinale’s cooperation say he has been on the Bureau’s radar since the early 2000s. He’s been used as a confidential informant more than once, including in other failed prosecutions that fizzled when defense attorneys exposed his lies.

In short: he’s a professional RAT. And the feds built their case on his garbage. Maybe they are still using him.

The Most Dangerous Man in America: The Blueprint of Dirty Justice

The Luthmann case was never about law. It was about control.

The memo criminalized legal filings, parody websites, and political memes. It turned court motions into “witness tampering” and turned social media into evidence of “terrorism.”

This wasn’t prosecution. It was persecution.

Luthmann represented a threat, not to the public, but to the power structure in New York. He sued corrupt judges, exposed DA Michael McMahon’s conflicts, and embarrassed political hacks. So they buried him.

But the biggest scandal? The FBI and DOJ did it knowing their star witness—Guy Cardinale aka Frank Rossi—was a fraud.

They used him anyway. They handed him the script, and he read it for a plea deal.

The first Trump administration missed the chance to gut the FBI field office that created this circus. The new administration should use the Luthmann case as a roadmap for reform.

“God knows, Alvin Bragg used my New York State prosecution as a roadmap for the bullshit Trump ‘Falsification of Business Records’ case,” Luthmann said. “I hope that some good will come from my ordeal and four years in the federal hoosegow.”

Because if the FBI did this to a lawyer with a loud mouth and a former President of the United States, they can do it to anyone.

And if Guy Cardinale, aka Frank Rossi, aka Luigi Bagels, is their go-to “witness,” then justice is just another scam.

“I would love to see the new guard clean house. Maybe I get straightened out, maybe I don’t. But, all I really want is justice done and the real criminals in the Feds and New York State government to leave in bracelets,” Luthmann said.

About The Author