Lawyers: Don't throw Joey Merlino back in jail

SINCE HIS RELEASE from federal prison in 2011, Joey Merlino has been working hard, keeping his nose clean and making monthly restitution payments.

He even volunteered with a group that trains teachers who work with children with autism.

But he did not violate his probation.

That's what Merlino's lawyers, Edwin Jacobs Jr. and Michael F. Myers, wrote in a legal memo filed yesterday, claiming that Merlino has "scrupulously abided" by the terms of his supervised release while living in Florida.

Merlino, 52, the former Philadelphia mob boss - who some law-enforcement officials believe still calls the shots - is due in court Friday to answer the government's allegations that he knowingly associated with mobster John Ciancaglini and two guys with fraud convictions at Havana Nights Cigar Bar & Lounge in Boca Raton, Fla.

Jacobs and Myers say that the feds waited too long to notify the court of the allegations, but that Merlino is innocent anyway. They claim that the June run-in with Ciancaglini was a "chance encounter," and that there is no evidence that Merlino knew that the fraudsters were convicted felons.

In addition, they argue, Merlino had "dutifully" reported to his probation officer other interactions he had with felons while on supervised release.

"These are the actions of a man who is looking to start a new life for himself, not a man who is looking to get back into his old one," the defense memo reads.

Merlino's lawyers also sent 13 character-reference letters, including from his wife, his daughter, a former boss - and two priests.

Merlino, who was convicted of racketeering in 2001, is rumored to be looking to open a restaurant in Boca Raton.