A former lawyer for Casey Anthony, the Florida mom acquitted of killing her daughter in a sensational 2011 trial, has been arrested on charges that he conspired to fly a planeload of cocaine from Ecuador to Honduras, the TOT News has learned.
Todd Macaluso, a licensed pilot, was arraigned in Brooklyn Federal Court on Nov. 19 five days after he was busted by authorities in Haiti.
Macaluso, 54, showed up on the feds’ radar in October during a investigation of drug traffickers seeking to use an airplane registered in the U.S. to transport drugs.
The plan was to fly a plane from Haiti to Ecuador, where 1,500 kilograms of cocaine would be picked up, and then transport the drugs to Honduras and later the U.S., said NYPD Detective Alexander Sosa of the Drug Enforcement Administration task force.
Investigators learned from a co-conspirator that Macaluso would fly a Falcon 10 aircraft for the drug mission, Sosa stated in the complaint.
Macaluso and co-defendants Carlos Almonte Vasquez and Humberto Osuna Contreras met in Port au-Prince on Nov. 14 to hash out the details.
“Macaluso described, in the presence of both Almonte Vasquez and Osuna Contreras, the structure of the subject aircraft, stating that it could hold 1,500 kilograms of cocaine,” Sosa said in the complaint.
The feds transported the trio to MacArthur Airport on Long Island for their arraignment. Assistant Brooklyn U.S. Attorney told the judge that no conditions could possibly guarantee their return to court and they were ordered held without bail.
Macaluso represented Anthony, who was charged with the 2008 murdering her 2-year-old daughter Caylee, from March 2009 to February 2010.
After Anthony was acquitted in 2011 with the help of lead attorney Jose Baez, Macaluso reportedly flew her out of Orlando on his plane.
He is also an ex-con who was convicted of defrauding clients in California and sentenced to five months in prison last year. Macaluso was sprung in June and was on supervised release at the time of his latest arrest.
Macaluso told the feds that he earns some money as a legal consultant but is unable to hire his own lawyer in the drug case. His court-appointed lawyer Murray Singer declined to comment Monday.
