Plea deals in largest mortgage fraud scheme in WNY
By: WROC-TV
Updated: October 4, 2007
Guilty pleas Wednesday from two brothers embattled in one of the largest mortgage fraud schemes in Western New York history.
Bobby and Richard Amico left federal court and they'll be back in January for sentencing.
Bobby pleaded guilty to counts of financial crimes and conspiracy to commit mortgage and bank fraud.
Richard pleaded guilty only to mortgage and bank fraud conspiracy.
All told, Bobby may be heading back to jail. His plea deal carries a mandatory 10 year minimum sentence--he's already served 3 and half years.
Richard may very well be out of jail for good. His sentence may include five years prison time and/or fines. But jail time is not mandatory in his case. He's already served three years. 
Both, however, will be paying restitution of $15,598,470.91.
"The court has the power to make a determination as to how much he pays off and over how long. Could he theoretically be paying this off for the rest of his life? He could theoretically be paying this off for the rest of his life," said Nathan Dershowitz, Richard Amico's attorney.
"It is significant that the two defendents in this case have now admitted to being part of a large mortgage fraud conspiracy," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Resnick
Attorneys for both brothers told News 8 they pleaded guilty partly because they didn't want to go through yet another long jury trial.
Both Richard and Bobby Amico remain out of jail until their sentencing in early January.
