 Stanfa gunman Philip Colletti testified in court that he planted a remote control bomb under Merlino's car several times, but that it failed to go off every time.In November 1993, Merlino was arrested by the FBI, charged with violation of his supervised release, and sent back to prison.Merlino was mainly supported by a group of young mobsters he knew since childhood while Stanfa, in an unusual tactic recruited for his side several men who were not of Italian heritage, including the Veasey brothers.