Prosecutors not amused by reputed mobster's TV show

NEW YORK -- A reputed mobster being held under house arrest while awaiting trial was filmed for a TV comedy cavorting with topless dancers, visiting posh restaurants and trying to break into a church, prosecutors charged.

Christopher Colombo, son of the late mobster Joe Colombo, has violated the spirit if not the letter of the rules governing his bail, assistant federal prosecutor Benjamin M. Lawsky wrote in a letter Thursday to U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald.

Colombo is awaiting trial on racketeering, extortion and loansharking charges -- and the premiere later this month of his HBO show, "House Arrest." It debuts Nov. 24; HBO's Web site calls it "a docu-comedy based on reality."

Arguing that the show makes a mockery of the court rules, Lawsky is seeking to tighten bail conditions. Right now, Colombo is allowed to be out of his home from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. each day.

The judge relaxed his bail conditions at an August 2004 hearing so Colombo could attend to family matters, prosecutors said. Instead, Lawsky said in the letter, he "seems to have spent a large amount of his time filming his show."

Prosecutors have not seen the show but said a news release indicates that Colombo in one episode "visits a Reiki therapist, a strip club, a Bronx tailor, a church confessional, his favorite Chinese restaurant and a nightclub."

Colombo could face up to 60 years in prison if convicted at a trial next spring. Prosecutors argued he should not be permitted to film further episodes of the show because it could taint a jury pool.

A lawyer for Colombo did not immediately return a telephone message seeking comment Thursday.

Home Box Office Inc. did not immediately have a comment, a spokeswoman said.