$3M bail granted for Joseph Valerio, charged with producing child porn
Smithtown real estate investor Joseph Valerio, 47, of Smithtown, for the second time in less than a month, has been arrested on charges of producing child pornography.
A Smithtown real estate investor arrested on charges of producing child pornography was ordered Tuesday to be released on $3 million bail -- as soon as he can provide proof that property in that amount would be forfeited if he flees.
Joseph Valerio, 47, of 3 High Gate Dr., was arrested by FBI agents and Suffolk County detectives Sunday on a charge that he had a girlfriend living in the Ukraine make and send him "20 to 30" videos of her sexually abusing her 3-year-old daughter, according to a complaint filed by Eastern District federal prosecutor Allen Bode.
Valerio was not required to plead to the charge in court Tuesday.
His attorney, Anthony La Pinta of Hauppauge, declined to comment after the hearing.
If convicted, Valerio faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and up to 30 years in prison.
Valerio "scripted" the activities that he wanted the woman to undertake with her child, Bode said. And the woman, who was questioned by FBI agents in the Ukraine, said she estimated that "over the course of their relationship, Defendant Valerio sent her between $8,000 and $12,000," the complaint said.
Further, the woman said Valerio "threatened to stop sending her money if she did not produce these videos," according to the complaint.
The woman, who was not identified, lived for several months in Suffolk County with Valerio, but returned to her native land when her tourist visa was not renewed, the complaint said.
The complaint also said that when Valerio was arrested he admitted to an FBI agent that "he directed" the woman "to make sexually explicit videos" of her and her daughter, and that the videos were sent from the Ukraine to Valerio's Long Island home.
The complaint did not say why the unidentified mother of the toddler cooperated with FBI agents or what charges, if any, she would face.
In allowing Valerio's release, federal Magistrate A. Kathleen Tomlinson said she was weighing that the purpose of bail was to insure that a defendant return to court against the alleged seriousness of his conduct, danger to the community and risk of flight.
Tomlinson called the release conditions she crafted for Valerio "the most extraordinary bail package since I've been on the bench."
In addition, to proof of the property's value, Tomlinson ordered that Valerio undergo psychiatric evaluation, be confined to his mother's home in Massapequa, be monitored by an electronic bracelet and that the house's grounds have some sort of surveillance equipment. Tomlinson also said Valerio's mother's home could not have any cellphones or computers. And before Valerio may be released, FBI agents would inspect the home to insure that those conditions are met.
