Prosecutors not amused by accused mobster on TV

A reputed New York mobster has made a "mockery" of his bail conditions by starring in a reality television show in which he is seen frolicking with topless dancers at a strip club, prosecutors said on Thursday.

Christopher Colombo, who is charged with racketeering and extortion, spent the past few months filming HBO's upcoming "House Arrest," said prosecutor Benjamin Lawsky in a letter to a federal judge.

Lawsky sought stricter bail conditions for Colombo, who prosecutors have said belongs to the Colombo organized crime family. In August 2004, the judge allowed Colombo to spend more time out of his home because he said he wanted to spend more with his family.

Instead, Lawsky said, he spent much of his time on the town filming "House Arrest," which HBO billed on its Web site as a "a docu-comedy based on reality."

In the show, Colombo visits a Reiki therapist, a strip club, a Bronx tailor, a church confessional, a Chinese restaurant and a nightclub, before racing home to meet his curfew and play poker with friends.

"Colombo seems to have spent a large amount of his time filming his show, which reportedly makes a mockery of Colombo's conditions of release," Lawsky wrote the judge.

In his letter to the judge, Lawsky quoted a press release that he said Colombo gave him that describes a scene where "topless dancers cozy up to Colombo and wish him luck in fighting his indictment."

The prosecutor also noted a media report that said during the episode Colombo is seen witnessing an associate using a credit card to break in to a church and notes: "This could be a violation of my bail restriction."

"Colombo has used and abused the freedom the court granted him over the government's objection to go to strip clubs, attempt to break into churches, and generally gallivant around town with his associates," said Lawsky.

Lawsky, noting Colombo wanted to make the show into a series, asked the judge to forbid him to film further episodes of the show as part of his bail conditions.

Neither a lawyer for Colombo nor a spokesperson for HBO could be immediately reached.