Ex-Mummer who stole 600G gets 4 years in prison

Ex-Mummer who stole 600G gets 4 years in prison
BY GLORIA CAMPISI

JOHN Pignotti Jr. had a gambling addiction that prompted him to steal, but never from his fellow Mummers, said one of many Mummer friends who crowded into a courtroom yesterday to see him sentenced.

Pignotti, 51, former head of the Hegeman String Band and past president of the Philadelphia String Band Association, was sentenced in federal court to almost four years in prison for stealing more than $600,000 from two former employers.

Pignotti told the court that he had been treated for his gambling addiction, which had led to thefts from security firms where he worked in Bala Cynwyd and Philadelphia, according to the friend.