GREENSBORO, N.C. – A former downtown club owner and one-time local political figure yesterday pleaded guilty to lying about his income to obtain more than $2 million in loans from local lenders, including $1 million from Truliant FCU.
Prosecutors agreed to drop six charges against Joey Medaloni in exchange for his guilty plea to obtaining the 2005 credit union loan using phony tax returns for his company, Lafamiglia Inc. The loan eventually was paid off.
Medaloni acquired a string of downtown nightclubs that were the focus of the city’s revitalization efforts, earning him the nickname the “Mayor of Downtown Greensboro” and causing him to briefly consider a run for mayor.
Medaloni also used the fake returns to obtain a $970,000 loan from First Merit Bank and a $315,000 loan from Carolina Bank.
