It is a real shame it has taken so long for this case to come to trial. It's another example of someone with money stalling the system or buying their way out of trouble. His high priced lawyer is on various tv shows regularly as a commentator on big cases. The average joe would have been drawn, quartered and hanged by now. There's 2 sets of rules in society and this case is proof of that.

While the events leading up to the accident may be hard to prove (i.e., whether he was drinking, etc), the fact that he quickly drove his boat home after hitting something in the water, at night, proves negligence. He should do time in prison. And until the authorities start cracking down on these "mo-mos" on the water, we're all in danger.

tuna...Correct and the fact that he hid first denied hitting anything. Then changed his mind. His boat was pulled in so the damage was closer to the wall. The damaged was not seen the first time around. I think his Daddy helped him out. Sure...He did not see or hear anything. I am sure he heard the screams from the other boat he hit. Being their was serious injuries and death. Most realize there is two sets of rules. It really is getting annoying that two sets of rules is allowed in society.

I love it when those who claim that others could have done what they did.. .Sure everything is fair in game. I don't think so, when two sets of rules apply.

Anyone who has ever been boating will find it pretty hard to believe that you can smash into a 17ft vessel and kill and injure people and "not know what you hit" or " not see anything". This is a hit and run. No different than if it happened on a highway. I don't see how a judge or jury could see it any other way.

I am very interested to hear the finding of the facts in this case. So many variables. One outcome I would welcome is the implentation of night time speed restrictions. Nightime visibility is significantly less than daytime yet many boaters seem to think that since the waterways are less croweded, that after dark is great time to get to where you want to be fast. I have seen many boats going 40+ in the dark. Yes, they have lights. But navigation lights are for other boaters to see and do not help the captain with visibility. Please slow down after the sun goes down.

I try my hardest to be slipped before dark, just because of the dangers. If not back by dark I'm traveling extra slow with my Q-Beam scanning. But most of the owners of those high power cigarette boats drive like nuts day or night. No care for anyone.

Throw the book at him! I can't believe it's been 5years to get this monster to trial. I guess he was hoping his money would get him out of it. And I bet he has been boating as usual like nothing has happened. Mean while a family has been grieving for their loved one that he killed and left like a piece of trash dead and floating in the water without a second thought. Not to mention the others he injured. I wonder how they are making out today. This guy needs to serve the maximum sentence and should never be aloud to drive a boat ever again. If there is true justice in this world someday he will feel the same kind of pain that he has given to this family.

I agree I always get the boat in before dusk to much stuff in the bay crab pots etc.It's bad in the summertime durning the day with the jetskies etc. out there Got to be carefull out there.

Can't help but wonder any relation to the deceased mobster John Digilio?

Maybe someone can answer this. Did they charge his father as a co-conspirator for the obstructionist cover-up? If you recall, daddy had the boat scrubbed and repaired within hours of the incident.
Also, witnesses placed him (Anthony) at The Patio Bar prior to the incident. I suspect they will be called but how much weight that evidence will carry is minimal.

this article says that the boat was seized by authorities but does not mention that it was the father that reported to the authorities this may have been the boat involved.

if they were looking to cover up anything, they could have not said anything, waited it out to see if police came looking for the boat.

one question will be what does the girlfriend remember about the accident and is she still to be found around here.

John did nothing wrong. The victim was drinking and charges should be dropped.

You have GOT to be kidding.
Running int a 14ft vessel, killing a man, and seriously maiming 2 others. And he did NOTHING wrong??
I have sailed, boated and relaxed on that river for 47 years, and THIS is an abomination.
A spoiled, pitiful, worthless, irresponsible idiot who has not and CANNOT take responsibility for his own actions - and probably never will.
I pity you Anthony Digilio - you're an uneducated sorry excuse for a man.

Wrongly Accused, your friend or cousin or whatever relation he is to you, is a murderer. His mob family has kept this trial at bay. Lets hope the system works and justice is served. Anthony Digilio, if you read this or your now wife, then girlfriend, who you married so she couldn't testify reads this; I hope that every time you close your eyes at night or if you ever look your in your children's eyes at night your mind weighs heavy that you killed a wonderful famy man and a wonderful person and then lied about it. Sleep on that you coward.

Wrongly Accused? Who was the one who was drunk The gentlemen who was killed, followed all the rules, going slow, bright light on...You are a liar and your friend needs to go to the "big house" for a long time.

Reading the article I was thinking "They should have pressured the girlfriend, they could have cracked her". Gues that option is off the table now.

The defense will put the blame on the pilot of the craft that was hit, based on the rule of the sea/air: that both pilots need to navigate and control their craft to avoid colliding with one another. They will put the onus on what Post did to avoid collusion. . .so if he was preoccupied with his wife and friends on the boat and not paying attention by keeping look out around him, then he will be at fault by not stopping and/or changing course to avoid collision. If as it's alleged, that Digilio's boat was traveling at a high rate of speed, then the operator and his passengers should have heard the boat coming onto them and took evasive action.The prosecutor will try to prove that it was Digilio who was at fault...

"The rules of the sea are dictated by sight, not sound" then why are compressed air horns used today to replace fog horns?

"That moonless night was so dark, Post said, they could see shooting stars on their ride up the river"

"The whaler was slowly cruising at the eastern edge of the Metedeconk River at the mouth of Barnegat Bay, Post recalls. At the same time Anthony DiGilio, then 29, was speeding through the same narrow strait of water, called Gunner’s Ditch, in his 27-foot-long powerboat. The next second, the powerboat ripped a 4-foot-wide chunk from the Boston Whaler’s starboard side.

"At first, the survivors aboard the smaller boat had no idea what hit them. No one heard or saw another boat approaching."

"Correction: The original version of this article reported an incorrect location of Robert Post's boat at the time of the crash and attributed the location to the victim's widow, Bonnie Post. She did not say the boat was cruising in a no-wake zone. She said the boat was "planing" at the confluence of the Metedeconk River and Barnegat Bay"

http://www.nj.com/ocean/index.ssf/2012/09/widow_struggles_with_scars_from_08_speedboat_crash_as_long-delayed_trial_looms.html

part of this article seems a bit off, on one hand it says the Whaler was cruising slowly and in the correction it says the whaler was planing", can a boat be planing and cruising slowly at the same time? to me cruising slowly means the entire hull is in the water not up like when planing.

he is innocent.

Not taking sides here but it is really sad to see the posts here that already have a person convicted before the jury is even selected. I would take a wild guess that no one here witnessed the accident. I am curious to hear the details of the case as well. I don't ever remember seeing the Blood Alcohol test results being published of the people on the Whaler ? It seems everyone would like to assume these were the only 2 boats out on the water that night. Well, being as the area this happened, you can come from 4 directions. 3 out of 4 of those directions are covered by Bridge Cameras. Sure would be nice to see the Video footage from those to see if another boat besides these two were out there. Just a thought here.... If a larger vessel hit the Whaler 1st and then the accused hit debris of the Whaler, I guess you can say the accused was involved to some extent. I saw both boats on land after the accident. I am having a difficult time believing that the accused boat went through another boat. I will wait for the trial to hear what evidence they have of that. In my opinion, the only damage I saw on the accused boat was what appeared to be trailer damage. And anyone that has ever missed the bunks or rollers on a trailer while loading knows exactly what that type of damage looks like... There were no visible marks on the port side which would be really tough not to have if it went through the side of another boat + cut a V into the whaler.My prayers go out to both families.

Too many people are convicted in the press knowing only minimal facts. I agree that we need to let all the evidence be presented and let our justice system do its job.

The mobster's lawyer:
"I can't stand him," said one prosecutor, pointing out that Tacopina also sprung Natalee Holloway suspect Joran van der Sloot and Thomas Wiese, an Abner Louima cop.

"He's slick, he's got a big ego, and he'll represent any scumbag."

The trial starts on April 3 at 9:00 am at the Ocean County Court House, 120 Hooper Avenue, Toms River. For those of us that live in the area and know those injured and lost in this terrible accident, the wait of over 4 years for this trial has been a terrible injustice. The accident itself was a travesty, but the act of leaving the scene following a horrific collision leaving terribly injured people is a criminal act, nothing less than a hit and run. If it not been for a cell phone on board, it is likely others may have died that evening. I look forward to the jury hearing the evidence and bringing forth a verdict. I encourage anyone interested, to attend some part of the trial to demonstrate that while 4 years have passed, our deep feelings about these proceedings and justice is as strong as ever.

It only took the Asbury Park Press 5 months to publish the photos from the Mantoloking Bridge from the night of Hurricane Sandy . Where are the photos or video from the Bridge cameras 30 minutes before and 30 minutes after the accident occurred August 2008 ??? I am sure the Canal Bridges, the SMP Station, the Beaver Dam and the Mantoloking Bridge Cameras together could paint a complete picture of who was where and when on that night ...