Ed Scarpo's Blog, page 18

Rizzuto Loyalist Killed Months After Prison Release

Lorenzo Giordano was gunned down months two months
after departing a halfway house following a prison sentence.
A member of the Montreal Mafia formerly headed by deceased mob boss Vito Rizzuto was murdered this week -- indicating the Rizzuto clan may be on the defensive following the loss of its historic boss and more recently, a takedown that targeted the group's new hierarchy.

Lorenzo Giordano, 52, was gunned down in a Laval parking lot Tuesday morning and died in the hospital from his injuries, a Montreal Gazette source confirmed.

The Sûreté du Québec, which wouldn't confirm the victim's name, said he'd been shot "at least once" in Carrefour Multisports's parking lot early Tuesday morning. Due to the alleged ties to organized crime, the Sûreté du Québec took over the case from the Laval police department, the Gazette reported.
He's part of the Monreal Mafia group's younger generation of leaders, which according to reports served as Rizzuto's key shooters. Giordano was reportedly involved chiefly in bookmaking.

The Rizzuto family, whose bosses were taken down as part of a major investigation, now seemingly needs available mobsters of Giordano's ilk. This may have been a strategic move by elements of a rival Ndrangheta faction and any Rizzuto clan dissidents who survived Vito's blood purge before dying of cancer.

"Giordano was one of six men who acted as leaders in the Montreal Mafia while it was the subject of Project Colisée, a lengthy RCMP-led investigation that left the Mafia’s ranks badly depleted," the Gazette noted.

He was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2009 — one of the harshest sentences of the six men. Giordano still had 10 years to serve but was released under conditions to a halfway house last December.


Rizzuto Family Boss's Brother Recently nabbed in the U.S.
Girolamo Del Balso -- the younger brother of Francesco, 45, a Mafia leader who was one of six who took control  after Vito was jailed in the U.S. and the group's hierarchy nearly destroyed by Project Colisée -- was arrested late last month in Arizona after a drug-trafficking police dog sniffed out 62 kilograms of cocaine in Girolamo's vehicle, published reports noted.

Feds Harrassing Gotti Grandson? Possibly...

Gino Gabrielli and his lawyer departing Brooklyn Federal court.
CONTENT ADDED TO ENDING: John Gotti, 22, grandson of Peter Gotti, who has no Mafia ties and is the brother of former Gambino acting boss John A. Gotti, was subpoenaed to testify about an arson case involving a Queens pizzeria, the Daily News reported in an early-morning exclusive today.
Gotti will not talk, his lawyer told the News. Gotti's connection to the case seems tenuous; he was dating the sister of the alleged criminal in the matter, an arsonist apparently not very skilled in that trade.
Last December Gino Gabrielli, 22, burned himself up along with a luxury vehicle he was torching. Surveillance video shows him committing the crime.


As the New York Post noted:  "Gabrielli seemed to be taking a page from the 1990 Mafia flick “Goodfellas,” in which a young mobster torches a rival’s cars. The film was partly shot near Aldo’s, the pizza shop belonging to (Gino's) grandfather Aldo Calore, and the crew and cast — including Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci — often gathered there for meals during breaks."

Gabrielli — who prosecutors implied had mob ties — bungled the job from start to finish. First, he was caught on surveillance tape as he crept up to the luxury car on Dec. 4, papers state. 

Then, as he set the gasoline on fire, the flames caught on his pants. With his right leg on fire, Gabrielli was captured on tape scurrying away in panic, court papers state. 

Gabrielli later told investigators he burned himself when a pot fell over as he cooked chicken. Cops debunked that fib after his mom said there was no cooking in her kitchen that night, according to a criminal complaint. 

Gabrielli checked into Jamaica Hospital with third-degree burns just 20 minutes after the incident.

Prosecutors seek to question Gotti about the fire Gabriella set last December during "a dispute between two pizzerias in Queens," sources told the News.

Gotti is scheduled to appear on March 16 in Brooklyn Federal Court, defense lawyer Gerard Marrone said.

He will not offer any testimony, Marrone told the News. Gotti will use his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

“He had nothing to do with this crime and we feel it is only harassment because of his last name and because he's the grandson of John Gotti," Marrone said.

Last month, the FBI arrested Gabriella at Aldo’s Pizzeria in Howard Beach, Queens.

Gabrielli was charged with setting afire a Mercedes Benz leased by the owner of Sofia’s Pizzeria, located in neighboring Ozone Park.
"The eatery owners — Gabrielli’s grandfather Aldo Cantore owns Aldo’s pizzeria — had been feuding after Sofia’s allegedly beat him out for a $1,300 catering gig."

"Gabrielli’s sister has been dating Gotti, but it is unclear what the feds think he knows about the incident."

Gabrielli's lawyer declined to comment for the News. He no longer works in his grandfather's pizzeria.

"Gabrielli allegedly set himself on fire during the crime and suffered burns on his leg. A surveillance video shows him going up in flames, according to court papers." 
He sought treatment at Jamaica Hospital's emergency room on Dec. 5 "with an incredible story that he had burned his leg by knocking over a pot of chicken and rice cooking on the stove in his house," an earlier News report noted.
Fire marshals, who were investigating the torching of a Mercedes Benz, "checked with Gabrielli's mother who told them that there was fire at their home," according to the complaint unsealed in Brooklyn Federal Court.
"Hospital officials reported that the defendant's clothing reeked of gasoline when he arrived at the hospital," FBI agent Paul Tambrino stated in the complaint.

The owner of Sofia's Pizzeria (who hasn't been named) apparently took a $1,300 catering order away from Gabrielli's grandfather, who is the longtime owner of Aldo's Pizzeria, which is located on Cross Bay Blvd. in Howard Beach.

"That's certainly not true," defense lawyer Joseph DiBenedetto said as Gabrielli was released on $700,000 bail.
His grandfather, Gabrielli's sister Eleanor, who Gotti  dates, signed the bail bond.

Prosecutor Nadia Moore said she would provide Gabrielli with a list of organized crime members that he cannot associate with, as a condition of his release.
His mob ties are unclear.

It may be of interest to some that the Daily Mail made some errors in its report, describing this story's John Gotti as the grandson of John A. Gotti, which is incorrect.

The site also reported that Gotti's father, Peter Gotti, was also involved in the mob, which to my knowledge is false.

"Junior" Gotti: Alite Reported "Directly to Me"

George Anastasia, Alite and Michelle Sigona, Crime Watch Daily reporter. 

Last month John Alite and George Anastasia appeared on Crime Watch Daily on WPIX, channel 11, aka the CW, a major network in New York City and on Long Island, to promote Gotti's Rules: The Story of John Alite, Junior Gotti, and the Demise of the American Mafia.

John A. "Junior" Gotti is quoted on the show admitting, essentially, what John Alite has been saying all along since Gotti's Rules was published -- that Alite reported directly to him and also served as his muscle.

John Junior didn't appear or speak on the show, but was quoted, his words posted on the screen for everyone to see.


The fact that no one has written about this story is testament to two things: No one really cares about the mob anymore. Also the New York media selectively covers any kind of John Gotti-related news. They run excerpts from his book, quote him saying how he "gamed" the Fed's at a 302 proffer, but none of them reported on Gotti's proffer 302s when they were available prior to Anastasia's book launch.

Sources also told CNNews that John Gotti's representatives allegedly contacted WPIX to try to dissuade the channel from airing the segment. WPIX hasn't yet responded to requests for comment.

However it is apparent that WPIX didn't succumb to the pressure, airing the segment and allowing John Junior to comment.

Crime Watch Daily is described as a "new one-hour program covering the most compelling aspects of the world of crime, mystery and intrigue." It also asserts that it is the very first daytime crime show in syndication.

Alite, via Crime Watch Daily, spoke from one of his largest forums yet since flipping and departing the mob. He and Anastasia spoke to Crime Watch Daily correspondent Michelle Sigona.

Alite and Anastasia brought Ms. Sigona to Manhattan's Spark Steak House during the broadcast, where Paul Castellano was famously whacked during rush hour in the week before Christmas.







Alite described how he was ordered to carry out a hit:

"I was summoned in to do a murder of a drug dealer that was using the Gotti name, specifically John Gotti Senior at the time, and involving his name in drugs," said Alite, who said he was around 25 years old at the time. "And they asked me to take this guy out."

CWD noted that Alite isn't "happy now to be known as a "snitch," a traitor and a rat for his role as a star witness in the racketeering case against his former mob boss. He believes those terms belong to the Gottis."

Alite said:

"These guys have double standards: When it's OK for them, they rat. John Gotti Sr. sat in a room and talked about crime after crime and blamed them on Sammy Gravano. That's a rat. That's a 'dry snitch,' and in our laws that means that man needs to be killed."

Crime Watch Daily also noted that it had spoken with "John Gotti Junior who admitted that Alite reported directly to him, and was his muscle for the mob."

Junior Gotti "adamantly denies ever being a rat," the show stated, quoting Gotti:
"For someone to call me a rat, it's just not right. It was my mistake talking with the FBI for 30 minutes. No one was ever affected, indicted, subpoenaed, as a result of what was said...other than myself."

Then the qualifier the Gottis always insist on -- though WPIX seems to sense that: note how abruptly the show changes the topic, in the same sentence:

"Alite famously testified at his racketeering trial, but the jury did not consider him a credible witness. He testified in court, saying: "When I went to restaurants, I didn't wait. When I went to shows, I got the best seats. We got treated like celebrities."

Junior departed from his own book's origin story when he spoke to WPIX for the segment.

As noted in a previous story, In a YouTube video posted on his website, "Junior" Gotti blasted the notion that his book, Shadow of My Father, was an immediate response to Gotti's Rules.

Speaking with his lawyer, Charles Carnesi, by his side, ostensibly being interviewed by someone off camera, Gotti relayed the fact that he "actually" had written 375 pages "some four years ago," but "decided to put it on the shelf for peace of mind. To keep my family happy."

"There is always that fear factor that the government would come after me again and harass me," he added. "Don't preen like a peacock, don't be like your father, just pull it back."

The former lead decision maker on a Gambino crime family ruling panel said that he changed his mind about publishing a book when he heard, upon returning from vacation, that a "totally discredited witness" who testified at his fourth RICO trial was writing a book. (Alite is not the author of Gotti's Rules; George Anastasia is. And while Anastasia didn't attempt to interview anyone from the Gotti camp in order to avoid turning the book into a he-said, she-said nightmare scenario, emphasis on nightmare, he did consult his own sources, as well as FBI reports and court documents.)

"Gotti's Rules is Alite's side of the story. Take it or leave it, believe it or not," as Philly.com noted in a recent story called 'Gotti's Rules' tells a Mafia enforcer's story.

This witness had zero credibility based on what Gotti said he'd heard from nine jurors who "stood around to answer questions" after the trial was over. (But only one was quoted; possibly a second juror speaking anonymously was also quoted in an AP story widely distributed at the end of the trial.)

Two voted guilty, seven voted not guilty on one of the charges, six voted not guilty on all of the charges. "But two definitely voted guilty." (Gotti was one or two votes away from a prison cell on each charge, no matter how he frames it.)

He added: "All had said he was the most uncredible witness. None of them liked him. They said he was a liar, he lied through his teeth. Now for me to hear that this guy was writing a book."

Alite is "a guy claiming to know it all; to know my family so well."

Gotti then noted the voluminous number of books and television shows about the Gotti name that have already been consumed by the public. Most were primarily focused on John Gotti Senior, jolting Junior to quip: "Me? I'm nothing."

Junior said he finally decided "enough," and told his family members of his decision.

The bottom line, for Junior, was that the thought of Alite writing a book was simply beyond his comprehension. "You want me to pull my pants down? What's next?" he noted.

The interviewer then asked about his relationship to Alite, whom the government described as being Gotti's "right-hand man," which caused Junior to quip: "Didn't they say that about Mikey Scars?"

"How many right hands do I have? I am running out of right hands!"


Was John Gotti Senior a "dry snitch," as Alite claimed?  We asked Michael "Mikie Scars" DiLeonardo, and he quite adamantly told us "No, he was not."  In a follow-up story we will discuss this in more detail....

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What Mob Boss Vito Rizzuto Did When Mob Boss Joe Massino Flipped

Former Montreal mob boss Vito Rizzuto and his wife promptly hopped
on a flight to Cuba when he learned Massino had flipped.
Edited; correction noted in textPolice used a Canadian comedian to infiltrate Vito Rizzuto's Montreal Mafia organization, the Montreal Journal reported tonight.

The effort occurred in Cuba. Though the comedian, Michel Courtemanche, was allegedly unaware of the role he'd played, Fidel Castro's Communist regime eagerly participated in the operation.

In 2004 (not 2003, as originally written; there is a number of factual errors in the source story, a Google translation of a French story) members of the New York-based Bonanno crime family called Rizzuto and told him that the crime family's boss, Joseph Massino, had flipped (two calls were placed; the first apparently told him to go to a restaurant on Montreal's South Shore, where he got the news).


Rizzuto knew he was facing serious trouble; he'd participated in a triple homicide in Brooklyn, New York, in 1981 that Massino had direct knowledge of. As a rising star in New York's Bonanno crime family, Massino had actually orchestrated the hit on three dissident Bonanno capos .

The former mob boss, taking advantage of a 1931 Commission ruling that essentially gave Joseph Bonanno the rights to Montreal's Cosa Nostra group, Massino decided to use the Canadian faction, including Vito Rizzuto and two others, as the primary shooters. Massino wanted proverbial "out-of-town talent" to do the work, which was designed to resemble a stick up (inside a Mafia affiliated club's basement).


Anyway after that phone call that alerted him to a pending arrest for three homicides, Rizzuto and his wife promptly flew to Cuba, taking a flight the very next day to the Melia Las Americas, a resort in Varadero, Cuba. There, Rizzuto and his wife could enjoy the five-star resort's tropical-style rooms, each of which offers a beach-side view via a balcony; they could dine in any one of its seven restaurants (ranging from casual, poolside snacks to fine-dining), as well as pay a visit to the hotel's three bars and a nightclub.

"Vito went there to assess his options," said retired Montreal Mafia investigator Tony Bianco.

Canadian law enforcement apparently kept tabs on Rizzuto and knew exactly where he was; they knew someone else was at the same resort at the same time as the mob boss.

When Bianco learned of this coincidence, he orchestrated a meeting between the two, hoping to use the beloved Courtemanche as an informant. The "Quebec humorist has a certain attraction" among Canadians, particularly those living in Quebec, where Rizzuto lived.

Michel Courtemanche


Bianco believed that Courtemanche's charisma likely would win over the mob boss. The effort proved successful. The Rizzutos "had fun with Courtemanche, sharing stories and cocktails." It's not revealed whether additional members of the Rizzuto organization flew down to Cuba as well. The story (translated from French) refers to the Rizzuto clan having fun with the comedian.

Based on the success of the relationship between mob boss and humorist, Bianco decided to move from what had been a surveillance operation to a sting operation.

Plainclothes police officers arrived in Cuba to help facilitate "alliances" between Courtemanche and the Rizzuto group.

Unbeknownst to the comedian, the strategy worked perfectly, although none of the intelligence accrued apparently has been made available.

The operation ended and the RCMP considered it successful.

Then they tried to use the comedian as an undercover operative back in Quebec by having him seek to continue the relationship with Rizzuto sparked in Cuba. However, some undercover plainclothes operatives were somehow believed to have been exposed -- and were then deemed "unusable."

The op was called off.

Bianco is still rankled by what could have been a successful infiltration of the Rizzuto hierarchy. "This is the closest we have ever been" at gaining "first hand information about Rizzuto."

A view of Melia Las Americas, a resort in Varadero, Cuba.
Still a high-profile popular comedian? It's unlikely a mob boss of Rizzuto's intelligence would've told him anything useful. Ultimately, it depends on what Bianco meant by "firsthand information" about Rizzuto because there seems to be an awful lot of it available.

Vito fiercely fought extradition as his organization seemingly was under attack. When that battle finally was lost and he was driven to the airport on August 17, 2006, he offered some pointed remarks to the two officers driving him to the airport.
He needed to remain in Canada, he told them. Didn't they foresee the violence that had already erupted in his absence was only the beginning?

Officers Nicodemo Milano and Franc Guimond got an earful, but probably had no clue that Rizzuto was accurately predicting the milieu's pending upheaval.

"You should go after the street gangs," Vito told them. “Not me. They are the ones who would create trouble.”
Vito apparently believed his acting boss was not capable of leading the family in his absence.

"You will rue the day that I leave Canada,” Vito told the police officers. “You will see what will happen when I leave Canada.”


Why Vito Got Off So Lightly for Three Homicides
John W. Mitchell Esquire represented Rizzuto at the United States Courthouse in Brooklyn.

Vito only faced the racketeering charge of conspiracy to commit murder for a criminal organization.  The charge was lowered to conspiracy because American officials feared Canada wouldn’t extradite him if there was the potential for him to be executed. 
In his pre-sentence statement to court, Vito stopped short of telling the judge that he actually fired a fatal shot. 
“I did participate.…My job was to say, ‘It’s a hold-up,’ so everybody would stand still.”
Vito told the judge that he wasn’t well and that he’d received troubling news following a medical checkup a few weeks earlier. 
“They said they found a spot on my lung but they haven’t [figured out what the problem is yet]," Vito said. 
“They have to give me a CAT scan [but they were unable to get him to the hospital to conduct the procedure, presumably because he was arrested]."
Vito’s words didn’t win him much sympathy -- feigning illness is a well-known ploy of mobsters seeking to talk their way out of trouble with the law. In Vito's case he was being truthful, and the Fed's seemed to have confirmed his health-related problems.
He was sentenced to 10 years, but only had to serve five-and-a-half years because he was credited for his three-year pretrial custody. He could have even gotten out three years earlier than he did, if he had agreed to stay in the United States for the duration of parole.
The judge also recommended that Vito be held someplace where he could receive further medical testing. 
Vito originally expected the deal would include a provision allowing him to stay in a prison near the Quebec border so his family could visit. But that wasn't the case.
Rizzuto died abruptly of cancer (few knew he'd been battling the disease) in December 2013 after waging a long, bloody battle against a rival Cosa Nostra faction supported by a Ndrangheta contingent primarily based in Toronto.



One month prior to his death, Rizzuto, continuing his vendetta, ordering a hit in Mexico. Moreno Gallo, a turncoat member of Rizzuto's Mafia organization, was attempting to enjoy his retirement/exile in a sun-baked beachside resort. At an Italian restaurant in Acapulco, he was shot several times in the head.

The war continued after Rizzuto's death. His son Leonardo, a lawyer, was named as a member of a two-man panel running the family. (Vito Rizzuto's other son, Nick, was assassinated, as was Vito's father while Rizzuto was in prison in America.)
The impact of the arrests earlier this year stemming from two major drug trafficking investigations, Projects Magot and Mastiff, was widespread enough to create the potential for a new dynamic in Montreal's underworld. The probe examined links between the mob, Hells Angels, and street gang members.

It was an alleged murder plot of Vito Rizzuto's chief enemy, Raynald Desjardins, that set in motion the November 2015 predawn raids in Quebec, which sweeped up 48, including members of the Montreal Mafia and the Hells Angels.

Arrested were Rizzuto's son, an attorney reportedly not involved in organized crime (Leonardo Rizzuto, 46, took over after his father's death, police today claimed), and the daughter of Maurice "Mom" Boucher, a legendary former president of the Hells Angels' Montreal chapter.

Boucher himself was arrested in his jail cell where he's serving multiple life sentences for killing two prison guards.

Arrested were Rizzuto's son, 46, the daughter of Maurice "Mom" Boucher, a legendary former president of the Hells Angels' Montreal chapter, and Boucher himself, who was cuffed in his prison cell where he's serving multiple life sentences for killing two prison guards.

War broke out after Vito's arrest by U.S. authorities -- the battle lines drawn between those loyal to an imprisoned Rizzuto and those not; among the lives claimed in the fighting were several key family members, including Rizzuto’s father and son, both named Nicolo Rizzuto.

By 2010, Salvatore "Sal the Ironworker" Montagna, a former Bonanno boss from New York, joined forces with the renegade Rizzuto faction.

But a dispute among Vito's enemies led to an attempted hit on Desjardins, and it didn't take long for them to figure out who was behind it. The result -- Sal The Ironworker was killed a few weeks later.

One source reportedly said of Montagna: "He thought he was a lot smarter than he was."

What Vito Rizzuto Did When Joe Massino Flipped

Former Montreal mob boss Vito Rizzuto and his wife promptly hopped
on a flight to Cuba when he learned Massino had flipped.
Police used a Canadian comedian to infiltrate Vito Rizzuto's Montreal Mafia organization, the Montreal Journal reported tonight.

The effort occurred in Cuba. Though the comedian, Michel Courtemanche, was allegedly unaware of the role he'd played, Fidel Castro's Communist regime eagerly participated in the operation.

In 2003, members of the New York-based Bonanno crime family called Rizzuto and told him that the crime family's boss, Joseph Massino, had flipped (two calls were placed; the first apparently told him to go to a restaurant on Montreal's South Shore, where he got the news).


Rizzuto knew he was facing serious trouble as Massino not only had knowledge of but had orchestrated the hit on three dissident Bonanno capos in 1981; the former mob boss knew that Vito Rizzuto and two other members of the family's Canadian outpost had been the primary shooters -- as Massino wanted proverbial "out-of-town talent" to do the work.

Vito Rizzuto and his wife promptly flew to Cuba the next day, to the Melia Las Americas, a resort in Varadero, Cuba. There, Rizzuto and his wife could enjoy the five-star resort's tropical-style rooms, each of which offers a beach-side view via a balcony; they could dine in any one of its seven restaurants (ranging from casual, poolside snacks to fine-dining), as well as pay a visit to the hotel's three bars and a nightclub.

"Vito went there to assess its options," said retired Montreal Mafia investigator Tony Bianco. Canadian law enforcement apparently kept tabs and knew exactly where he was; they knew someone else was at the same resort at the same time.

When Bianco learned of this coincidence, he orchestrated a meeting between the two, hoping to use Courtemanche as an informant. The "Quebec humorist has a certain attraction" among Canadians, particularly those living in Quebec, where Rizzuto lived.



Michel Courtemanche


Bianco believed that Courtemanche's charisma likely would win over the mob boss. The effort proved successful. The Rizzutos "had fun with Courtemanche, sharing stories and cocktails." It's not revealed whether additional members of the Rizzuto organization flew down to Cuba as well. The story (translated from French) refers to the Rizzuto clan having fun with the comedian.

Based on the success of the relationship between mob boss and humorist, Bianco decided to move from what had been a surveillance operation to a sting operation.

Plainclothes police officers arrived in Cuba to help facilitate "alliances" between Courtemanche and the Rizzuto group.

Unbeknownst to the comedian, the strategy worked perfectly. Although none of the intelligence accrued has been made available.

The operation ended and the RCMP considered it successful.

Then they tried to use the comedian as an undercover operative back in Quebec by having him seek to continue the relationship with Rizzuto sparked in Cuba. However, some undercover plainclothes operatives were somehow believed to have been exposed -- and were then deemed "unusable."

The op was called off.

Bianco is still rankled by what could have been a successful infiltration of the Rizzuto hierarchy. "This is the closest we have ever been" at gaining "first hand information about Rizzuto."

A view of Melia Las Americas, a resort in Varadero, Cuba.
Still a high-profile popular comedian? It's unlikely a mob boss of Rizzuto's intelligence would've told him anything useful. Ultimately, it depends on what Bianco meant by "firsthand information" about Rizzuto because there seems to be an awful lot of it available.


Why Vito Got Off So Lightly for Three Homicides
John W. Mitchell Esquire represented Rizzuto at the United States Courthouse in Brooklyn.

Vito only faced the racketeering charge of conspiracy to commit murder for a criminal organization. 
The charge was lowered to conspiracy because American officials feared Canada wouldn’t extradite him if there was the potential for him to be executed. 
In his pre-sentence statement to court, Vito stopped short of telling the judge that he actually fired a fatal shot. 
“I did participate.…My job was to say, ‘It’s a hold-up,’so everybody would stand still.”
Vito told the judge that he wasn’t well and that he’d received some troubling news after a checkup a few weeks earlier. 
“They said they found a spot in my lungs, but they haven’t said what’s up to now yet,”Vito said. 
“They have to give me a CAT scan but will bring me to the hospital, but they haven’t,”he told court. 
Vito’s words didn’t win him much sympathy -- feigning illness is a well-known ploy of mobsters seeking to talk their way out of trouble with the law. 
He was sentenced to 10 years, but only had to serve five-and-a-half years because he was credited for his three-year pretrial custody.
He could have even gotten out three years earlier than he did, if he had agreed to stay in the United States for the duration of parole.
The judge also recommended that Vito be held someplace where he could receive further medical testing. 
Vito originally expected the deal would include a provision allowing him to stay in a prison near the Quebec border so his family could visit. But that wasn't the case.
Rizzuto died abruptly of cancer (few knew he'd been battling the disease) in December 2013 after waging a long, bloody battle against a rival Cosa Nostra faction supported by a Ndrangheta contingent primarily based in Toronto.



One month prior to his death, Rizzuto, continuing his vendetta, ordering a hit in Mexico. Moreno Gallo, a turncoat member of Rizzuto's Mafia organization, was attempting to enjoy his retirement/exile in a sun-baked beachside resort. At an Italian restaurant in Acapulco, he was shot several times in the head.
The war continued after Rizzuto's death. His son Leonardo, a lawyer, was named as a member of a two-man panel running the family. (Vito Rizzuto's other son, Nick, was assassinated, as was Vito's father while Rizzuto was in prison in America.)
The impact of the arrests earlier this year stemming from two major drug trafficking investigations, Projects Magot and Mastiff, was widespread enough to create the potential for a new dynamic in Montreal's underworld. The probe examined links between the mob, Hells Angels, and street gang members.

It was an alleged murder plot of Vito Rizzuto's chief enemy, Raynald Desjardins, that set in motion the November 2015 predawn raids in Quebec, which sweeped up 48, including members of the Montreal Mafia and the Hells Angels.

Arrested were Rizzuto's son, an attorney reportedly not involved in organized crime (Leonardo Rizzuto, 46, took over after his father's death, police today claimed), and the daughter of Maurice "Mom" Boucher, a legendary former president of the Hells Angels' Montreal chapter.

Boucher himself was arrested in his jail cell where he's serving multiple life sentences for killing two prison guards.

Arrested were Rizzuto's son, 46, the daughter of Maurice "Mom" Boucher, a legendary former president of the Hells Angels' Montreal chapter, and Boucher himself, who was cuffed in his prison cell where he's serving multiple life sentences for killing two prison guards.

War broke out after Vito's arrest by U.S. authorities -- the battle lines drawn between those loyal to an imprisoned Rizzuto and those not; among the lives claimed in the fighting were several key family members, including Rizzuto’s father and son, both named Nicolo Rizzuto.

By 2010, Salvatore "Sal the Ironworker" Montagna, a former Bonanno boss from New York, joined forces with the renegade Rizzuto faction.

But a dispute among Vito's enemies led to an attempted hit on Desjardins, and it didn't take long for them to figure out who was behind it. The result -- Sal The Ironworker was killed a few weeks later. One source reportedly said of Montagna: "He thought he was a lot smarter than he was."

Ndrangheta 101: Italian-Mafia Scholar's Insight

Supporters protest 2010 arrest of Ndrangheta boss.
John Dickie on The 'Ndrangheta
By Diego Scarabelli


Why is the history of the ‘Ndrangheta in the 19th Century still largely neglected?

It isn’t just the history of the ‘Ndrangheta in the nineteenth century that has been neglected: it is the ‘Ndrangheta tout court. It’s sometimes said that the ‘Ndrangheta has been covered by a ‘cono d’ombra’: a deep media shadow. The main reason for this is simply that Calabria is not remotely as politically important as are Naples and Palermo (where the camorra and mafia are most visible). Calabria can be safely ignored, by comparison. Once you start to research the history of the ‘Ndrangheta, you find that there are lots of sources because the police and magistrature knew all about it.
Is the history of the ‘Ndrangheta a history of continuity or a history of ruptures?

It’s a mixture of both. In terms of its structures, rituals, and rites, the story is one of profound continuity. In that sense, the ‘Ndrangheta is a living museum of the nineteenth-century prison camorras that gave rise to it. The basic methods are similar too: extortion and trafficking. It’s also becoming more and more clear that the kind of centralised coordinating structure to the ‘Ndrangheta, with the meeting at Polsi every September, etc., is much older than is supposed by the judge’s ruling in the history-making ‘Crimine’ case which is going through the Italian courts at the moment (the case tries to prove that the ‘Ndrangheta has a ruling committee, called the ‘Crimine’).

But there are also discontinuities. Most of the ‘ndranghetisti of the nineteenth century were pimps. Now the ‘Ndrangheta considers pimping dishonourable. That transformation, I think, shows the way that the Calabrian mafia changed into a more family-based organisation between the two wars. A fascinating change. The expansion abroad is also a dramatic development in the organisation. And we know very little about the history of how that happened: the ‘Ndrangheta was already well established in Australia in the 1920s and 1930s, for example. Then there are the changes of the post-war period, when the ‘Ndrangheta essentially became much, much richer.

The legend has that the Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta, the Sicilian Mafia and the Neapolitan Camorra were founded at once by three knights from Spain: Osso, Mastrosso and Carcagnosso. Is there any historical relevance in this story?

The story is about as true as the story of the three bears. But it is of course a foundation myth, and as such is significant for the organization’s internal culture. I don’t know what models the story was based on (the first evidence I have found of it in a trial dates back to the 1890s). Camorra and Mafia have similar founding myths: the Garduna and the Beati Paoli respectively. And we know what the models for those fables were. But not in this case.


What are the links intertwining Mafia, ‘Ndrangheta and Camorra?

The groups have always had ‘diplomatic’ relations within the prison system. Those ties became much closer from the 1960s when we begin to see examples of ‘double affiliation’: members of the ‘Ndrangheta like Don ‘Ntoni Macrì, who were also initiated into Cosa Nostra. That’s a sign of much closer business links in tobacco smuggling, drugs and kidnapping. What the state of play is now is, obviously, very difficult to tell.


John Dickie is Professor of Italian Studies at University College London and an internationally recognised expert on many aspects of Italian history. Italian history. In 2005 he was awarded the title Commendatore dell’Ordine della Stella della Solidarietà Italiana. He has published widely in academic journals on various topics in Italian history and he has also written extensively for the press in the UK, Italy and other countries. He is the author of several books among which are: Cosa Nostra. A History of the Sicilian Mafia (London: Hodder & Stoughton 2004), Blood Brotherhoods: the Rise of the Italian Mafias (London: Sceptre 2011) and Mafia Republic: Italy’s Criminal Curse. Cosa Nostra, ‘Ndrangheta and Camorra from 1946 to the Present (London: Hodder & Stoughton 2013).


(SOURCE)

How Ndrangheta's "Cono d’ombra" Benefits It

Supporters protest 2010 arrest of Ndrangheta member Giovanni Tegano, 70, considered boss of the Tegano ' ndrina.
John Dickie on The 'Ndrangheta
By Diego Scarabelli


Why is the history of the ‘Ndrangheta in the 19th Century still largely neglected?

It isn’t just the history of the ‘Ndrangheta in the nineteenth century that has been neglected: it is the ‘Ndrangheta tout court. It’s sometimes said that the ‘Ndrangheta has been covered by a ‘cono d’ombra’: a deep media shadow. The main reason for this is simply that Calabria is not remotely as politically important as are Naples and Palermo (where the camorra and mafia are most visible). Calabria can be safely ignored, by comparison. Once you start to research the history of the ‘Ndrangheta, you find that there are lots of sources because the police and magistrature knew all about it.
Is the history of the ‘Ndrangheta a history of continuity or a history of ruptures?

It’s a mixture of both. In terms of its structures, rituals, and rites, the story is one of profound continuity. In that sense, the ‘Ndrangheta is a living museum of the nineteenth-century prison camorras that gave rise to it. The basic methods are similar too: extortion and trafficking. It’s also becoming more and more clear that the kind of centralised coordinating structure to the ‘Ndrangheta, with the meeting at Polsi every September, etc., is much older than is supposed by the judge’s ruling in the history-making ‘Crimine’ case which is going through the Italian courts at the moment (the case tries to prove that the ‘Ndrangheta has a ruling committee, called the ‘Crimine’).

But there are also discontinuities. Most of the ‘ndranghetisti of the nineteenth century were pimps. Now the ‘Ndrangheta considers pimping dishonourable. That transformation, I think, shows the way that the Calabrian mafia changed into a more family-based organisation between the two wars. A fascinating change. The expansion abroad is also a dramatic development in the organisation. And we know very little about the history of how that happened: the ‘Ndrangheta was already well established in Australia in the 1920s and 1930s, for example. Then there are the changes of the post-war period, when the ‘Ndrangheta essentially became much, much richer.

The legend has that the Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta, the Sicilian Mafia and the Neapolitan Camorra were founded at once by three knights from Spain: Osso, Mastrosso and Carcagnosso. Is there any historical relevance in this story?

The story is about as true as the story of the three bears. But it is of course a foundation myth, and as such is significant for the organization’s internal culture. I don’t know what models the story was based on (the first evidence I have found of it in a trial dates back to the 1890s). Camorra and Mafia have similar founding myths: the Garduna and the Beati Paoli respectively. And we know what the models for those fables were. But not in this case.


What are the links intertwining Mafia, ‘Ndrangheta and Camorra?

The groups have always had ‘diplomatic’ relations within the prison system. Those ties became much closer from the 1960s when we begin to see examples of ‘double affiliation’: members of the ‘Ndrangheta like Don ‘Ntoni Macrì, who were also initiated into Cosa Nostra. That’s a sign of much closer business links in tobacco smuggling, drugs and kidnapping. What the state of play is now is, obviously, very difficult to tell.


John Dickie is Professor of Italian Studies at University College London and an internationally recognised expert on many aspects of Italian history. Italian history. In 2005 he was awarded the title Commendatore dell’Ordine della Stella della Solidarietà Italiana. He has published widely in academic journals on various topics in Italian history and he has also written extensively for the press in the UK, Italy and other countries. He is the author of several books among which are: Cosa Nostra. A History of the Sicilian Mafia (London: Hodder & Stoughton 2004), Blood Brotherhoods: the Rise of the Italian Mafias (London: Sceptre 2011) and Mafia Republic: Italy’s Criminal Curse. Cosa Nostra, ‘Ndrangheta and Camorra from 1946 to the Present (London: Hodder & Stoughton 2013).


(SOURCE)

1981: A Most Violent Year for New York's Mafia

Scene from A Most Violent Year. The film's story occurred in 1981.
REVISED HEADLINE
A Most Violent Year: A crime drama set in New York City during the winter of 1981, statistically one of the most violent years in the city's history, and centered on the lives of an immigrant and his family trying to expand their business and capitalize on opportunities as the rampant violence, decay, and corruption of the day drag them in and threaten to destroy all they have built.

The above statistic is true. The film is fiction, but the backdrop against which it was set, New York City in 1981, is a fact as unyielding as rebar.

The violence included mob violence but touched on a broad spectrum of crimes, as one recent report noted.

"The 365 days between January 1st and December 31st were filled with news reports of mob violence spilling out into the street, rape, robbery and other seeds of crime that had the city’s citizens fearing what their city was becoming...."
Here's only some of the high-profile criminal activity that took place in New York in 1981.

There were 2,166 murders that year versus the 648 said to take place in 2013. (2015, as you'll see, was the year things changed for the worse).

As Time magazine noted: The 1970s saw a strong uptick in violent crime, showing no signs of abating when the 1980s commenced.

Time's cover story "looked at the statistics to show the correlation between violence and robbery in cities both large and small, detailing stories of crime from Los Angeles to Birmingham, Ala."

The marked upswing in street violence really gained momentum in 1980. The public shooting of John Lennon outside the Dakota served as an odd sort of herald of this frightening trend.

For NYPD Commissioner Robert McGuire, street violence was of major concern:

"Street crime is the most serious thing we face today. It has an enormous impact on the quality of people’s lives. It determines where we walk, what time we walk, even whether we play bingo at night and whether we go to the theater

Williamsburg today is dominated by millennial hipsters who live in high-rise condominiums, dine in pricey restaurants and shop in tony retail boutiques. This neighborhood was once very different. It was literally "a hotbed of street gang and mob activity."

The consummate 1970s gangster flick, The Warriors, based in Coney Island.

And somehow, I don't think those 1980s-era gangs were anything like the ones from which mob bosses Vito Genovese and Carlo Gambino once enlisted their soldiers back in the 1950s, such as Williamburg's Jacksons Gents.

By the 1980s these were different gangs.  Known for their unparalleled brutality (some carried swords, see picture below), The Dirty Ones, the Savage Nomads, and the Black Stabbers were among the street gangs then engaged in a bloody war, prompting the Williamsburg area to be nicknamed Brooklyn’s “killing fields” due to the vast number of teenagers "senselessly killed" there.

The below map (from the NYPD) details Brooklyn's then-staggering gang problem. (And shows the burned-out gang banger hefting a medieval-looking sword. What he's holding in his other hand is -- I have no clue.)

Brooklyn's Street gangs of 1981

"LCN," The Five Families
The New York Mafia, the Cosa Nostra, the Five Families ruled the New York boroughs' underworld with an iron fist, and was supposedly at its strongest in Brooklyn and Queens.

In 1981 FBI agent Joseph Pistone — aka Donnie Brasco — was wrapping up his undercover investigation of the Bonanno crime family, which began with him meeting Colombo associates in 1975. (Wonder how the story would've played out if Pistone had stayed with the Colombo crime family.)

One month following Pistone's outing as a federal agent, in August of 1981, Bonanno capo Dominick "Sonny Black" Napolitano was murdered in a Brooklyn basement.

Although he supposedly gave his money and jewelry to a bartender, Napolitano actually thought he'd be able to talk his way out of the meeting. "We all screwed up," he'd been told, or words along that line. He was told Pistone was the family's problem, and not his alone.

Basically, Sonny Black was told what he wanted to hear.

Napolitano also was a key player in a triple homicide the Bonanno family pulled off that same violent, bloody year. Sonny Red and his guys were lined up directly against the official boss, Philip "Rusty" Rastelli, backed by Joe Massino and other capos, including Dominick “Sonny Black” Napolitano, and the Zips—once Sonny Red stiffed them for a consignment of heroin they'd fronted him.

The Gambinos were aligned with the Bonannos. Some speculate John Gotti's ties to Joe Massino were a key dynamic behind the strike. The triple-capo whacking was not Commission sanctioned.


Double Homicide at the Shamrock Bar
Two men drinking away an evening at the Shamrock Bar on Jamaica Ave. in Richmond Hill, Queens, were gunned down by mobsters -- right in the middle of the crowded drinking establishment. Richard Godkin and business partner John D'Agnese were shot to death in 1981, supposedly over an accidentally spilled drink that landed on the dress of Gambino mobster Frank Riccardi’s girlfriend.

Three mobsters beat the rap due to "bungling prosecutors and reluctant witnesses," as the New York Daily News reported in March of 2013. The story's thrust seemed to be that, finally, the key shooter, "Bobby Glasses" Vernace, responsible for the "senseless" 1981 shooting on "Western Night" at the Shamrock Bar was going to be held accountable. A year later he was.....

What changed, the Daily News reported, was that two key witnesses were finally ready to testify after years of fearing the mob.

FBI agents have convinced Linda Gotti, niece of deceased crime boss John Gotti (and daughter to John Gotti brother Peter Gotti, who is apparently still the official Gambino boss and is serving a prison sentence not slated to end until 2032), to identify the men who killed D'Agnese, who was her boyfriend at the time. Bartender Patrick Sullivan, who previously backed out, will also testify.

Richard, a decorated Vietnam veteran, had fathered four children with his wife by the time of his death.
Catherine Godkin (center) at her Brooklyn home with her daughters (from l. to r.) Susan, Jacqueline, and Christine.




Charges were dropped against alleged killer Ronald "Ronnie the Jew" Barlin because Linda Gotti recanted her identification.
Bartolomeo "Bobby Glasses" Vernace beat a state murder rap in 1998 for killing Godkin and D'Agnese. Riccardi was tried separately in state court and was also acquitted. He died in 2007. 

With decades having passed -- and the mob not the same fearful entity it had been in 1981, Linda Gotti and bartender Joseph Patrick Sullivan were ready to tell the jury what they knew.

In the end, only Sullivan took the stand.

One report noted of Sullivan:

During testimony in the federal trial in 2013, an eyewitness to the murders, Shamrock bartender Joseph Patrick Sullivan, testified that he had lied during the state trial about Vernace’s role in the murders out of fear of retribution. According to a press release from the FBI, the eyewitness testified in the federal case that he recognized all three assailants but that he had been afraid to testify against them because, in his words, “two men were dead over a spilled drink. I think that was reason enough to be afraid.”

Vernace, who launched his long career in the mafia in the early 1970s and ended up serving on the three-member ruling panel overseeing the Gambino family, was arrested on Jan. 20, 2011 as part of the FBI’s national sweep of almost 100 members and associates of organized crime.
After the double slayings, Vernace went into hiding. He returned years later to Queens and became an active member of the Gambino crime family.
Over the next two decades,his power grew. Law enforcement officials said he was known to have a “large and profitable crew” that was based in a Cooper Avenue cafe located in Glendale. 
Vernace was eventually sentenced to life in prison last year for the killing. In fact, he was found guilty on all of the nine racketeering acts he faced, which in addition to the two murders, included heroin trafficking, robbery, loansharking, and illegal gambling. He had rejected a plea deal that would have sent him away for only 12 years. (He tried to reconsider on the eve of the trial, but the Fed's said the agreement was no longer an option.)

Vernace allegedly just shrugged after the verdict was read. Godkin's widow and two daughters wept.
Bartolomeo Vernace was found guilty of two 1981 murders. 


As for Linda Gotti, the New York Daily News reported that she had eagerly wanted to testify in Vernace's federal trial.

The only problem? Lawyers representing Vernace didn't want the "Mafia princess" in the racketeering and murder trial.

Linda, who apparently harbors some animosity toward the Gotti clan and had hoped that by testifying she could put that part of her life behind her, appeared overly interested in talking to the court, said a source familiar with her thinking.

...Federal prosecutors also had Gotti on standby in the courthouse, but decided against putting her on the stand after a bartender who witnessed the double murder testified and appeared to hit a home run for the government, sources said. 

More than three decades ago, Linda had also witnessed the fatal shooting of her boyfriend John D’Agnese, who was gunned down with co-owner Richard Godkin over a spilled drink in the Shamrock Bar. ...

Recently she told the feds that shortly after the murders, John Gotti’s wife, Victoria, had advised her that she did not have to testify if she did not want to, sources said. 

She also claimed to have no knowledge of her father’s ties to the Mafia until the late 1980s, which seemed incredible, the source added.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld Vernace's conviction for murdering the two men in the Shamrock bar, ruling that "the cold-blooded killings may have been over a spilled drink, but the violence burnished the mobster's reputation in the street and later rise to power."

Vernace had argued that he was wrongly convicted of murder in aid of racketeering -- the slayings were part of a personal dispute and not Gambino business, he argued.


The three-judge panel, however found, that “a reasonable jury could have concluded Vernace went so far as to commit murder in a crowded bar because such a public display related to preserving (and even enhancing) the reputation of the Gambino crime family and its members.”

Crime scene photos from the 1981 shooting, which took place right in the middle of a crowded bar
on a cowboy-themed dance party night.

No! Whitey Bulger Was Not Caught J--king Off! ...Or Was He?

An ignoble man caught in a most ignoble way....
Because he didn't extinguish a simple light, the former Irishman who ran South Boston's Winter Hill Gang while serving double-duty as a high-echelon snitch, 85-year-old James "Whitey" Bulger was caught literally with his pants down.

According to court documents unearthed by the Boston Globe, a correction's officer spied Bulger masturbating in his cell at 3 a.m. last June at the US Penitentiary Coleman II in Florida

Since Federal inmates are prohibited from all sexual activity, Bulger was punished for the wee infraction, Boston.com reported. He was placed in solitary confinement for 30 days; his commissary and email privileges were stopped for 120 days.
"How the mighty have fallen," Metro Boston reported.

Bulger, never one to admit to anything, certainly didn't go down without a fight. 
At a hearing over the incident, he told a disciplinary officer that a correction's officer had “set (him) up."

"I've never had any charges like that in my whole life," the grizzled gangster said."I'm 85 years old. My sex life is over."

Bulger further claimed that he had developed a yeast infection due to the perspiration caused by his prison-issued pants. Basically, he claimed he'd been applying medication to his genitals. (Another report said that the alleged skin irritation was caused by the humid Florida heat, coupled with the prison's lack of adequate ventilation, an irate Bulger argued.)

“I volunteer to take polygraph test to prove my answer to this charge,” he said, when informed of his punishment.

“I ended up with a condition and I’m embarrassed to go to medical because they have female nurses over there,” Bulger said.

As for why he keeps his lights on all the time , Bulger said it was to ward off the horrible nightmares he suffered from, which were a byproduct of an LSD experiment he participated in while locked up in an Atlanta federal penitentiary for bank robbery.

Scene of the crime....
This guy is old school. Won't admit to nothing! Not even when he's caught "red-handed," so to speak!

Bulger is reportedly appealing the disciplinary action to get the sanction cleared from his record.He also is appealing his conviction on the grounds that he did not get a fair trial.

A male corrections officer making early morning rounds at the federal penitentiary in Sumterville, Fla., caught Bulger in partial flagrante delicto, the papers said. (His pants were down.)

The guard saw him touching his exposed genitals with his left hand, according to the papers obtained by The Globe.

“I got you!” the guard allegedly hollered.

Bulger was written up by prison officials on June 1 for violating a rule that prohibits sexual activity for inmates. 
Bulger No Fan of Black Mass, tooBulger was apparently not very enamored with Johnny Depp’s portrayal of him in the Hollywood blockbuster Black Mass.

Bulger was stunned how much Depp resembled him in at least one picture
taken on the Black Mass set and this probably isn't it....
Bulger said of the film: It was “pure fiction.” His handwritten thoughts on the film -- rather, photos of the notes -- were for sale by a Los Angeles-based memorabilia dealer, Page Six reported. The photos, 22 in all, were previously in the possession of someone reportedly just "one step removed from the prisoner who was Bulger’s protector in jail." As of Jan. 31, LA-based memorabilia dealer Moments in Time was selling all 22 photos for $24,000.
Depp sent Bulger letters in prison, but the mobster supposedly shredded and tossed them.

“I made a request to meet with Mr. Bulger, and since he was not particularly a great fan of the book . . . and many of the other books written about him, I got a beautiful response through his attorney that said, ‘Mr. Bulger respectfully declines,’ ” Depp said when he was promoting the film last year. 

Bulger, however, apparently was quite stunned when he noticed Depp’s striking resemblance to him in at least one photo from the set.

“Johnny Depp all made up in movie about me. Once I looked just like he does now in the movie. This movie started out way back in ’94 or ’93. I was paying two FBI agents for information about a case involving me. Any info on people quoting info to [the] Office of FBI Organized Crime investigation of me and criminal associates. This went on for years. We got information and they got money.” 

Bulger also kept photosof himself from his decades-ago stint in the now-defunct federal prison at Alcatraz Island.

“My Alcatraz Photo — like classbook pictures! One of American Crime Schools,” he inscribed. 

Depp reportedly made multiple attempts to make contact with Bulger, who allegedly made a habit of ripping the actor's letters to shreds. "Johnny Depp might as well have been playing the Mad Hatter all over again as far as James Bulger is concerned," Bulger's attorney told the Daily Beast last year. "Hollywood greed is behind the rush to portray my client."

Back in 1995, Bulger seemingly dropped off the face of the earth for about 16 years after being tipped off that he was about to be arrested.

He was convicted in 2013 of 11 murders while overseeing a vast criminal empire based in South Boston in the 1970s and 1990s. He never admitted to being an informant though he claimed he had some sort of high-level "gentleman's agreement," with a now-deceased formerly high-ranking law enforcement official.

He was captured in Santa Monica, Calif., in 2011 after nearly two decades on the run.
Snitched on High-Ranking Boston MobstersBefore that he is believed to have done all he could to destroy the Italian Mafia of New England, the once mighty Patriarca crime family.

The highly profitable gambling and loansharking operation run by Patriarca underboss Gennero "Jerry" Angiulo and his brothers was part of the bedrock foundation of the New England mob's vast empire. Based in Boston's North End on the appropriately named Prince Street, the Angiulo brothers ran an empire safely insulated from law enforcement's prying eyes for decades.


Gennero "Jerry" Angiulo

The insulation, however, failed to buffer Angiulo against the Boston Irish mob, aka the Winter Hill Gang then run by Whitey Bulger and Steve Flemmi (though the gang's roots predated Bulger) who made an arrangement to work with the Angiulo brothers. The problem for the brothers was that Whitey and Flemmi had first begun working with the FBI and were high-echelon informants (something that scumbag Bulger no doubt will continue to deny with his dying breath).

The two commenced snitching on the mob via FBI special agent John Connolly (now in prison), who'd hailed from the same South Boston neighborhood as Bulger. Bulger and Flemmi offered a detailed layout of Angiulo’s Prince Street headquarters, so the agents knew exactly where to place the bugs. Angiulo’s chief enforcer, Larry Zannino, also was bugged.

The results, as noted by WBUR's website:

... 98 Prince Street... became a legendary landmark after FBI bugs recorded him and his brothers and lieutenants talking themselves into a banquet of federal racketeering charges in the early 1980s. Sentenced to 45 years in prison, Mr. Angiulo served 24 years before being released in 2007. He died a free man....


The Angiulos were criminals. But the story, now notorious and never too old to be told again, is what happened in Boston when in order to get the Angiulos and their lieutenants and don-wanna-be’s, the FBI and the Justice Department decided to make the ultimateconsonant wise guy, James Whitey Bulger, a Junior G-Man. (Happy birthday to the fugitive killer who got tipped off by an FBI agent and escaped 14 years ago.)

The scandalous record shows that Bulger was protected from prosecution, knowingly allowed to get away with violent crimes and enabled to become the Irish Godfather because he was a secret government informant against the Mafia.


This was just a little something I worked up while I continue polishing a few quite long stories....