Ed Scarpo's Blog, page 40

Port Authority No Longer Vets Airport Vendors for Mob Ties

The New York Post today reports that the Port Authority no longer runs background checks on businesses applying to operate at area airports, a policing campaign begun 25 years ago.

Critics tell the Post this could lead to a "Mafia resurgence."

One insider told the newspaper that the PA "quietly ditched its long-standing corruption-fighting tool that required background checks on new businesses and their principals before they could operate at JFK, La Guardia, or Newark airports."



Presumably another (or is it the same) insider further noted: “This will lead to bad outcomes. It’s an open invitation for organized crime figures to once again do business at our airports."
The PA police issued an internal memo on Oct. 16 that noted it was "abruptly canceling all vetting protocols. PAPD Superintendent Michael A. Fedorko noted: "Such background checks are not required by applicable law or regulation. Accordingly, effective immediately, such background checks are hereby eliminated.” 

To stop mob-connected companies from operating in the airports, one PA lieutenant and several detectives "carefully reviewed paperwork and conducted in-person interviews on about 100 new companies annually."

Protocol also required a revetting of previously approved firms and senior executives whenever PA contracts were renewed.

While about 5 percent of applicants were disqualified, sources said the probes had a “deterrent effect" by causing some entities not to even apply, knowing they wouldn't pass muster.

The vettting process could take several months; businesses apparently started complaining, the source told the Post.

The protocols were implemented "to safeguard the integrity of airport businesses permitted to interact with millions of travelers each year."

We have to wonder if this was a cost cutting effort aimed at a handful of PA law enforcement officials.

In 2011, news reports revealed that dozens of rank-and-file Port Authority cops were earning more than $200,000 due to overtime.
According to NBC New York, one sergeant earned $115,394 in overtime that year, bringing his total pay to $265,059, higher than the salaries of "most Port Authority executives."
Paul Nunziato, of the Port Authority Police Benevolent Association, blamed the exorbitant overtime pay on the PA itself, saying his union had been pressing officials to hire more officers for years.
We're trying to contact sources at the PA and PAPBA.

Potential Rumbles for the Philadelphia Mafia

Anthony Nicodemo could have an everlasting impact
on the Cosa Nostra crews in Philadelphia.
After this was posted, George Anastasia reported on BigTrial: "Nicodemo Gets 25-50 Years For DiPietro Murder." 

George Anastasia writes a column for JerseyMan Magazine called appropriately enough Mob Scene.

However, as soon as we realized this we couldn't help but note that he's not written a single word for Mob Scene or even BigTrial so far this year; we actually wondered if the law firm behind BT had yanked the plug -- but then, quite recently, there was a new column. Whew. Maybe George is just taking a well-deserved vacation from his unnecessarily controversial but very engaging new book. Also, perhaps there's no pending mob trial to evoke his words.




On Dec. 18, the Philadelphia crime journalist offered a kind of overview of key happenings using a sort of sports story format, only the game was the ongoing battle between the Philly mob and the feds.






The gist is that Joseph “Uncle Joe” Ligambi and George Borgesi are in the Feds' crosshairs though neither likely will face a new trial. There is one wild card however and he is named Anthony Nicodemo. The young mobster has a "beautiful wife and two young daughters" waiting at home for him, but he can't be expected to show up anytime soon, of course. As for Ronald Galati, the feds may want him to flip, but there is a big question mark hovering over the Galati case. As for Skinny Joey Merlino, he's in prison and faces an interesting future once he gets out....

"The big mob winners were erstwhile mob boss Joseph “Uncle Joe” Ligambi and his perpetually whining nephew George Borgesi," he wrote, noting how the two escaped conviction on a racketeering conspiracy charge that included a decade in prison each.

Ligambi is semi-retired, though "[w]hat that means in underworld terms is open to question. The local mob is currently in a state of flux. It’s unclear who’s in charge. Or, for that matter, if anyone wants to be."


(Actually Ligambi is co-consiglieri, as we reported.)

As for "Georgie Boy" Borgesi, 52, he is "back on the streets but will remain on supervised release (probation) until next July. That limits his ability to make moves in the underworld, although to hear him tell it, he’s not interested. Having watched the always-hyper mobster maneuver in the past, it’s hard to believe that he will stay on the sidelines."

Apparently, interested or not, he has no choice. He's not part of the new administration. It seems the ball is in Borgesi's court. Based on what we know, Borgesi is either retired, a lowly capo or he may mount a challenge. The administration likely would take out anyone who attempts to break the peace.

Anastasia next noted that both Ligambi and Borgesi remain in the Feds' crosshairs. "In January they both walked free. It’s unlikely the feds will move against either in the future unless they can list one or more of three unsolved mob murders in an indictment.

"The chances of doing that remain slim, but other developments in the underworld over the past year offer law enforcement possibilities. In fact, another no decision and a pending retrial could hold the key to what comes next for Ligambi and associates."

"He has a beautiful wife and two young daughters. ... He is being a “stand up” guy say those who see his decision not to cooperate as somehow honorable. 

"Others think he’s just being stupid."

The name Anthony Nicodemo pops up. His murder trial (not a gangland hit, said the judge) "ended in a mistrial after three jurors were dismissed. Since only two alternates had been selected, the dismissals (on various grounds, one of which may have been jury tampering) left just 11 jurors, not enough for the trial to proceed."

"As recounted in an earlier column this year, the opening arguments and four days of testimony demonstrated two things:

"The District Attorney’s Office appears to have a rock solid case tying Nicodemo, 42, to the gangland–style slaying of Gino DiPietro on a South Philadelphia street back on December 12, 2012. 

"Second, Nicodemo’s proffered defense sounded as ridiculous as the murder itself which has been described as one of the dumbest in Philadelphia mob history."

As reported back in 2012: "A former federal prosecutor called the broad daylight slaying of Gino DiPietro Wednesday afternoon "amateurish" but indicative of what the Philadelphia crime family has become.

"Nicodemo, 41, was taken into custody less than 30 minutes after the shooting. Witnesses had spotted him fleeing the scene in an SUV and gave authorities the license tag number. The vehicle was registered in Nicodemo's name and listed at his address, a few blocks from where DiPietro was gunned down.

"The Wig" likely will die in prison."The married father of two young children was arrested at that home without incident. He was charged with murder, conspiracy and weapons charges Thursday afternoon after a ballistic test linked a gun found in his car with a bullet fragment from the murder scene. Police also found gloves and a ski mask in the vehicle, a black Honda Pilot, according to an investigative source."

Nicodemo was arrested that day and has been held without bail.

Anastasia noted: "He has a beautiful wife and two young daughters. ... He is being a “stand up” guy say those who see his decision not to cooperate as somehow honorable.

"Others think he’s just being stupid. 

"And his defense, at least the defense offered in his lawyer’s opening statement in the trial back in May, underscores that point. 

"If the DA’s evidence is as solid as it appears, then Nicodemo and the masked gunman carried out the hit without a lot of pre-planning. No one with any underworld savvy is going to use their own vehicle as the getaway car in a murder. And no one keeps the murder weapon. 

"Faced with those two facts, Nicodemo’s lawyer offered this explanation in his opening statement to the jury: Nicodemo was in the neighborhood that afternoon. He had a business office nearby and his parents still lived there. He was sitting in his Honda with the motor running when a masked gunman jumped into the car and ordered him to drive away. Somewhere between the murder scene and Nicodemo’s house the gunman jumped out of the Honda and fled on foot. Unbeknownst to Nicodemo, the shooter left his gun behind. 

"One of the dismissed jurors called that explanation “ridiculous.” 

"The trial didn’t last long enough to see how the defense would have played out. The big question was whether Nicodemo—a burly, dark-eyed mobster—would have taken the stand to offer more details about the “carjacking” that day. Two key questions—Why didn’t he report it to police after the gunman jumped out of his car or when the police came knocking on his door that afternoon? And why has he sat silently in prison, denied bail, for all this time if he was the victim of a carjacking at gunpoint that day, and not the getaway driver/accomplice of the shooter? 

"Nicodemo goes back on trial in February. It will be a new jury. The DA will offer the same evidence. Will Nicodemo offer the same ludicrous defense? 

"Or will he, either before, during or after the trial, attempt to cut a deal with the DA and with the feds?"

We've been wondering the same.

"Nicodemo has already been identified by the New Jersey State Police and the FBI as a suspect in the murder of John “Johnny Gongs” Casasanto, one of the unsolved murders the feds hope to put on Ligambi’s doorstep. Nicodemo as a witness could help make that case. He also could finger the shooter in the DiPietro murder and offer an explanation for why the hit went down and whether the order for the slaying came from higher up the mob ladder.

"The mistrial in May put all of that on hold. Nicodemo could be looking at 30 to life in a state prison (not a pleasant prospect) if convicted. The DA has conceded he was not the shooter that day, but was part of the murder plot which makes him just as culpable.

"Nicodemo’s two options appear to be state prison or a new identity in the Witness Security Program. The question coming from law enforcement circles is whether the South Philadelphia mobster is smart enough to realize that."

Next item: Ron Galati, who was found guilty in what also can be considered a pretty dumb murder-for-hire trial. He was convicted "of hiring two hitmen to murder the boyfriend of his estranged daughter. The boyfriend was shot, but survived. The hitmen, arrested within minutes of the shooting, quickly became cooperators."

Galati, 63, also has another murder-for-hire charge and a massive insurance fraud case looming. 
"Another “stand up guy,” according to some who know him, Galati may not have enough information to cut a deal with the feds even if he were interested."

Skinny Joey the restaurateur?
And finally, Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino was back in prison for violating the terms of his probation. 

"With his three years of supervised release about to end, Merlino was spotted out on the town in Boca Raton with his former co-defendant and mob associate John “Johnny Chang” Ciancaglini. 

"Authorities said Merlino and Ciancaglini dined at a posh Italian restaurant on the night of June 18 and then repaired to a trendy cigar bar where they capped the evening with a good smoke and some libations. 

"Both were convicted in a high profile mob racketeering trial in 2001. Merlino had completed his prison term and had relocated to Florida where he was serving out his three years of probation. During that period he was prohibited from associating with any known felon or mobsters. 

"Ciancaglini fit both descriptions. 

"Merlino’s lawyers argued that the meeting with Ciancaglini was a “chance encounter.” They said there was no proof that they had dined together that night, even though they may have been in the same restaurant. And they contended that while Skinny Joey and Johnny Chang happened to be in the cigar bar, Havana Nights, at the same time, it was not a pre-planned meeting. ... 

"The upside for Skinny Joey, however, is that once this issue is resolved, he will no longer be on supervised release and will be free to meet and associate with whomever he chooses.
"Meanwhile, Merlino has gone into the restaurant business. He’s got financial backers who have opened a new spot in Boca called—what else?—Merlino’s. Joey can’t have a stake in the business because a convicted felon can’t be part of an establishment that has a liquor license. But he can be the “host” who meets and greets customers. He’s been doing that since the restaurant opened early in November."

Guercio on "Nightmare" Nightclub Attack on Boyfriend London

Natalie Guercio
It wasn't a mob attack, which most of us knew all along, and it didn't involve the VH1 reality show, which some of us aren't so sure about.
“Mob Wives” star Natalie Guercio, a single mom, recently gave a Fox News affiliate the downlow on the attack on her boyfriend at a Brooklyn nightclub. (We also have a point to make about "rats" afterward.)
The attack apparently was unprecipitated and came from out of nowhere, Guercio said. "We went out and somebody attacked him. Somebody attacked him when he wasn’t looking and it was just a nightmare. It was gory. There was blood.



London Rene, her boyfriend, had been sliced on "his face. On his arm. As soon as London felt the slash he grabbed [his attacker] and put him down on the ground and was holding his hands, and while he was holding his hands he was slicing him all over. So, he’s pretty cut up on his stomach and on his arm. You know, three inches down he would have bled to death right there and died. An inch over on his arm and he would have lost all feeling in his fingers, and if it went any deeper on his side. It was pretty bad."
As for how London is doing health-wise, Guercio said: "He’s still healing. He’s not 100 percent. I don’t think he’s going to be a 100 percent for a while.

Asked if the attack involved the Mafia [we have to laugh at how foolish some newspeople are], Guercio said:
"It has nothing to do with the mafia. It has nothing to do with the show. It’s just an animal. A jealous animal that did this. You know, right now our lawyers and everybody is handling it. I don’t want to talk too much about it because it’s London’s story, and he’ll be able to tell it."

Going further into her use of the word "jealous" the beautiful mob wife said: "There’s tons of jealousy. Tons. I get people telling me every day telling me they’re going to kill me, slice me. You know they blame me for what happened to London and that’s not the case. I play a character on a reality TV show. It’s TV.

"You gotta understand something. You have a problem and the problem gets magnified so you’re only concentrating on that one issue and that one problem, you're not looking at the happy moments. You’re not looking at mom on Sunday, family day. You’re not looking at that, but what they’re showing."
For the record, we have to state that, as for the show's she-said/she-said dynamic, there is really only one rat among all of them. (Now, we don't use the term "rat" like most people do. For us, the rat is the guy or gal who calls others rats, knowing of course that all along they too are the rat...)
And the Mob Wives rat, obviously, is Karen Gravano, who ran to Jerry Capeci when she was fired and blabbed all about what she thought was going on. She was wrong about that, too.
Gravano told Capeci that it was none other than Alicia DiMichele's husband, Edward "Tall Guy" Garofalo, who negotiated with the producers of the reality show to get his wife on Mob Wives.

Also, the Tall Guy, according to Gravano, was "figuring to be a major star" in the last season of the show, which clearly was not the case. But still, Gravano predicted that DiMichele and Garofalo's former marriage was supposedly the show's centerpiece."

That's right. She said that Garofalo "negotiated" to get his wife on the show -- and Karen and the others off, as Karen told Capeci.

As we noted, this is absurd on its face. Garofalo is a member of the violent Colombo crime family under volatile capo Teddy Persico. One of our deepest sources on the streets of New York has told us, "I don't like that crew. I just don't like them."
As we noted by way of Kenji Gallo who writes the Breakshot blog: "Now Eddie is going to be calling in on the reality show from prison.  I wonder what Teddy Persico, his Capo, thinks about that... every mob guy knows mob guys don’t go on TV.  It’s a secret society."
In fact, Kenji has been reporting on the Colombo crime family in recent weeks.
His latest focus is Vincent “Chickie” DeMartino, who "was fresh out of prison for a bank robbery conviction and he had just been inducted into the family. He had decided to stick with the rebel faction and he became one of their most ardent supporters.

"When the rebels decided to hit one of the Persico’s most dangerous Capos - Greg Scarpa, Chickie was on the hit team. Chickie was in the van that brought the shooters to Scarpa’s home. He charged out with the others but one of the men was nervous and his gun went off when they were getting out of the van. Greg Scarpa was able to drive away."

READ THE REST ON BREAKSHOT

Did Montreal Mob Boss Vito Rizzuto Really Die of Cancer?

Vito Rizzuto
He was a gangland figure who returned with a vengeance.

Literally.

And his end came quite sudden. But was it really cancer that did him in shortly before Christmas 2013 -- or was it some other cause, presumably not natural?

That is a question posed in Business or Blood: Mafia Boss Vito Rizzuto's Last War by Peter Edwards and Antonio Nicaso, which debuted this week.
The book describes Vito Rizzuto as the consummate global criminal, a cultured man who enjoyed reading about the ancient Greek and Roman empires. Playing golf was his escape from daily life.
Vito spoke four languages (French, Italian, Spanish and English) and held an "innate understanding of the nexus between the underworld and the world of the state and mainstream economic power."

But in the end it was revenge -- that primal instinct, the ancient call to slaughter all enemies -- that drove Rizzuto, not the Mafia's raison d'être: making money.

Which may represent a motive, the authors say.
The former boss of Montreal's Cosa Nostra returned home in October 2012 after finishing a prison sentence in America due to his old pal, former Bonanno boss Joseph "Big Joey" Massino, doing the unthinkable.
The story has been told and retold how Rizzuto's father and son were murdered in his absence, among others dear to him.
What followed was a series of gangland hits as far away as Acapulco, Mexico, and Casteldaccia, Sicily, not to mention the bloodied bullet-ridden bodies found all over Montreal and Toronto.
Some had thought (many no doubt prayed) that Rizzuto one day would meet a similar fate.
It seems he didn't. In the end it was cancer that finally claimed the life of the mob boss who singlehandedly redefined the term "old school."
Or was it?
The Mafioso "died in circumstances that were never made clear. Many people predicted his death, of course, but few thought it would be the result of natural causes, as was quickly and widely accepted by the authorities and the press."

It's further noted that Rizzuto's death "brought relief in some powerful circles, criminal and otherwise. By the time of his death, he had actually become bad for business. Revenge was more important to him than making money, and every day brought news of fresh bloodletting among men known to be his enemies.
"Exactly what killed Vito himself will most likely remain a mystery..."

We hate mysteries...

Greatest Hits of the Past Year

Vinny Asaro was among the top characters of interest in 2014....
His Tommy D rant makes us really want to hear the tapes....


I deleted a bunch of horseshit with which I initially started this post.

Based on a quick Google Analytics filter, we found five days when there was a clear spike in our daily traffic.

piked progressively, save for the last two samples, which were nearly equal. 


The kinds of stories that seem to grab the most attention are some of the ones you'd least suspect. However, in terms of historical data, these stories were not necessarily among my most read.
The first spike was the Lufthansa-related Bonanno roundup, then a book announcement (Gotti's Rules by George Anastasia). The next was another book announcement, followed by an historical story on Canadian organized crime, and last but not least a Mob Wives-related story. 

Though the spikes progressed in size, the last couple were pretty close.
Anyway, here is a quick roundup of the five most-popular stories based on a glimpse of my blog's performance for the past year. I include the date of each spike as well.

Jan. 23, 2014Cosa Nostra News: Bonanno Roundup Nets Acting Boss, Capo Involved with Lufthansa: "Bonanno capo Vincent Asaro was arrested for murder, racketeering, extortion, arson, robbery and other charges--some of which are linked to the infamous 1978 Lufthansa heist at John F. Kennedy International Airport. He was one of five alleged members of the crime family rounded up by Federal agents in a series of pre-dawn raids this morning in the New York area. Also arrested were Bonanno acting boss/underboss Thomas “Tommy D” DiFiore of Commack, the highest-ranking Bonanno family member not behind bars; soldier John “Bazoo” Ragano; soldier and acting captain Jack Bonventre; and Asaro's son, Jerome. See the indictment here, courtesy of CBS News. Only Vincent Asaro was charged in the Dec. 11, 1978 JFK robbery itself; both Asaros face life in prison for the murder of a suspected police informant. High-profile informant Henry Hill long ago identified Vincent Asaro as the capo who ran the airport for the Bonanno family at the time of the heist. James “Jimmy the Gent” Burke (July 5, 1931 – April 13, 1996), an Irish-American gangster with ties to the Luchese family through his association with Luchese capo Paul Vario, has historically been credited for masterminding the caper, described as the biggest of its day. The daring robbery on December 11, 1978, netted the outlaws about $5 million in cash and nearly another million in jewels. Burke is also believed to have murdered or orchestrated the murders of nearly all the people involved in heist; within one week of the heist, the killings had begun."

July 31, 2014Cosa Nostra News: BigTrial's Anastasia Writes Book that Demystifies "Gotti Legend": "Amazon.com: From the New York Times bestselling author of Blood and Honor and The Last Gangster—“one of the most respected crime reporters in the country” (60 Minutes)—comes the sure to be headline-making inside story of the Gotti and Gambino families, told from the unique viewpoint of notorious mob hit-man John Alite, a close associate of Junior Gotti who later testified against him. In Gotti's Rules: The Story of John Alite, Junior Gotti, and the Demise of the American Mafia, George Anastasia, a prize-winning reporter who spent over thirty years covering crime, offers a shocking and very rare glimpse into the Gotti family, witnessed up-close from former family insider John Alite, John Gotti Jr.’s longtime friend and protector. Until now, no one has given up the kind of personal details about the Gottis—including the legendary “Gotti Rules” of leadership—that Anastasia exposes here."
The announcement that our ebook was
available was among our top five...
Nov 7, 2014Cosa Nostra News: "Last Great Mafia Empire" Update: "I hope you all buy a copy, especially since Dom padded his goddamn expenses... You won't believe how many copies we have to sell before yours truly sees a single nickel!  Just kidding...  But I am not kidding about hoping you all buy a copy. It's going to cost less than $5, and we packed the book with as much value as possible. Researching extensively to set the background and context for Dominick's information, I tried to focus on little-known facts that were part of some of the major events described in the book. For example, did you know that "Sonny Red" Indelicato was under investigation for the murder of Crazy Joe Gallo when he was killed? Or that on the night of the three-capo meeting, he scattered his crews throughout New York City in case the loyalist faction tried to take them all out in one strike? In addition, several Bonanno members supposedly stayed with Tommy “Karate” Pitera while the three capos were slaughtered. It appears that someone is already trying to "piss in our pool," stating on social media that there can't be anything interesting in our book because Joe Massino and Sal Vitale already revealed it all. Let me address this absurd allegation. Firstly, neither of them were on the scene when a high-level member of the Bonanno family -- actually, the capo of the Sicilian faction -- Gerlando "George from Canada" Sciascia was murdered, and there is more to the hit than what the two know and said on the stand. A hit team, depending on the target, can include capos, soldiers and associates (even the boss and underboss on occasion). When one of them screws up, if the "boss" of the hit team likes that person they will include a fabrication in their update for the boss. "

Dec 1, 2014Cosa Nostra News: Bonanno's Plan Kept the Peace in Canada's Mafia: "The Mafia in America evolved into one organization linked to the Sicilian Cosa Nostra, though from its inception it was composed of former members of all Italy's Mafias, including the Calabrian Ndrangheta and Neapolitan Camorra. For some reason, things happened differently in Canada. It is composed of two distinct Mafia organizations, the Sicilian Cosa Nostra and the Calabrian Ndrangheta. The American Mafia did business with both groups, apparently not noticing the difference or using any rivalries to manipulate the territory. The American Mafia's Commission in 1931 decreed how Canada would be carved up. Quebec, including the key city of Montreal, fell under the purview of Joseph Bonanno. Southern Ontario, including Toronto and the waterfront steel-making town of Hamilton, were placed under the control of Bonanno's cousin, Stefano Magaddino. (Canada's crime families were historically subservient to their American brethren, though today this has changed; relationships likely still exist if they are mutually beneficial; in fact we'd wager the Mafia in Canada, including both the Ndrangheta and Cosa Nostra, is larger and more powerful than the American Mafia. Chalk it up to American law enforcement; the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) need a Canadian version of the RICO act, it would appear.)"


Jan 8, 2015
Cosa Nostra News: Junior Testified Against Mob Wives Star Big Ang's Cousin: " The big news from last night's episode of "Mob Wives" is that Big Ang is the cousin of "Ronnie," aka Ronnie Petrino, aka Luigi Grasso. We know there's a time lag between filming and airing, but last night Big Ang was saying she'd just found out that "Junior" was the informant in the James Donovan murder case. Hector "Junior" Pagan, a well-known gangland character who appeared on "Mob Wives" during the 2010 and 2011 seasons, was in fact the star witness against Grasso and Richard Riccardi. Both were convicted for the murder of James Donovan, whom Pagan himself had shot. Riccardi and Grasso were sentenced to more than 35 years in prison each. Pagan basically helped put away his cohorts for murder, when the original plan was for a heist. It only became a murder case because of a decision Pagan made during the Gravesend heist, which netted the trio $50,000 apiece."

Mafioso Convicted of Murder by Hector Pagan Saves a Life

Luigi Grasso, 
Cousin of ‘Mob Wives’ Big Ang saves suicidal inmate - NY Daily News:

He may be a “killer,” but he’s also a lifesaver. 

Luigi Grasso, cousin of “Mob Wives” star Angela (Big Ang) Raiola, was lauded by a Manhattan judge for helping to save a suicidal inmate in a courthouse holding cell before Grasso’s appearance on a weapons rap, the Daily News has learned. 

The distressed inmate, who was not identified by officials, had fashioned a noose from an oversized T-shirt and was hanging from the top bar in the pens of the Manhattan Criminal Court at 111 Centre St. on Oct. 7 when sources said the brawny jailbird jumped up to save him.

“I was sitting down, reading my legal work in the bullpen,” Grasso, who is 5-feet-10 and 280 pounds, told The News from Rikers Island. “I’d seen this guy dangling from the ceiling and he was there for a while. I grabbed him and I untied him.” 

Grasso said he was with “two other guys,” waiting to be delivered to the courtroom for a hearing on his 2012 gun charge, when Grasso noticed the dangling man. 

For his quick-thinking efforts, Grasso, 47, was praised by Justice Bruce Allen. 

“Before appearances are made, we have to acknowledge Mr. Grasso. Apparently he was instrumental in helping downstairs with another inmate who was in some difficulty,” Allen said. “Thank you, Mr. Grasso.” 

The good Samaritan act didn’t help his case, however. Seconds later, Allen issued a decision denying his defense team’s bid to suppress statements and evidence, paving the way for a trial.
Grasso’s lawyer Alex Grosshtern said his client rushing to the aid of an ailing fellow inmate was a display of “his true character.”

Which Gambino Boss Allegedly Voted "Guilty"?

Voted to convict?Peter Gotti Senior rose high in the mob due to his brother, John Gotti (whose nickname for Peter was "Retard").

Apparently, Peter, who served as boss of the Gambino crime family and is now in prison, once served on a jury that convicted a man of assault -- on a police officer.

This is among the interesting revelations delivered by "The Reformation of a Former Mob Hit Man" that is posted on the Social Lifestyle Magazine's website.

Another is an alleged aborted effort to get rid of the Gottis after John Senior was removed from the street.



A group of Gambino members and associates put together a plot "to end the reign of Gotti Jr along with his Uncle, Pete Gotti Sr. and brother in law," the article adds, noting that a payoff kept the bullets from flying.

"I didn’t think I was the fall guy; I knew I was the fall guy!” John Alite, Ex Mob enforcer for the Gotti family expressed his claims to Social. “How am I a rat? When he (John GottiJr) was debriefed in 2005 with a 302 document also called Queen of the Day.” An FD-302 form is used by FBI agents to “report or summarize the interviews that they conduct. Alite explains that this document can be found in the pages of George Anastasia’s Book, Gotti’s Rules: The Story of John Alite, Junior Gotti, and the Demise of the American Mafia,’ by George Anastasia. to be released Jan 27.
John Alite says he looked up to John Gotti Sr or, Teflon Don, and his image when Alite was a young man. Never cared for his son John Gotti Jr. Alite declares, Gotti Jr had no street credibility and was itching for something to boast about. He would often self-mutilate with cigar burns to his hand, and command the enforcer to take him to crime scenes after a hit is made, getting a sick thrill out of the aftermath.

Alite also claims, an anonymous police source recalls in the1980s that young Gotti Jr. referred to a violent scuffle involving two Spanish men on Liberty Ave, Ozone Park. Junior allegedly was stabbed in the leg as a result of this dispute. Alite comments, there were no witnesses and it seemed like he wanted to get caught.

Gotti Sr. went to jail in ‘92 giving his son a seat at the round table of “made men.” Alite didn’t respect the thrill seeking directives or the incompetence of the inherit mobster. Notably, John A. mentions that distrust arose for Junior when Bobby Boriello, fellow hit man and family friend of the Gotti’s, was murdered. Gotti Jr. was said to have “bad mouthed him” after he passed.

The desire Prince Gotti had, to satisfy an ego he did not earn was apparent to everyone around him and soon a conspiracy, that Alite was admittedly apart of, was formulated to end the reign of Gotti Jr along with his Uncle, Pete Gotti Sr. and brother in law.

Junior pays off his conspirators, but suffers a tragic death of any hope for street cred. In a 1997 raid the FBI found over 300,000 dollars in cash, a list of “made men” and a guest list of attendees at his wedding. This raid earned him the name of “Dumbfella” in the media.

Alite claims Junior is an idiot, but is not that much of an idiot to have documented evidence just laying around on accident. These documents contained list of other Mob officials and affiliates, or in other words, Alite speculates these documents gave Gotti Jr. leverage.
READ COMPLETE ARTICLE

Philadelphia Cosa Nostra Family Has New Boss

Skinny Joey Merlino Phil Narducci EXCLUSIVE:  Phil Narducci has been named boss of the Philadelphia Cosa Nostra Family, according to several sources who requested anonymity.

What is not known is whether he is the official boss or acting boss for Joseph "Skinny Joey" Merlino, who is serving a short stint down in Florida.

Joseph "Uncle Joe" Ligambi and Joseph "Chickie" Ciancaglini, Sr. are sharing the position of consiglieri.

The underboss position is officially unfilled, though it is believed that South Philadelphia-based capos Stevie Mazzone and John "Johnny Chang" Ciancaglini may fill the void by serving as street bosses for the often-troubled Philly crime family.



One prominent name missing from the new administration is George "Georgie Boy" Borgesi. Joseph "Uncle Joe" Ligambi.
"He can't be a happy camper," said one of our sources.

Narducci served close to 30 years in prison.

"They don't want any problems," said the source. "Phil is well-respected."
We are working on a more detailed report.

Here is a previous report, meanwhile: The volatility for which the Philadelphia crime family was once well-known can return as swiftly as the time it takes to pull a trigger.
Two generations historically at odds with each other have been working together (the old Scarfo gang and the Merlino young turks). The ability to rivet these two enclaves together is among the skills "Uncle Joe" is credited for having. But with or without him, shifts in power are inevitable as the family's composition changes (with some members returning to the street, and others heading off to prison)....

John Alite Blasts Mob Hypocrisy, Junior Gotti

John Alite "Carnesi was the one spreading the story that Junior was cooperating... "Tell Carnesi to ask the FBI to tell him why he flew to Florida to see Danny Marino."
-- John Alite in an exclusive interview

John Gotti Junior came uncomfortably close to being convicted following his fourth trial, the one in which John Alite testified.

Still, the New York Daily News, quoting only two jurors, tried to paint a very different picture (as did other newspapers). We note the following:

NY Daily News: "The votes finally stood 6-5 for conviction on racketeering, with one undecided; 7-5 for acquittal on one murder charge; and 6-5 for acquittal with one undecided on a second murder count....  

"Enough is enough," said Juror No. 8, who asked to remain anonymous. 

"If they try him again, it'll be an abuse of prosecution," said juror Paul Peragine, standing outside the Manhattan federal courthouse in a black overcoat. 

"Their case wasn't credible," added Peragine, who voted for a full acquittal. "Their witnesses weren't credible."

When John Alite testified against John Gotti Junior, he was mauled by the media. Newspapers ran front-page stories and headlines calling him a rat, and sought to portray him as everything from a junkie to a liar.






But now that the news is out that John Junior gave the Feds a "proffer" -- the once-mighty newspapers are suddenly silent, Alite noted.

"Newsday ran nothing to this point that I am aware of," he told us this morning.

John Alite, today."It’s incredible; it’s a Long Island newspaper. If you check when my case was going on, Newsday wrote I was the most unbelievable of the witnesses based on what one of the jurors said. That is not even close to being true if you look at the jury pool on his charges."

"John Junior got on 60 minutes three times and lied. He got on the courtroom steps and called me and a million of these guys who cooperated rats and everything. They wrote about all that. Now that he’s proven to be a rat they haven't written one article."

The media sought to administer to Alite an ass-whooping like no one in the mob ever could have given him when he was on the street.

Adding insult to injury, the Gambino family had told Alite that John Gotti Junior was cooperating back when he was fighting extradition to the U.S. from one of the worst prisons on earth, Presidio Ary Franco.

[If you don't believe that read (or do your own research): Long spell in Brazilian prison worse than death, official says | Fox News Latino: "Brazil's justice minister said Tuesday that he would prefer death to serving a long sentence in one of his country's prisons. "If I had to spend many years in one of our prisons, I would rather die," Jose Eduardo Cardozo said at a gathering of business leaders in Sao Paulo."]


Provided by "Rico"

Alite was fighting extradition and was actually trying to help Junior, as well as Ronald "Ronnie One Arm" Trucchio when he got the word via an illegal cellphone smuggled to him in the prison.

Back then, the 302, which this blog made available to the public for the first time ever, had been given to the Gambino family administration ( Nicholas "Little Nicky" Corozzo was acting boss).

This is only a part of the story George Anastasia reveals in Gotti's Rules: The Story of John Alite, Junior Gotti, and the Demise of the American Mafia. Anastasia includes an image of the actual 302.

And the guy who made the 302 available, according to Alite?

That's the clincher if you read Jerry Capeci's column today in which the mob scribe writes that Gotti defense attorney Charles Carnesi is calling on the FBI to investigate how this document became public.

According to Alite, Carnesi himself made the 302 available to his pre-Junior Gambino family client, Paul Castellano-loyalist Daniel "Danny" Marino of the Queens faction of the family.

"If I was John Junior I'd sue the shit out of Carnesi," Alite said. "He was Danny Marino’s lawyer for years. Danny took a plea for the Hydell murder because Charlie Carnesi warned him about Junior already cooperating.

"I don’t care what he’s trying to spin [about the argument that a 302 does not necessarily mean someone is ratting]." 

"We know what the 302 is."

"Carnesi was the one spreading the story that Junior was cooperating," Alite said. "Once in person and twice on the telephone. He flew to Florida to see Danny Marino.

"The FBI should dig into his airline records if he wants an investigation."

Newspapers devoted pages to excerpts of Junior's ebook, which I will never read, but had not a single word to say about the 302 that anointed him a rat, Alite noted.

"John Gotti's son is a rat! That should be the biggest news in the world!"

We agree, and we are going to let John Alite, whom the press never gave a fair shake, speak his piece, unfiltered:

"I'm in Brazil speaking on a smuggled phone. I was trying to help Ronnie One Arm beat his case. This is before Ronnie One Arm blames everything on me in his opening statement. He threw me under the bus with Junior because he knew john junior was ratting already.

This is an old cover. It shouldn't strike you as new news.
"When I come back from Brazil, I called John Junior 'Whitey Bulger.' I already had the information he was a rat because it came from Charlie Carnesi. That's because before John, his loyalty to and where he made all his money from was Danny Marino.

"As much as I don’t like John, he should sue the shit out of Carnesi. He sat alongside John Junior. He made me out to be a liar in court. Said I lied about John Cennamo in court."

Then, Carnesi goes on 60 minutes three times with John Junior "and he's bullshitting the world," Alite said.

Do you see John Alite in this picture yet?
"You are with your client and you knew he kept that list in the ceiling.

"Why’d he keep my letter for 15 years?

"Carnesi is part of all the lies and made the Cennamo family suffer for eight years. They let them suffer by calling me a liar in the courtroom.

"No one knows how many 302s are out there. [Junior] was debriefing for a while.

"Maybe they pulled a Willie Boy Johnson on him.

"He gave up all kinds of people. He was a cooperating rat for who knows how long.

"This is a big show for John Junior. Tell Carnesi to ask the FBI to tell him why he flew to Florida to see Danny Marino.

"Ask him why when I was on the stand I called John Junior Whitey Bulger.

"How would I know about any of this? I am in Brazil.

"How did I know what Ronnie said about me in his opening statement?

The Smoking Gun: "For some strange reason, dopey Junior
kept a ledger with the names of each guest and how much
they gave. Investigators discovered the two-page list
during a raid on a Gotti, Jr. hangout.""I don’t care what he’s trying to spin [about the argument that a 302 does not necessarily mean someone is ratting]. "We know what the 302 is."

"They broke Junior down. He didn’t quit. In 2005 they shelved him. His story was that in 1999 he quit the mob. Then why in 2001 is he talking about beating his uncle for busting him down?

"They keep spinning the story to where it fits them.

"I'm in a penitentiary soaking in shit. How did I know when I came back?

"Why did I call him Whitey?

"I'm not the only guy who has those papers [the 302]. There’s a ton of guys who have the papers. They were sending them out.
Castellano-loyalist Danny Marino.
"John Junior was shunned when he was in jail. Guys wouldn’t sit with him. Guys wouldn’t talk to him. He sat by himself The whole jail knew that.

"During trial, I even pointed at him and said, 'I always thought you’d be sitting here and id be sitting there.'

"John Junior will know the truth. He is not stupid, he knew to keep that list and my letter for 15 years.

"The wedding list – hundreds, thousands members or associates but you only kept 300. You don’t keep a list of made guys! You only keep it because you're a rat!

"You told the whole world I'm a rat. But you held that list, you held my letter. He keeps souvenirs like a serial killer...

"He kept all those lists and letters because he was holding them in case he got jammed up.

"And it's not one 302. God knows how many others

"All the rest of his 302s could come out.

"He was a CI (confidential informant), giving debriefings, he did the Queen for a Day.

"He never caught a drug case

"What about all those drug dealers who personally handed him cash each week?

"John beat the shit out of one of them and took $350 a week. John Moose on 116 Street personally handed John $1,600 week.

"Then Johnny Gebert... Which one is it John? Did you protect him or did you kill him? Gebert is a rapist and a killer. He's one of your drug guys.

"Interview anybody in my neighborhood in Jamaica Avenue. They’ll tell you.

"Gebert went on the run. John Junior gave him my ID. We had an argument over that, me and John Junior. I said Gebert’s already been convicted -- why are you friends with him?

Then-acting boss Little Nicky Corozzo reportedly received
a copy of the 302 about Junior's proffer. Ex-Gambino
associate Andrew DiDonato's story about the plot
to assassinate Junior was  on the money,
Alite confirmed for us.
"The only reason I can think of as to why [John Junior] is still alive is that they were thinking: If we kill him, they'll be right on us [meaning the Gambino family administration had no idea what kind of information Junior was feeding to the Feds].

"But everybody has good memories."

John Alite Reveals Who Leaked Gotti "Proffer" 302

"Carnesi was the one spreading the story that Junior was cooperating... "Tell Carnesi to ask the FBI to tell him why he flew to Florida to see Danny Marino."
-- John Alite in an exclusive interview
John Alite, today.
John Gotti Junior came uncomfortably close to being convicted following his fourth trial, the one in which John Alite testified.

Still, the New York Daily News, quoting only two jurors, tried to paint a very different picture (as did other newspapers). We note the following:

NY Daily News: "The votes finally stood 6-5 for conviction on racketeering, with one undecided; 7-5 for acquittal on one murder charge; and 6-5 for acquittal with one undecided on a second murder count....  

"Enough is enough," said Juror No. 8, who asked to remain anonymous. 

"If they try him again, it'll be an abuse of prosecution," said juror Paul Peragine, standing outside the Manhattan federal courthouse in a black overcoat. 

"Their case wasn't credible," added Peragine, who voted for a full acquittal. "Their witnesses weren't credible."

When John Alite testified against John Gotti Junior, he was mauled by the media. Newspapers ran front-page stories and headlines calling him a rat, and sought to portray him as everything from a junkie to a liar.






But now that the news is out that John Junior gave the Feds a "proffer" -- the once-mighty newspapers are suddenly silent, Alite noted.


"Newsday ran nothing to this point that I am aware of," he told us this morning.

"It’s incredible; it’s a Long Island newspaper. If you check when my case was going on, Newsday wrote I was the most unbelievable of the witnesses based on what one of the jurors said. That is not even close to being true if you look at the jury pool on his charges."

"John Junior got on 60 minutes three times and lied. He got on the courtroom steps and called me and a million of these guys who cooperated rats and everything. They wrote about all that. Now that he’s proven to be a rat they haven't written one article."

The media sought to administer to Alite an ass-whooping like no one in the mob ever could have given him when he was on the street.

Adding insult to injury, the Gambino family had told Alite that John Gotti Junior was cooperating back when he was fighting extradition to the U.S. from one of the worst prisons on earth, Presidio Ary Franco.

[If you don't believe that read (or do your own research): Long spell in Brazilian prison worse than death, official says | Fox News Latino: "Brazil's justice minister said Tuesday that he would prefer death to serving a long sentence in one of his country's prisons. "If I had to spend many years in one of our prisons, I would rather die," Jose Eduardo Cardozo said at a gathering of business leaders in Sao Paulo."]

Alite was fighting extradition and was actually trying to help Junior, as well as Ronald "Ronnie One Arm" Trucchio when he got the word via an illegal cellphone smuggled to him in the prison.

Back then, the 302, which this blog made available to the public for the first time ever, had been given to the Gambino family administration ( Nicholas "Little Nicky" Corozzo was acting boss).

This is only a part of the story George Anastasia reveals in Gotti's Rules: The Story of John Alite, Junior Gotti, and the Demise of the American Mafia. Anastasia includes an image of the actual 302.

And the guy who made the 302 available, according to Alite?

That's the clincher if you read Jerry Capeci's column today in which the mob scribe writes that Gotti defense attorney Charles Carnesi is calling on the FBI to investigate how this document became public.

According to Alite, Carnesi himself made the 302 available to his pre-Junior Gambino family client, Paul Castellano-loyalist Daniel "Danny" Marino of the Queens faction of the family.

"If I was John Junior I'd sue the shit out of Carnesi," Alite said. "He was Danny Marino’s lawyer for years. Danny took a plea for the Hydell murder because Charlie Carnesi warned him about Junior already cooperating.

"I don’t care what he’s trying to spin [about the argument that a 302 does not necessarily mean someone is ratting]." 

"We know what the 302 is."

"Carnesi was the one spreading the story that Junior was cooperating," Alite said. "Once in person and twice on the telephone. He flew to Florida to see Danny Marino.

"The FBI should dig into his airline records if he wants an investigation."

Newspapers devoted pages to excerpts of Junior's ebook, which I will never read, but had not a single word to say about the 302 that anointed him a rat, Alite noted.

"John Gotti's son is a rat! That should be the biggest news in the world!"

We agree, and we are going to let John Alite, whom the press never gave a fair shake, speak his piece, unfiltered:

"I'm in Brazil speaking on a smuggled phone. I was trying to help Ronnie One Arm beat his case. This is before Ronnie One Arm blames everything on me in his opening statement. He threw me under the bus with Junior because he knew john junior was ratting already.

This is an old cover. It shouldn't strike you as new news.
"When I come back from Brazil, I called John Junior 'Whitey Bulger.' I already had the information he was a rat because it came from Charlie Carnesi. That's because before John, his loyalty to and where he made all his money from was Danny Marino.

"As much as I don’t like John, he should sue the shit out of Carnesi. He sat alongside John Junior. He made me out to be a liar in court. Said I lied about John Cennamo in court."

Then, Carnesi goes on 60 minutes three times with John Junior "and he's bullshitting the world," Alite said.



"You are with your client and you knew he kept that list in the ceiling.

"Why’d he keep my letter for 15 years?

"Carnesi is part of all the lies and made the Cennamo family suffer for eight years. They let them suffer by calling me a liar in the courtroom.

"No one knows how many 302s are out there. [Junior] was debriefing for a while.

"Maybe they pulled a Willie Boy Johnson on him.

"He gave up all kinds of people. He was a cooperating rat for who knows how long.

"This is a big show for John Junior. Tell Carnesi to ask the FBI to tell him why he flew to Florida to see Danny Marino.

"Ask him why when I was on the stand I called John Junior Whitey Bulger.

"How would I know about any of this? I am in Brazil.

"How did I know what Ronnie said about me in his opening statement?

The Smoking Gun: "For some strange reason, dopey Junior
kept a ledger with the names of each guest and how much
they gave. Investigators discovered the two-page list
during a raid on a Gotti, Jr. hangout.""I don’t care what he’s trying to spin [about the argument that a 302 does not necessarily mean someone is ratting]. "We know what the 302 is."

"They broke Junior down. He didn’t quit. In 2005 they shelved him. His story was that in 1999 he quit the mob. Then why in 2001 is he talking about beating his uncle for busting him down?

"They keep spinning the story to where it fits them.

"I'm in a penitentiary soaking in shit. How did I know when I came back?

"Why did I call him Whitey?

"I'm not the only guy who has those papers [the 302]. There’s a ton of guys who have the papers. They were sending them out.
Castellano-loyalist Danny Marino.
"John Junior was shunned when he was in jail. Guys wouldn’t sit with him. Guys wouldn’t talk to him. He sat by himself The whole jail knew that.

"During trial, I even pointed at him and said, 'I always thought you’d be sitting here and id be sitting there.'

"John Junior will know the truth. He is not stupid, he knew to keep that list and my letter for 15 years.

"The wedding list – hundreds, thousands members or associates but you only kept 300. You don’t keep a list of made guys! You only keep it because you're a rat!

"You told the whole world I'm a rat. But you held that list, you held my letter. He keeps souvenirs like a serial killer...

"He kept all those lists and letters because he was holding them in case he got jammed up.

"And it's not one 302. God knows how many others

"All the rest of his 302s could come out.

"He was a CI (confidential informant), giving debriefings, he did the Queen for a Day.

"He never caught a drug case

"What about all those drug dealers who personally handed him cash each week?

"John beat the shit out of one of them and took $350 a week. John Moose on 116 Street personally handed John $1,600 week.

"Then Johnny Gebert... Which one is it John? Did you protect him or did you kill him? Gebert is a rapist and a killer. He's one of your drug guys.

"Interview anybody in my neighborhood in Jamaica Avenue. They’ll tell you.

"Gebert went on the run. John Junior gave him my ID. We had an argument over that, me and John Junior. I said Gebert’s already been convicted -- why are you friends with him?

Then-acting boss Little Nicky Corozzo reportedly received
a copy of the 302 about Junior's proffer. Ex-Gambino
associate Andrew DiDonato's story about the plot
to assassinate Junior was  on the money,
Alite confirmed for us.
"The only reason I can think of as to why [John Junior] is still alive is that they were thinking: If we kill him, they'll be right on us [meaning the Gambino family administration had no idea what kind of information Junior was feeding to the Feds].

"But everybody has good memories."