Ed Scarpo's Blog, page 5

Implications of Recent "East Coast" Syndicate Case

The Chin's Triangle social club suffered the same fate as the Ravenite: gentrification.

"We got 30, 40 guys. Don't let anyone tell you that we're dead, 'cause we're here."

--Genovese crime family member speaking to???

Jerry Capeci of Gangland News discussed last month's bust of dozens of mobsters for large-scale racketeering conspiracy on an episode of MetroFocus hosted by PBS show producer William Jones.

Reputed members of an East Coast crime syndicate were charged in midsummer with racketeerin...

Cadillac Frank Formally Indicted; The Saint Slated for October Release

Francis Salemme
Yesterday, Francis "Cadillac Frank" Salemme, one-time boss of the New England Mafia, was formally indicted for the 1993 murder of a Boston nightclub owner whose body was found this past March in Providence, Rhode Island by law enforcement authorities acting on a tip.
Salemme, Paul Weadick, who also is named in the indictment, and Salemme's son, who died in 1995, have long been suspected of involvement in the notorious disappearance of the nightclub owner, Steven A. DiSarro.
The i...

Film About Historical Rise of Two Outfit Bosses Slated by Michael Mann

Tony Accardo, aka "Joe Batters" — nicknamed by Al Capone for his skill at pummeling people.
On September 7, Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, who were famously paired in the Michael Mann film Heat, will be reunited, with Mann, for a panel discussion to be hosted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at the Beverly Hills' Samuel Goldwyn Theatre.

The discussion will follow a viewing of a new digital restoration of the 1995 film.

As was reported earlier this year, Heat is due fo...

Book "Lanza's Mob" a Myth-Shattering Landmark Work About Bay City Boss

Click image of book cover to purchase.
James "Jimmy the Hat" Lanza, one of the most successful mob bosses you've never heard of, is brought to vivid life in Lanza's Mob: The Mafia and San Francisco, written by Christina Ann-Marie DiEdoardo, Esq., a criminal defense lawyer from the Bay Area who is originally from Queens, New York.
Lanza's Mob, the first detailed biography of Jimmy the Hat is a solid, well-researched addition to the Mafia library.

The book, however, details a lot more than La...

Reputed Bonanno Mobsters, Fearing Violation, Seek Parole Guideline Specifics

This cafe may be mobbed up... Or not...

This has been quite a news-filled summer for the New York Mafia.

We were counting on writing an entirely different slate of stories this August, but then it started, the barrage of busts, sentencing hearings and what not.

Just as August steamed upon us, that trio of mob-linked bank burglars was busted. Law enforcement hinted strongly that the arrests were only the beginning, and that there would be more to come. (And they were correct, just not the way we...

Gangsters Out: Exclusive Interview with Former Hells Angels President

George Christie, former president and founder of Ventura chapter.

From Gangsters Out, an exclusive interview with a former Hells Angels president who was accused of cooperating with law enforcement, charges he denies....George Christie, a founder and president of the Hells Angels' Ventura Chapter (in California) wrote a book in response to those allegations. It will be released next month...

I recently found out that George Christie, long time President of the Hells Angels Ventura Chapter, was...

Sopranos Based on Which Crime Family? Not DeCavalcantes...

If you’ve ever wondered where David Chase got all those fantastical ideas for “The Sopranos,” maybe he, like the feds, had his own mob informants. Or maybe the feds were his informants.

Tonight’s special episode of “American Greed,” titled “Mob Money,” is the story of the rise and fall of New Jersey’s DeCavalcante crime family, New Jersey gangsters who bear more than a passing resemblance to “The Sops.”

The DeCavalcantes were always, by mob standards anyway, minor players in the estimated $50 t...

Mob "Banker" Film, Federico Castellucio's Directorial Debut, Is a Gem

The Brooklyn Banker review
By Nick Christophers


Federico Castelluccio may be better known as "Furio," the name of the character he played on the acclaimed HBO series The Sopranos, but he has come a long way since then.

He can now add to his resume the role of director of The Brooklyn Banker, a gem of a film that premiered last week at Manhattan's Cinema Village to a sold-out crowd. A national campaign also kicked off.

The project, first released as a trailer titled Lilly of Th...

"Really Big Cars" on Manhattan's "Itty Bitty Streets"

"Cadillac Frank" tried to pull a Whitey Bulger at age 82.

In 2003, Winter Hill turncoat Steve Flemmi told federal and state authorities that he had walked in on the May 10, 1993, murder of South Boston nightclub manager Steven A. DiSarro at the Sharon home of Francis Salemme’s former wife, according to a DEA report filed in Boston federal court.

Flemmi said Francis Salemme and two others watched as Salemme’s son, Frank, strangled DiSarro to death. Flemmi named the two other witnesses as F...

Mobster "Charley Partanna" on Today's Mafia

"Cadillac Frank" tried to pull a Whitey Bulger at age 82.

In 2003, Winter Hill turncoat Steve Flemmi told federal and state authorities that he walked in on the May 10, 1993, murder of South Boston nightclub manager Steven A. DiSarro at the Sharon home of Francis Salemme’s former wife, according to a DEA report filed in Boston federal court.

Flemmi said Francis Salemme and two others watched as Salemme’s son, Frank, strangled DiSarro to death. Flemmi named the two other witnesses as Frank...