The American Mafia Today

[BrooklynGuy]

Genovese family bust turns into a family affair with the emergence of a cooperating witness

Earlier this month five Genovese crime family mobsters were busted by the feds in a new racketeering case. Among those arrested was Vincent Esposito the 50-year-old son of the late Genovese family boss Vincent (Chin) Gigante. He was hit with labor racketeering charges tied to the shaking down of union officials and other using threats of violence to make them comply. According to the feds, the evidence against Esposito and his co-defendants included months of secretly recorded conversations from a cooperating witness. 

Read more: http://aboutthemafia.com/genovese-family-bust-turns-into-a-family-affair-with-the-emergence-of-a-cooperating-witness

 

Vicious jailhouse recordings keep Luthmann co-defendant behind bars

Allegations of guns, gangs and gangsters kept Richard Luthmann's co-defendant in the joint the first time. This time, vicious jailhouse rantings and ravings have secured his spot in the slammer. George Padula III, 29, the Staten Island man indicted in the scrap-metal scheme with the controversial lawyer, was again denied bail Friday after a hearing in Brooklyn federal court. The defendant, who is charged with wire fraud, aggravated identify theft, and money laundering conspiracy, was caught on a series of prison calls threatening his lawyer, another inmate and a government witness, according to recent court filings by the U.S. Attorney.

Read more: http://www.silive.com/news/2018/01/richard_luthmanns_accomplice.html

 

For 'Skinny Joey' Merlino, racketeering trial his chance to put feds under microscope

Same game, Different venue. Philadelphia’s only celebrity gangster, Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino, goes  on trial this week in federal court in Manhattan for racketeering and conspiracy charges that could land him in jail for a good part of the rest of his life. He’s been there before, but this time the stakes seem even higher. Merlino is 55 and has spent about a third of his adult life in jail or on supervised release. He has two daughters in college who have grown up for the most part without him. And he was recently treated for a heart condition – “two significant blockages,” according to a court document – that belie his devil-may-care attitude.

Read more: http://www.phillyvoice.com/for-skinny-joey-merlino-racketeering-trial-his-chance-to-put-feds-under-microscope/

[BrooklynGuy]

FBI spent $25K to lure mobsters into fancy Italian dinner trap

They’d gladly pick up that tab again. The FBI spent $25,000 to lure 20 wiseguys to a gangland “Last Supper” — complete with a mob turncoat in the role of Judas — and later arrested them all. FBI Special Agent William Inzerillo revealed the spaghetti setup Wednesday under cross-examination at the racketeering trial of reputed Philadelphia mob boss Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino, who was among the hoods that stuffed their faces at the “Cosa Nostra Christmas party” in The Bronx.

Read more: https://nypost.com/2018/01/31/fbi-spent-20k-on-fancy-italian-dinner-to-lure-mobsters-into-trap/?utm_campaign=iosapp&utm_source=pasteboard_app

[BrooklynGuy]

Reputed mob boss ‘Skinny Joey’ predicts big win for him, Eagles

A Philly mob boss accused of illegal gambling — and a slew of other charges — offered great odds for his own racketeering trial Monday, and couldn’t resist throwing in another hot tip for good measure. “Deadlock win, all the way,” Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino, told The Post inside a Manhattan federal courtroom after jury selection wrapped up. “Oh, and bet the Eagles.” The wise guy, 55, also faces charges of racketeering, conspiracy and medical fraud in addition to the gambling rap, which stems from an illicit Yonkers gambling den he allegedly helped run.

Read more: https://nypost.com/2018/01/29/reputed-mob-boss-skinny-joey-predicts-big-win-for-him-eagles/

 

[BrooklynGuy]

Philly mobster gave some tips on committing murder in recorded conversation played for court 

Reputed Philadelphia mob boss Joseph Merlino gave two Mafia associates the skinny on murder during a 2014 sit-down. “Listen, it’s easy to kill somebody,” the 55-year-old gangster declared in a secretly-recorded conversation played Thursday in Manhattan Federal Court. “It’s simple,” he continued. “Get in the car and shoot you in the f---ing head and you’re dead.” The cold-blooded comment emerged during a “Sopranos”-style chat between Merlino, reputed Genovese family capo Eugene (Rooster) O’Nofrio and Genovese associate-turned-rat John Rubeo.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/philly-mobster-recorded-giving-tips-committing-murder-article-1.3793271

 

Joey Merlino faces chief accuser in Federal court

Mob boss Joey Merlino is on trial in a Federal courtroom in New York. The 55—year-old is charged in a multi-million-dollar health care fraud scheme and off shore gambling. He faced his chief accuser February 1, FBI informant J.R. Rubeo, armed with secretly recorded audio and video tapes. “How’s things? Good. How ya feeling? Good,” Merlino told FOX 29’s Dave Schratwieser. Philadelphia mob boss Joey Merlino walked into a Federal court in lower Manhattan Thursday, bouncing back from heart problems and engaged in the fight of his life. Facing the FBI informant who’s looking to take him down.

Read more: http://www.fox29.com/news/joey-merlino-faces-chief-accuser-in-federal-court

 

Gunman who killed Ontario Mafia figure also shooter in 'targeted' Vaughan slaying, police say

Homicide investigators believe the gunman who mistakenly killed a Greater Toronto Area woman last year also perpetrated the high-profile shooting death of an infamous Hamilton crime figure a few months later. At a news conference on Tuesday, homicide detectives from the York and Hamilton police forces said that a number of characteristics link the shootings of Mila Barberi in March 2017 and noted mobster Angelo Musitano in May 2017. The suspect in each shooting has a nearly identical physical profile and a black Honda Civic Coupe has been connected to both crimes, said Det.-Sgt. Jim Killby of York Regional Police. 

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/angelo-musitano-hamilton-york-mafia-shooting-1.4499601

[BrooklynGuy]

Wanted for 19 years, man with alleged Mafia ties arrested in Gatineau

Gatineau police have arrested a man wanted since 1999 for his alleged role in a Mafia plot to import a large amount of cocaine to Canada. Norman Rosenblum, 65, was charged 19 years ago with importing more than 550 kilograms of cocaine. It was alleged at the time he had conspired with Montreal Mafia kingpins Vito Rizzuto and Frank Cotroni to orchestrate the crime. A Canada-wide arrest warrant was issued for Rosenblum, but he disappeared from view.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/norman-rosenblum-mafia-wanted-19-years-gatineau-1.4500398

[BrooklynGuy]

Mafioso acknowledges he thinks accused Philly mob boss is a ‘f---ing s---bag’ in trial testimony

Tell us how you really feel, pal. Mafia turncoat John Rubeo graphically acknowledged his distaste for reputed Philadelphia crime boss Joseph (Skinny Joey) Merlino while testifying Wednesday against the mobster. Defense attorney Ed Jacobs got the ball rolling with a question about a phonecall made by star government witness Rubeo while he was behind bars. “Did you ever say on a telephone call from the jail, ‘This ******* s---bag is going to trial. I hope he gets 40 years’?” asked Jacobs.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/witness-thinks-accused-philly-mob-boss-s-bag-article-1.3806278

[BrooklynGuy]

Brooklyn supermarket with mob ties seeks $4M in tax breaks to build condo tower

They’re making the city an offer it can’t refuse. A Brooklyn supermarket that a Gambino family mobster owned and his son now runs wants $4 million in tax breaks to build condos and a new grocery store. Tapps Supermarkets, which operates a Key Food at 575 Grand St. in Williamsburg, has applied to the city’s Industrial Development Agency for building- and sales-tax exemptions. In its application, Tapps describes itself as a “family-owned supermarket” hoping to build a six-story mixed-use tower at the Grand St. site.

 

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn-supermarket-mob-ties-seeks-4m-tax-breaks-article-1.3806678

[BrooklynGuy]

Joey Merlino Trial Update: Defense rests its case and closing arguments are underway

The Joey Merlino trial is coming to an end as the defense decided to rest its case yesterday without calling anyone to the stand setting the stage for today’s closing arguments. Merlino’s wife Deborah was listed as a potential witness for the defense but the lawyers decided against putting her on the stand Monday. This decision may have had something to do with an incident that happened last week during the testimony of the prosecutions key witness Junior “JR” Rubeo. The mafia turncoat testified about an affair he alleged Joey had with an unidentified pharmaceutical saleswoman that was involved in the insurance-fraud scam the feds claim he ran. 

Read more: http://aboutthemafia.com/joey-merlino-trial-update-defense-rests-its-case-and-closing-arguments-are-underway

[BrooklynGuy]

Judge gives deadlocked jury another day to decide fate of reputed mob boss

Jurors at the Manhattan racketeering trial of reputed Philadelphia mob boss Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino revealed they were deadlocked Thursday, but the judge said he’d keep them deliberating at least another day. The jury foreperson sent out a note at 3:55 p.m. that read, “We the jury are unable to come to an unanimously (sic) decision on the four counts.”

Read more: https://nypost.com/2018/02/15/judge-gives-deadlocked-jury-another-day-to-decide-fate-of-reputed-mob-boss/

[BrooklynGuy]

Hung jury in the Joey Merlino trial

https://www.google.com/amp/s/nypost.com/2018/02/20/reputed-mob-boss-trial-ends-in-hung-jury/amp/

[Vincennes]

 

"His trial featured stunning testimony about how the FBI, through an informant, paid the tab for more than 20 mobsters to attend a 2014 Christmas party at Pasquale’s Rigoletto restaurant on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx."

Well this sounds as if the FBI's blunders are not limited to politics, doesn't it. Or is it actually a blunder but rather that "collusion" type of thing they so were so ready to find in others ?  

Sickening article.

[Vincennes]

42 minutes ago, BrooklynGuy said:

Hung jury in the Joey Merlino trial

https://www.google.com/amp/s/nypost.com/2018/02/20/reputed-mob-boss-trial-ends-in-hung-jury/amp/

 

[Unusual Tournament]

On 2/22/2018 at 0:33 AM, Vincennes said:

 

"His trial featured stunning testimony about how the FBI, through an informant, paid the tab for more than 20 mobsters to attend a 2014 Christmas party at Pasquale’s Rigoletto restaurant on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx."

Well this sounds as if the FBI's blunders are not limited to politics, doesn't it. Or is it actually a blunder but rather that "collusion" type of thing they so were so ready to find in others ?  

Sickening article.

don't know if I'm more shocked about the F.B.I. paying for the mobsters to attend a christmas party or the fact that mobsters need to pay at all to get into Pasquale's... 

[BrooklynGuy]

On 2/21/2018 at 9:33 AM, Vincennes said:

 

"His trial featured stunning testimony about how the FBI, through an informant, paid the tab for more than 20 mobsters to attend a 2014 Christmas party at Pasquale’s Rigoletto restaurant on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx."

Well this sounds as if the FBI's blunders are not limited to politics, doesn't it. Or is it actually a blunder but rather that "collusion" type of thing they so were so ready to find in others ?  

Sickening article.

 

On 2/23/2018 at 1:45 AM, Captain Risky said:

don't know if I'm more shocked about the F.B.I. paying for the mobsters to attend a christmas party or the fact that mobsters need to pay at all to get into Pasquale's... 

Agreed, It's a shame that the FEDS are almost as corrupt as the bad guys and will do anything including breaking the law to get these LCN members. They should be spending more time investing school shooters imo.

[BrooklynGuy]

“Sometimes the most obvious is the best way” – The Kansas City Mob and the skimming of Las Vegas casinos

“I remember one night in Circus Circus, we had an obligation to meet, course I was young and had some balls, I guess,” Carl Thomas says. “There was two guys from the state outside, Bybee was one of them, and I was in there on my ****in' back, snatching that money, and they weren't as far from me as that refrigerator, puttin' money in my pockets. Ah, you always, I think if you do things out in the open, you stare a guy right in the face, the guy won't think you're doin' nothin'!” “Sometimes the most obvious is the best way,” Kansas City mob chief Nicholas Civella (photo above) replies.

Read more: http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/sometimes-the-most-obvious-is-the-best-way-the-kansas-city-mob-an#.WosA4JUkvUQ.reddit

[BrooklynGuy]

The menial, everyday reality of life in the mafia

In the basement of a Manhattan bar, lurking in shadows and cigar smoke, sit the leaders of New York’s most notorious crime family. Whiskey is gulped down, cards are dealt and thousands of dollars change hands. A sudden screech of tires can be heard over the din. Three besuited, fedora-wearing hitmen rush downstairs, laying waste to their rivals in a hail of machine-gun fire.

Read more: https://www.shortlist.com/news/opinion/mafia-real-life-menial-jobs/345259

 

Bonanno consigliere thrown back behind bars for visiting mobbed-up pizzeria, bakery

Bonanno crime family consigliere John (Porky) Zancocchio is back to eating prison slop. Manhattan Federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein tossed the reputed bookie behind bars after Zancocchio’s appetite for self-destruction led him to a mobbed-up restaurant, a Staten Island pizzeria and a bakery. Zancocchio, best known for taking bets from baseball’s banned all-time hits leader Pete Rose, violated the conditions of his $1 million bail by following his nose into the three eateries.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/bonanno-consigliere-jailed-visiting-mobbed-restaurant-article-1.3838192

 

Mob-linked Leonardo Rizzuto to answer to weapons, drug charges in March

Acquitted this week in a case that alleged he was heading the Mafia in Montreal, Leonardo Rizzuto will return to court next month, as he still faces firearm and drug possession charges in a separate case. The son of Vito Rizzuto, the reputed mob boss who died in 2013, Rizzuto, 48, was acquitted of charges of gangsterism and conspiracy to traffic cocaine on Monday.  But separate possession charges still stand in another case, which was briefly heard at the Montreal courthouse Friday morning only to be postponed until March. 

Read more: http://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/mob-linked-leonardo-rizzuto-to-answer-to-weapons-drug-charges-in-march

 

[Vincennes]

Brooklyn, from your  "The menial, everyday reality of life in the mafia" link, this is actually funny.

"Dull, rigid dress code

"You always had to wear shoes – not sneakers, we’d never heard of them. Sure, you could be crazy, but you had to dress proper.”

This made me think back in the thread when I made a comment about one of your photos that showed a group of Capone's cohorts walking down the street with him and I believe it was all but one of them were wearing the same type of brown and white "spectator" shoes that Al was wearing.  I said at the time that Al must have set the accepted style for their shoes.  Sounds like he probably was the stylist for the group.

They were and are all probably elementary school dropouts and all involved in some of the lowest types of crime but they were "styling" and looking good.  It's amazing what the human ego will turn to when it's looking for validation.  

 

 

[BrooklynGuy]

On 3/8/2018 at 0:18 PM, Vincennes said:

Brooklyn, from your  "The menial, everyday reality of life in the mafia" link, this is actually funny.

"Dull, rigid dress code

"You always had to wear shoes – not sneakers, we’d never heard of them. Sure, you could be crazy, but you had to dress proper.”

This made me think back in the thread when I made a comment about one of your photos that showed a group of Capone's cohorts walking down the street with him and I believe it was all but one of them were wearing the same type of brown and white "spectator" shoes that Al was wearing.  I said at the time that Al must have set the accepted style for their shoes.  Sounds like he probably was the stylist for the group.

They were and are all probably elementary school dropouts and all involved in some of the lowest types of crime but they were "styling" and looking good.  It's amazing what the human ego will turn to when it's looking for validation.  

 

 

Yes I remember that post Vincennes. You hit the nail on the head these guys couldn't do anything else because they don't have any skills but they often look nice doing it. 

[BrooklynGuy]

New Mob Talk 14 is Out

 

[BrooklynGuy]

Is Sopranos' 'Bada Bing' strip club about to make a comeback?

The Bing is almost back -- or is it? A marquee sign outside Satin Dolls, the Lodi strip club that served as the inspiration and shooting location for Bada Bing on the famous mob drama "The Sopranos," proclaims the bar is about to greet customers once again. The club on Route 17 was forced to shut its doors in December 2017 when the state attorney general ordered it to sell or transfer its liquor license due to criminal allegations against its owner, Anthony Cardinalle. 

Read more: http://www.nj.com/bergen/index.ssf/2018/03/sopranos_bada_bing_strip_club_satin_dolls_could_ma.html#incart_river_mobile_home

[BrooklynGuy]

Gunman opens fire on mob-linked Brooklyn restaurant, leaves bullet holes in facade

These shells are stuffed with lead. A gunman blasted several bullet holes into the facade of a famed mob-tied Brooklyn restaurant early Sunday. The gunman let loose several rounds at Marco Polo Ristorante on Court St. at Union St. in Carroll Gardens at 6 a.m. — long after the restaurant had closed for the night, police said. An employee who arrived at 9 a.m. saw the damage, and called the cops. Police said they found bullet fragments inside, and no damage to nearby businesses, leading investigators to believe the Marco Polo was targeted.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/gunman-opens-fire-mob-linked-brooklyn-restaurant-article-1.3842101

 

Lawyer claims ‘Chin’ Gigante’s jailed son is devoted to aging mother

The Oddfather’s son is a proud mama’s boy. Accused high-ranking Genovese crime family associate Vincent Esposito lived most of his life with his aging mother, served as her primary caregiver and shared dinner with her most nights, according to court papers. “I have never known another adult child who has the level of affection and care that (Vincent) shows to our aging mother,” wrote his sister Lucia in a letter urging his release on bail.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/chin-gigante-jailed-son-devoted-aging-mother-attorney-article-1.3854028

 

 

Mob turncoat, facing up to 70 years, gets time served after testifying against Colombo bigs

A reluctant mobster got his reward Monday for airing dirty family laundry. Years after Sebastian Saracino testified against his brother and mafia bigs, he received a sentence of time served for crimes that could have imprisoned him for up to 70 years. “I never wanted this life,” Saracino told Brooklyn Federal Judge Brian Cogan. “Somehow, it seems like this life found me.” The Colombo soldier said he could’ve been “perfectly fine being a nobody.”

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/mob-turncoat-time-served-testifying-mafia-bigs-article-1.3843236

[BrooklynGuy]

John Gotti’s grandson gets more prison for car arson

John Gotti, the namesake grandson of the late Gambino crime family boss, has been slapped with five years in federal prison. The 24-year-old was sentenced Wednesday in connection with his role in the 2012 revenge arson of a car whose driver had cut off longtime Bonanno big Vincent Asaro on a Queens road. A well-groomed and cheerful-looking Gotti apologized to both his family and the court before Brooklyn federal Judge Allyne Ross handed down her sentence. The tatted-up mafia scion’s words brought his father, Peter Gotti, to tears. The courtroom’s pews were packed with his relatives, including the widow of the Teflon Don, Victoria. She was accompanied by her son, John “Junior” Gotti.

Read more: https://nypost.com/2018/03/14/john-gottis-grandson-gets-more-prison-for-car-arson/

[BrooklynGuy]

Strip Club owner who ratted out mobsters won't go into hiding

A former strip club kingpin who went from doing business with the mob to helping convict dozens of gangsters, including John “Junior” Gotti, has been hiding in plain sight in the Big Apple since getting sprung from prison, The Post has learned. Despite being warned there’s a $1 million bounty on his head, Scores co-founder Michael Blutrich refused to enter the witness protection program, instead bouncing around from Westchester to Long Island and the city since his release.

Read more: https://nypost.com/2018/03/05/strip-club-owner-who-ratted-out-mobsters-wont-go-into-hiding/

[BrooklynGuy]

Richard Weiner shares a name with a dead man with alleged mob ties. And it's confusing.

For a time, Richard Weiner had three things in common with Richard Weiner. Both men were attorneys. Both had offices in Hackensack, across the street from the county courthouse (and, as it happened, across Essex Street from each other). Each man prided himself as a doer, a man who accomplishes big things. One Richard Weiner represented accident and burn victims, winning some of the biggest settlements in the history of New Jersey jurisprudence, including $23.5 million for the family of a Saddle River eye surgeon who was killed in an automobile crash.

Read more: https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/columnists/christopher-maag/2018/02/23/richard-weiner-hackensack-attorneys-who-share-name/317095002/

[BrooklynGuy]

Son of crime boss must pay for armed guards when he leaves jail

The son of Vincent “The Chin” Gigante must pay to have armed guards stationed at his Upper East Side home when he leaves jail, a judge ruled in Manhattan court on Friday. Vincent Esposito — an alleged “person of influence” in the Genovese crime family — is charged in a long-running racketeering scheme alongside five other reputed wise guys for extortion and other crimes. The son of Vincent “The Chin” Gigante must pay to have armed guards stationed at his Upper East Side home when he leaves jail, a judge ruled in Manhattan court on Friday. Vincent Esposito — an alleged “person of influence” in the Genovese crime family — is charged in a long-running racketeering scheme alongside five other reputed wise guys for extortion and other crimes.

 

Read more: https://nypost.com/2018/03/23/son-of-crime-boss-must-pay-for-armed-guards-when-he-leaves-jail/