The American Mafia Today

[BrooklynGuy]

Two Associates of La Cosa Nostra Sentenced to Prison for Extortion-Related Charges

Two associates of the Genovese La Cosa Nostra (LCN) crime family were sentenced today in federal court in Worcester, Massachusetts on extortion-related charges. Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Andrew E. Lelling for the District of Massachusetts; Special Agent in Charge Harold H. Shaw of the FBI’s Boston Field Division; Hampden County District Attorney Anthony Gulluni; and Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police, made the announcement.

Read more: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/two-associates-la-cosa-nostra-sentenced-prison-extortion-related-charges-0

 

[BrooklynGuy]

New Mob Talk is Out

 

[BrooklynGuy]

Mobsters will lose ‘core business’ thanks to legal sports betting: experts

The mob’s gambling racket is about to sleep with the fishes. The US Supreme Court’s sports-betting ruling dealt a losing hand to organized crime in the New York area, legal experts said Monday. Gambling and loan-sharking have traditionally been the mob’s “bread and butter,” and the decision will “significantly reduce” its clientele, former federal prosecutor Thomas Seigel said. “They will definitely lose a regular source of predictable income,” said Seigel, who ran the Organized Crime and Gangs Section of the Brooklyn US Attorney’s Office.

Read more: https://nypost.com/2018/05/14/mobsters-will-lose-core-business-thanks-to-legal-sports-betting-experts/

 

Alleged Mafia leader free after prosecution drops drug trafficking case

Alleged Mafia leader Andrea (Andrew) Scoppa walked out of the Montreal courthouse a free man on Friday after the Crown announced it would no longer prosecute him on charges alleging he was distributing cocaine to dealers while using condominiums inside the Tour des Canadiens as his base of operations. Scoppa’s release will probably throw another twist into the ever-changing mysterious saga of who actually controls the Montreal Mafia. In February, Leonardo Rizzuto, 48, and Stefano Sollecito, 50, were released from detention after they were acquitted of charges of gangsterism and conspiracy to traffic in cocaine. Both men were alleged by police to be the leaders of the Montreal Mafia when they were arrested in 2015. 

Read more: http://montrealgazette.com/news/alleged-mafia-leader-free-after-prosecution-drops-drug-trafficking-case

 

Mobster accused of mailing death threats to lawyers allegedly played Russian roulette with his ex-girlfriend

A Gambino gangster once gambled on an ex-girlfriend's life with a round of Russian roulette, according to prosecutors. Weeks ahead of Battista (Benny) Geritano's trial on allegations he mailed death threats to his ex-lawyers, Brooklyn federal prosecutors unveiled evidence they might introduce — including the reputed Gambino associate's 1994 torment of his ex. According to the filing, Geritano forced the woman — and the 4-year-old girl they had together — into his car and brought them to his Brooklyn apartment.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/mobster-allegedly-played-russian-roulette-article-1.3995357

 

[BrooklynGuy]

Hollywood-quality makeup artist to disguise witnesses in mob trial

In an effort to disguise two undercover agents expected to testify in the trial of Francis “Cadillac Frank” Salemme, the government is going to use a “movie-industry” quality makeup artist. At issue are two inspectors from the federal Witness Security Program who an attorney for the U.S. Marshals Service said work undercover. The lawyer wrote in a recent court motion that protecting their identities “is a matter of life and death.” “We are not asking he not be cross examined,” Harvey Smith, a special assistant U.S. attorney who represents the U.S. Marshals, said as he discussed one of the individuals. “We are only asking that the public not be able to see the witness security inspector.”

Read more: http://www.wpri.com/target-12/hollywood-quality-makeup-artist-to-disguise-witnesses-in-salemme-trial/1194427532

 

[BrooklynGuy]

Gangster Pets: Animal tales from the American Mafia to Pablo Escobar

They don’t call the criminal underworld a jungle for nothing. There are many similarities between the animal kingdom and the world of gangs and the Mafia. There is a food chain, there are specific roles to play, there is a dominant species, and there is a King that rules the land. But what about actual animals that popped up in the underworld? Not the loan sharks, but the actual ones? Which gangsters and mobsters had a lion in their crew? Who had a love for exotic animals? And who the hell would get in a boxing match with a kangaroo?

Read more: http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gangster-pets-animal-tales-from-the-american-mafia-to-pablo-escob?xg_source=msg_mes_network

[BrooklynGuy]

Rocco Zito was shot three times, court hears

Mobster Rocco Zito had a $1,000 bill in his wallet when he was shot dead from multiple gunshot wounds in his North York bungalow, court heard. “I identified a total of three gunshot wounds,” pathologist Dr. Brett Danielson testified on Tuesday in University Ave. court. “The cause of death is gunshot wounds to the torso,” Danielson said. The testimony came in the murder trial of Zito’s son-in-law, Domenic Scopelliti, 54. Defence lawyer Brian Ross has told the jury that his client shot Zito, 87, on Jan. 29, 2016 in the bungalow they both lived in at 160 Playfair Ave. in North York, near Caledonia Rd. and Lawrence Ave. W.

Read more: https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2018/05/15/rocco-zito-was-shot-three-times-court-hears.html

 

[BrooklynGuy]

'Saturday Night Live' spoofs 'The Sopranos' ending with Trump-Russia probe

President Trump's fate in the White House is as ambiguous as whatever happened to Tony Soprano. The "Saturday Night Live" cold open saw Trump settling into what was supposed to be a comfortable meal with his "best son" and some legal pals at a New Jersey diner. The President, joined by Donald Trump Jr., former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and personal lawyer Michael Cohen, is celebrating the first anniversary of Robert Mueller's far-reaching Russia collusion probe in the sketch.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/snl-spoofs-sopranos-ending-trump-russia-probe-article-1.3999406

[BrooklynGuy]

Defense at Frank Salemme trial hammers at credibility of star witness

Former Mafia capo Robert “Bobby” DeLuca shrugged with indifference Wednesday when a defense attorney for Francis “Cadillac Frank” Salemme attacked his credibility by noting he made money by fixing horse and dog races. “I call it winning,” DeLuca told defense attorney Eliot Weinstein in US District Court, where Salemme and codefendant Paul Weadick are on trial for murdering South Boston nightclub owner Steven A. DiSarro in 1993.

Read more: https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/05/30/defense-frank-salemme-trial-slams-mobster-for-fixing-horse-and-dog-races/DaehFhEJpfg6rjrcvKDdxO/story.html

 

Mobster: Mafia boss said ‘make sure you’ve got a hole dug’ before killing nightclub owner

Former Mafia capo Robert “Bobby” DeLuca looked uncomfortable Tuesday during his debut as a government witness as he broke omerta — the Mafia’s code of silence — and implicated his former friend, Francis “Cadillac Frank” Salemme, in a gruesome murder decades ago. “We had a little talk,” said 72-year-old DeLuca, recounting that in May 1993, Salemme — then the boss of the New England Mafia — complained that he and his son, Frank, were being “robbed” by their business partner in a South Boston nightclub.

Read more: https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/05/29/jurors-salemme-trial-get-inside-look-into-world-mafia/rmyRdevI4bEpDR3dmRi0LI/story.html?p1=Article_Trending_Most_Viewed

[BrooklynGuy]

Reputed Brooklyn mobster pleads guilty to attempted tax evasion

A tax-dodging wiseguy finally owned up to trying to stiff the feds. Reputed Genovese soldier Sal (Sallie) Demeo pleaded guilty to attempted tax evasion Monday in Brooklyn Federal Court. Prosecutors said Demeo turned a $2 million profit in 2013 and 2014 by selling shares of downtown Brooklyn properties he inherited from his father in 1991 — but he didn't report the capital gains windfall. Demeo and others with shares in the properties along Atlantic Ave., Pacific St., Bond St. and Schermerhorn St. sold off the lots for a combined $18.2 million.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/reputed-brooklyn-mobster-pleads-guilty-attempted-tax-evasion-article-1.4001647

 

[BrooklynGuy]

Son-in-law killed mobster after Zito threatened to cut off his cash flow

Domenico Scopelliti swears he feared for his life when he loaded his firearm and faced his angry mobster father-in-law Rocco Zito. Scopelliti admitted in testimony at his first-degree murder trial that he fatally shot Zito on Jan. 29, 2016 inside the Playfair Ave. home where they lived. Scopelliti, 54, who has pleaded not guilty, testified he fired in self-defence after he saw Zito aim his firearm at him through a partially-opened door. Crown attorney Anna Stanford asked Scopelliti why he “put himself in Zito’s cross-hairs” by walking up a narrow stairwell towards him if Scopelliti believed Zito was armed.

Read more: http://torontosun.com/news/crime/son-in-law-killed-mobster-after-zito-threatened-to-cut-off-his-cash-flow-crown

 

[BrooklynGuy]

Elderly mobster no match for son-in-law in gunfight

Domenico Scopelliti admitted in court Wednesday that his elderly, gun-toting father-in-law was no match for him in a gunfight. “I’m going to suggest to you that at age 87, Rocco Zito wouldn’t have that quick a draw,” Crown attorney Anna Stanford asked Scopelliti. You’re probably right,” replied Scopelliti at his first-degree murder trial trial. Scopelliti had already conceded that he fatally shot mobster Zito on Jan. 29, 2016 inside the Playfair Ave. home where they lived.

Read more: http://torontosun.com/news/crime/elderly-mobster-no-match-for-son-in-law-in-gunfight-murder-trial-hears

 

‘He was also an old man in 2011 when he tried to stab me’

Rocco Zito may have been old, small and in poor health, but he was still dangerous and actively involved in organized crime when he was shot to death in his North York home, a murder trial heard Tuesday. Zito, 87, was shot in the chest three times at his Playfair Ave. bungalow on Jan. 29, 2016. His son-in-law, Domenic Scopelliti, 54, has admitted to killing Zito, but says the shots were fired in self-defence. "I had a gun, " Scopelliti told the court. "He had a gun." The court heard that Zito, who stood five-foot-six, used a cane and sometimes a walker in his final years and had heart and spinal problems.

Read more: https://www.thespec.com/news-story/8625057--he-was-also-an-old-man-in-2011-when-he-tried-to-stab-me-/

 

 

[BrooklynGuy]

Local filmmakers take on mob in new documentary

Wisconsin has an interesting past when it comes to notable organized crime figures. Al Capone had a home in Lake Geneva, and John Dillinger robbed a bank in Downtown Racine. But few people know the story of Frank Balistrieri, the boss of Milwaukee. “I thought Frank had a compelling story to tell that not many people know about,” said Wayne Clingman, a Racine filmmaker. “He was your typical Mafioso.” Clingman, along with Jason Love, a filmmaker from Sturtevant, helped direct a 47-minute documentary on Balistrieri titled “Milwaukee Mob”. 

Read more: http://journaltimes.com/news/local/local-filmmakers-take-on-mob-in-new-documentary/article_7a6be9a6-0e14-58dd-a5f7-4cd56f4fe23d.html

Edited June 2, 2018 by BrooklynGuy

[BrooklynGuy]

Mafia murder trial in federal court a flashback to a bygone era

They were once legends on Boston’s streets, considered by the federal government the most menacing criminals of their time. But now in court, they look like harmless old men. Eighty-four-year-old Francis “Cadillac Frank” Salemme walks slowly to his seat at the defense table, his shoulders hunched. On the witness stand, a 78-year-old former mobster recounts the day he helped Salemme bury a body in 1993. Another old man, with slicked back gray hair, concedes to jurors he used to be a “bad guy” but says he is now just a retiree who occasionally watches old mob movies.

Read more: https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/05/28/mafia-murder-trial-federal-court-flashback-bygone-era/Pg6rNyCySAE5OzRS8HFYWO/story.html

 

[BrooklynGuy]

Chicago mob boss John 'No Nose' DiFronzo dead at 89

The leader of the Outfit for more than a decade, notorious for his nickname and his cagey demeanor, died on Sunday-the ABC7 I-Team has learned. John "No Nose" DiFronzo was 89 years old. He had Alzheimer's disease, according to noted Chicago attorney Joe "the Shark" Lopez who counts mob leaders as clients. "I knew that he was extremely ill and I thought that the ending was going to come and it finally did" Lopez told the I-Team during an interview on Tuesday. DiFronzo was awarded the mob moniker "No Nose" early in his career when part of his schnoz was sliced off as he jumped through the plate glass window of a Michigan Ave. clothing store window to escape after a burglary. That incident in 1949 happened in the middle of a gun battle with police and left DiFronzo with a mangled snout.

Read more: http://abc7chicago.com/chicago-mob-boss-john-no-nose-difronzo-dead-at-89/3532932/

[BrooklynGuy]

Long-Time Gambino Crime Family Member Pleads Guilty to Racketeering Conspiracy

Earlier today, in federal court in Central Islip, New York, John Ambrosio, also known as “Johnny Boy,” a member of the Gambino organized crime family of La Cosa Nostra, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy, admitting his involvement in acts of loansharking and illegal gambling. Ambrosio, an acting captain in the Gambino family, is the last defendant to plead guilty in a superseding indictment that charged him and six members and associates of the Gambino family and a member of the Bonanno organized crime family of La Cosa Nostra. 

Read more: 

[BrooklynGuy]

With top Chicago mob boss dead, Outfit looks for new blood

Now that John "No Nose" DiFronzo is no longer running the Chicago Outfit, who will fill the void left by his death is an open question. As the ABC7 I-Team first reported this week, DiFronzo died Sunday from complications of Alzheimer's. He was 89. "This is obviously an organization that promotes from within" said Chicago mob expert John Binder. "They don't take ads in the Wall Street Journal announcing a job search. "Although illicit businesses such as the Outfit don't have open meetings or put out annual reports, there are internal rules and succession plans in place to deal with the death of the boss-whether it occurs naturally or at the end of a gun barrel as was the case with Sam "Momo" Giancana in 1975.

Read more: http://abc7chicago.com/with-top-chicago-mob-boss-dead-outfit-looks-for-new-blood/3550181/

 

Shouting match between attorneys, ex mob boss brings quick end to day's proceedings

The wheels came off the murder trial of former gangsters Francis “Cadillac Frank” Salemme and Paul Weadick yesterday as the first of 18 jurors dropped out and the judge recessed early in order to silence a round robin of barb-slinging by the trial teams and mafia capo Robert “Bobby” DeLuca. DeLuca, 72, whose future freedom may rest on his ability to help the government nail Salemme and Weadick for the 1993 hit on nightclub owner Steven DiSarro, snapped after nearly four hours of needling and cross-examination by the defense.

Read more: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/local_coverage/2018/05/shouting_match_between_attorneys_ex_mob_boss_brings_quick_end_to_days

 

Jury deliberating in mobster Rocco Zito murder trial

Rocco Zito cast an imposing shadow until the last day of his life. It didn’t matter that the longtime mobster was 87 years old, stood five-foot-six, and occasionally needed a walker, afternoon naps, adult diapers, and help navigating stairs. Zito was shot to death in his North York bungalow shortly before suppertime on Jan. 29, 2016 by his son-in-law, Domenic (Mimmo) Antonio Scopelliti, 54, who’s now charged with murder. A jury began deliberating Scopelliti’s fate on Tuesday, after a month-long trial at the University Ave. courthouse before Madam Justice Faye McWatt.

Read more: https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2018/06/04/jury-deliberating-in-mobster-rocco-zito-murder-trial.html

[BrooklynGuy]

Retired FBI agent says victim of mob hit was not recruited by feds

he made man who once proved allegiance to Francis “Cadillac Frank” Salemme by arranging a hit gave up the ex-Mafia godfather without hesitation yesterday for the gangland execution of Steven DiSarro. Surrounded in U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs’ courtroom by plainclothes U.S. marshals, former mafia capo Robert “Bobby” DeLuca testified it was he who counseled Salemme to “get rid of” DiSarro, 43, if he believed the Westwood dad was ripping “the family” off via their secret partnership in The Channel rock club, as well as leaking information about Salemme to the feds.

Read more: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/local_coverage/2018/05/retired_fbi_agent_says_victim_of_mob_hit_was_not_recruited_by_feds

[BrooklynGuy]

Ex-girlfriend of ‘Cadillac’ Frank Salemme’s son takes stand in Mafia murder trial

A key witness in the murder trial of former mob boss “Cadillac” Frank Salemme returned to the stand Friday for a fourth straight day, but the spotlight was on the ex-girlfriend of Salemme’s son. Salemme is charged with killing Stephen Disarro in 1993 at his Sharon home, but prosecutors say it was his late son Francis Salemme Junior who actually strangled The Channel Nightclub owner as his father looked on. Jurors in South Boston’s John Joseph Moakley Courthouse heard from 47-year-old Becky Geiger after Robert DeLuca, 72, finished his testimony. Geiger was 21 when she worked as a dancer at the infamous Naked Eye strip club in Boston’s Combat Zone in 1991.

Read more: https://whdh.com/news/ex-girlfriend-of-cadillac-frank-salemmes-son-takes-stand-in-mafia-murder-trial/

[BrooklynGuy]

Witness in mob trial denies car fire caused memory loss

A former co-owner of a nightclub that prosecutors say was taken over by members of the New England crime family proved to be a difficult witness for the government on Tuesday. Peter Booras, 69, of Cohasset, Massachusetts, took the stand in the trial of former mob boss Francis “Cadillac Frank” Salemme and codefendant Paul Weadick, who are accused of killing Boston nightclub owner Steven DiSarro in 1993. They have pleaded not guilty. Assistant U.S. Attorney William Ferland was able to establish that Booras and other owners of the nightclub, The Channel, were not given any money when the club was scooped up by DiSarro and Salemme’s son in 1992. But Booras said he could not remember what led up to the questionable deal. 

Read more: http://www.wpri.com/target-12/witness-in-mob-trial-denies-car-fire-caused-memory-loss/1220300358

 

[.ZZ.]

@BrooklynGuy

Did you see part 1 of the "Gotti" miniseries on A&E last night?

[BrooklynGuy]

1 hour ago, .ZZ. said:

@BrooklynGuy

Did you see part 1 of the "Gotti" miniseries on A&E last night?

No was it any good, I want to see it?

[.ZZ.]

7 minutes ago, BrooklynGuy said:

No was it any good, I want to see it?

Oh yes, it was very good.

Part 2 tonight.

Detailed biography, not acting.

Edited June 10, 2018 by .ZZ.

[BrooklynGuy]

41 minutes ago, .ZZ. said:

Oh yes, it was very good.

Part 2 tonight.

Detailed biography, not acting.

Thanks ZZ for the heads up, I'm going to watch it. Hopefully I can catch the first part when they replay.  

[.ZZ.]

5 minutes ago, BrooklynGuy said:

Thanks ZZ for the heads up, I'm going to watch it. Hopefully I can catch the first part when they replay.  

I just checked and part 1 will re-air tonight followed by part 2.

[BrooklynGuy]

3 minutes ago, .ZZ. said:

I just checked and part 1 will re-air tonight followed by part 2.

That's perfect ZZ thank you for letting me know, looking forward to it.