The American Mafia Today

[Trelane]

Has anyone received any word from @BrooklynGuy? Seems really strange how he's been completely silent here.

[F3SS]

On 2/1/2021 at 10:32 PM, Trelane said:

Has anyone received any word from @BrooklynGuy? Seems really strange how he's been completely silent here.

I didn't interact with him much but I'll never forget how he just vanished. I wouldn't have taken much notice had he not sent me a mysterious private message that he never followed up on a day or 2 before his last post.

 

Edit: yea I already covered that duh... but seriously, that always stuck with me

Edited February 4, 2021 by F3SS

[rashore]

He hasn't shown up in quite a bit. Well over 6 months since last being here and making plans to be in contact again soon according to our previous posts. Considering his posting with this subject matter, and the way last year went with illnesses.. I'm a bit concerned. 

Thing we should try figuring out if something happened? 

F3SS, do you have any idea why BG would have sent you a PM asking for information? Did you two help each other out with Mafia stuff? I know over time I picked his brain about stuff, heh. 

[Piney]

On 2/1/2021 at 10:32 PM, Trelane said:

Has anyone received any word from @BrooklynGuy? Seems really strange how he's been completely silent here.

Did you try PMing him so it pops up in his email? 

[Trelane]

7 hours ago, Piney said:

Did you try PMing him so it pops up in his email? 

I have. Nothing yet unfortunately.

[F3SS]

On 2/4/2021 at 6:42 PM, rashore said:

He hasn't shown up in quite a bit. Well over 6 months since last being here and making plans to be in contact again soon according to our previous posts. Considering his posting with this subject matter, and the way last year went with illnesses.. I'm a bit concerned. 

Thing we should try figuring out if something happened? 

F3SS, do you have any idea why BG would have sent you a PM asking for information? Did you two help each other out with Mafia stuff? I know over time I picked his brain about stuff, heh. 

No not at all. I screenshotted the pm. Its on the previous page. The entirety of our interactions was here on this thread. I dknt recall ever going back and forth with him on any other threads, at least not regularly. I also only have a fleeting interest in the subject. I just posted some things about the mafia in Pittsburgh to share with this thread then one night he says he needed to ask me something, I said sure and that's as far as it went. 

You say he's checked in here at least 6 months ago. Since he left in November of 19 that means he at least was alive long after he disappeared here so that's good. 

[rashore]

14 minutes ago, F3SS said:

No not at all. I screenshotted the pm. Its on the previous page. The entirety of our interactions was here on this thread. I dknt recall ever going back and forth with him on any other threads, at least not regularly. I also only have a fleeting interest in the subject. I just posted some things about the mafia in Pittsburgh to share with this thread then one night he says he needed to ask me something, I said sure and that's as far as it went. 

You say he's checked in here at least 6 months ago. Since he left in November of 19 that means he at least was alive long after he disappeared here so that's good. 

My bad, I misspoke. I misread his last post- it's from 2019. And I meant well over 6 months since the last time this thread was brought up. Sorry about that. Got my whole thought there mashed up a bit. 

Looking back through posts here.. You mentioned something about your dad in the 2000's and a person and Brooklyn said they didn't know who that was, and gave you some info to check out. That was on Nov. 16. On the 17th, you posted more. Could it be possible he was following up on that tip?

[F3SS]

16 minutes ago, rashore said:

My bad, I misspoke. I misread his last post- it's from 2019. And I meant well over 6 months since the last time this thread was brought up. Sorry about that. Got my whole thought there mashed up a bit. 

Looking back through posts here.. You mentioned something about your dad in the 2000's and a person and Brooklyn said they didn't know who that was, and gave you some info to check out. That was on Nov. 16. On the 17th, you posted more. Could it be possible he was following up on that tip?

Thats about the only thing I could think of because I don't believe I led him to think I had any more information than I posted which all came from searching the internet.

20 years ago my dad had a stint in real-estate and he showed me a house he had shown someone. It was a mob house and was frankly a really cool house. It piqued my interest back then and I did some research to see who it was. This thread jogged my memory and I decided to see what all I could find again to share with this thread. We never met the former owners and have no connections to anyone in organized crime.

Outside of this, my mafia knowledge comes from the movies. I really have no idea what he wanted to ask me. Maybe it was something about Pittsburgh locations or something or on the ground footwork for his research lol. Just the way he phrased it... I need to ask you something... So strange. BG if you ever come back we need an explanation!

[Trelane]

It looks as though things might not be as "dead and gone" in Buffalo NY as once thought;

https://buffalonews.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/pharoahs-owner-charged-with-bribing-dea-agent-as-feds-investigate-buffalo-mafia/article_6d9d428e-7abc-11eb-b85d-fbc423a29063.html#tracking-source=home-trending

 

More to follow of course on this as things seem to be just be getting started.

[Trelane]

Another individual has been indicted and apparently has ties to the gentlemen in my previous post;

https://buffalonews.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/alleged-organized-crime-associate-faces-new-charges-of-covid-19-fraud-money-laundering/article_b2d6c608-7c4d-11eb-8590-c39f4b3469e8.html#tracking-source=home-top-story-1

I guess the boys were greedy along with being sloppy.

[Trelane]

As the investigation into alleged Mafia ties in the City of Buffalo and a local DEA agent continues to bring indictments, there's been a curious new twist. It appears there is possibility of a  connection of a State Supreme Court Justice and this investigation. 

https://buffalonews.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/feds-examine-ties-between-judge-hit-by-train-and-indicted-strip-club-owner/article_4a09a440-804b-11eb-b10d-e39c2038b7b8.html

https://buffalonews.com/news/local/sources-judge-lay-on-tracks-before-train-hit-him/article_100239dc-80e7-11eb-8a34-a7528a9dcd05.html

[Trelane]

Some time has passed, but the Feds aren't done with this case yet. State Supreme Court Justice Michalski had been initially implicated earlier last year.

New developments today;

https://buffalonews.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/feds-search-home-of-state-supreme-court-justice-john-michalski-who-was-hit-by-train/article_566a67f2-ab82-11ec-8254-ab64dd8b3b22.html#tracking-source=home-top-story-1

Edited March 24, 2022 by Trelane

[jmccr8]

On 2/4/2021 at 4:23 PM, F3SS said:

I didn't interact with him much but I'll never forget how he just vanished. I wouldn't have taken much notice had he not sent me a mysterious private message that he never followed up on a day or 2 before his last post.

 

Edit: yea I already covered that duh... but seriously, that always stuck with me

So has no one heard from BrooklynGuy yet I hope he is okay

[Trelane]

1 minute ago, jmccr8 said:

So has no one heard from BrooklynGuy yet I hope he is okay

I just sent a PM to him. Not sure what his status is.

[Trelane]

An unfortunate turn in the investigation linking the mafia, a DEA agent and a State Supreme Court Justice;

https://nypost.com/2022/04/06/ny-judge-john-michalski-kills-himself-weeks-after-authorities-raided-his-home/

Sad end, unfortunately it doesn't help his side as the investigation into his connection with others was resuming.

[quiXilver]

[Trelane]

A one-time Colombo family boss, Victor Orena, has been denied parole.

https://nypost.com/2022/06/15/colombo-family-boss-victor-orena-denied-compassionate-release/

[Trelane]

I missed this earlier in the spring.

"Four Members And Two Associates Of The Genovese Organized Crime Family Charged With Racketeering"

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/four-members-and-two-associates-genovese-organized-crime-family-charged-racketeering

[Trelane]

The federal investigation has progressed quietly and is now set for trial.

"Trial date set for strip club owner, ex-DEA agent in organized crime case"

https://buffalonews.com/news/local/trial-date-set-for-strip-club-owner-ex-dea-agent-in-organized-crime-case/article_430b4fe8-70ec-11ed-b0d4-bb0f6d5eb35b.html#tracking-source=mp-homepage

"A trial date for two key defendants in the federal government’s years-long investigation into alleged organized crime in Buffalo has been set for June 21."

"U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra Jr. scheduled the jury trial for the first day of summer after defense attorneys repeatedly complained that they will need an extended amount of time to review the government’s evidence that has yet to be shared with them."

"When federal agents followed up on the indictment of a former DEA agent by raiding Pharaoh’s, two sources said the raid indicates prosecutors suspect there may be a link to the Cheektowaga strip club owner Peter G. Gerace Jr., the nephew of a man prosecutors claim is the head of the Buffalo Mafia, was charged in February 2021 with paying some of the $250,000 in bribes reportedly accepted by now retired U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Agent Joseph S. Bongiovanni."

[Rolltide]

Body Found Dumped In Bronx Identified As 'Green Book' Actor Frank Vallelonga Jr.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.huffpost.com/entry/frank-vallelonga-jr-body-found-bronx_n_638a164ae4b0d17409619a30/amp

 

Frank Vallelonga Jr., an actor whose credits include “The Sopranos” and 2019 Best Picture winner “Green Book,” was found dead outside a sheet metal manufacturing facility in the Bronx, New York, on Monday, the New York Police Department confirmed in a statement. He was 60.

[Trelane]

The ongoing investigations in Buffalo, NY have had several names brought up in connection with the American Mafia.

Joseph Todaro is alleged to be the current moob boss in WNY. Read more about this in the following:

"Who is Joe Todaro and why do the feds say this pizzeria owner runs the Buffalo mob?"

https://buffalonews.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/who-is-joe-todaro-and-why-do-the-feds-say-this-pizzeria-owner-runs-the/article_c0f50a86-3855-11ed-a0e3-c32da0b6c34c.html#tracking-source=home-top-story

[Trelane]

Here is a quick article on the federal prosecutor who has taken the case for the organized crime investigation in Buffalo, NY.

"A 'tough-as-nails' prosecutor takes on mob allegations – and criticism for the case"

https://buffalonews.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/a-tough-as-nails-prosecutor-takes-on-mob-allegations-and-criticism-for-the-case/article_ffccc8de-39f9-11ed-860a-cbe21beb4db9.html

"Joseph M. Tripi has successfully prosecuted more than 100 killers, kidnappers and drug dealers who terrorized neighborhoods in Buffalo’s West and East sides. After two members of the Kingsmen biker gang were assassinated in North Tonawanda in 2014, he led the prosecutions that resulted in felony convictions against 20 Kingsmen, including the national president who ordered the murders and the hit man who pulled the trigger."

"When a gunman murdered 10 Black people in a mass shooting at a Tops supermarket in Buffalo in May, his superiors picked Tripi to serve as lead prosecutor of the suspect, Payton Gendron."

"Now, the 44-year-old assistant U.S. attorney faces criticism for an ongoing investigation he is leading into the Buffalo Mafia. Some local defense attorneys and Italian American organizations say they are outraged over Tripi’s repeated references to “Italian organized crime” in court and legal papers, including an indictment. The prosecutor referred to “IOC” connections while making allegations against a former DEA agent charged with taking bribes from drug dealers he believed were involved in Italian organized crime; a Cheektowaga strip club owner accused of paying bribes, drug-trafficking and sex-trafficking; and two defendants who have pleaded guilty to drug crimes, including a former Buffalo schoolteacher and the owner of a Buffalo medical staffing business.  Those defendants – Joseph Bongiovanni, Peter Gerace Jr., Michael Masecchia and Joseph C. Bella III – are Italian Americans, as is Tripi himself."

[Trelane]

This story had gone cold over some time, but it appears it's not quite dead. The interesting thing is that now there appears to be elements of a connection to the Outlaws motorcycle gang.

"Judge refuses to suppress evidence taken from cellphone of Pharaoh's strip club owner."

https://buffalonews.com/news/local/crime-courts/judge-refuses-to-suppress-evidence-taken-from-cellphone-of-pharaohs-strip-club-owner/article_4ce6c29c-9083-11ee-8766-c7817e1f39b2.html#tracking-source=home-top-story

"U.S. District Judge Lawrence Vilardo turned down a defense attorney’s motion to suppress all evidence taken from the cellphone. The defense argued that federal agents illegally seized, analyzed and took information from cellphones owned by Gerace; John Ermin, an international leader of the Outlaws biker organization who manages Pharaoh’s; and two other individuals.
A former Pharaoh's Gentlemen's Club employee faces three counts of witness tampering over accusations she assaulted a witness in a sex- and drug-trafficking investigation targeting Peter Gerace Jr., owner of the Cheektowaga strip club."

"In a recent ruling obtained Friday by The Buffalo News, Vilardo said he is not going to “second guess” rulings made earlier by two other judges – District Judge John Sinatra and Magistrate Judge Michael Roemer – on the same issue."

 

Interestingly, this has been an ongoing DEA investigation that has had many spokes of criminal activity including a possible compromised federal judge who took his own life a while back. Now with the tampering being possibly linked to activity with the Outlaws this could become a much wider ranged investigation that now likely has the FBI and ATF's attention.

A previous statement that highlights the original matters,

"When federal agents followed up on the indictment of a former DEA agent by raiding Pharaoh’s, two sources said the raid indicates prosecutors suspect there may be a link to the Cheektowaga strip club owner Peter G. Gerace Jr., the nephew of a man prosecutors claim is the head of the Buffalo Mafia, was charged in February 2021 with paying some of the $250,000 in bribes reportedly accepted by now retired U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Agent Joseph S. Bongiovanni."

 

[Trelane]

It seems that this case continues to have some new twists and turns.

"Outlaws Motorcycle Club president, 2 others charged with possessing guns"

https://buffalonews.com/news/local/crime-courts/outlaws-motorcycle-club-president-2-others-charged-with-possessing-guns/article_51d86eec-954a-11ee-8d54-e3bda66b0165.html#tracking-source=mp-news

"The international president of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club and two other motorcycle club members were arrested Thursday by federal agents, and their arrests have implications for the upcoming trial of a Cheektowaga strip club owner.John Ermin, who has been identified by prosecutors as general manager of Pharaoh’s Gentlemen’s Club, was charged with possessing firearms while being a user of controlled substances. Agents seized 15 firearms and marijuana while executing a search warrant Thursday at his home in Lancaster."

The article continues to recap earlier items.

"But federal prosecutors have said in previous court filings that the Outlaws Motorcycle Club provides security at Pharaoh’s, a Cheektowaga strip club owned by Peter Gerace Jr."

"Gerace is awaiting trial on charges of bribing a Drug Enforcement Administration agent, drug trafficking, sex trafficking and witness tampering. Gerace’s charges include maintaining Pharaoh’s as a drug-involved premises where vulnerable young women were exploited through their drug addictions and coerced into engaging in commercial sex acts with him, his friends and associates."

"Retired DEA agent Joseph Bongiovanni is awaiting trial with Gerace on charges of accepting more than $250,000 in bribes from Gerace and other drug dealers who he thought were associated with Italian organized crime."

"The case, which began as early as 2018 as an investigation of alleged associates or members of the Buffalo Mafia, has included the suicide of State Supreme Court Justice John Michalski, who was called an “unindicted co-conspirator” in Gerace’s sex trafficking; the drug overdose death in Wellsville of former Pharaoh’s dancer Crystal Quinn, who was expected to reluctantly testify against Gerace; dead rats found on cars owned by the mother of a witness; accusations of witness tampering against Gerace; the arrest of an Amherst police detective accused of lying to the FBI about his contacts with Gerace; and a failed attempt by prosecutors to have the trial moved to Rochester."

[Trelane]

Time to give this thread some more attention. Here's an item I missed from last month.

"FBI digs for bodies possibly buried by Gambino crime family at upstate NY farms: sources"

https://nypost.com/2023/11/15/metro/fbi-digs-for-bodies-possibly-buried-by-gambino-crime-family-at-upstate-ny-farms-sources/

"Federal authorities arrived at the properties on Hampton Road in Goshen and on Hamptonburgh Road in Campbell Hall on Tuesday and spent Wednesday searching the grounds, according to News 12 and an FBI spokesperson. They descended upon the Orange County farms — just five miles apart — after a tipster said bodies were buried on the properties, a law enforcement source confirmed."

“The activity is related to federal investigations into the Gambino crime family,” the source said."

"Investigators were seen using heavy equipment, including a backhoe, and shovels, NBC 4 News reported."

"News 12 reported that both farms were formerly owned by Giovanni DiLorenzo — who has the same surname as one of the 10 alleged mafiosi from the Gambino crime family who were indicted last week over accusations they used violent tactics to take over the Big Apple’s garbage hauling and demolition industry"