Cosa Nostra News

So what happened to Jake Russo, then?



Did his dead body become part of the Veterans Memorial Bridge, as one of many rumors making the rounds after his 1964 disappearance alleged?

Not according to new claims that Russo was done in because he dared to threaten a boss who made unreasonable demands of him. Stefano Magaddino, the ruthless, Buffalo-based mob boss whose influence extended from parts of New York (including Rochester) and Pennsylvania to Toronto for more than 30 years, was legendary for his stinginess and cruelty.






Threatening Magaddino to his face about how you planned to undermine him was tantamount to signing your own death warrant.

Magaddino was "the Undertaker" because of his Niagara Falls funeral home, but also because of his knack for ordering murders. A Sicilian immigrant, Magaddino, cousin to Joseph Bonanno, smuggled liquor across Lake Ontario from Canada during Prohibition.


In 1963, while out on bail, Magaddino associate Albert Agueci had threatened the b…

This was supposed to be a straightforward story about Jake Russo, but of course I can never not plunge headfirst down whatever rabbit hole catches my eye.... Can't ignore what intrigues me....
Rochester acting boss Jake Russo disappeared in September 1964, and nearly 55 years later, his body has never been found.

Recently surfaced videotaped interviews with a former Russo cohort may finally reveal what really happened all those years ago.

In interviews conducted and videotaped several years prior to his 2014 death, Rene Piccarreto Sr., the former consigliere of the Rochester crime family, said that Russo was strangled in the basement of a downtown Rochester restaurant that later became a popular area pizzeria called the Pizza Stop.

But back in 1964, the restaurant was owned by Frank Valenti, the man who succeeded Russo atop the Mafia family there. Actually, Russo had only been put in charge when Valenti was forced to leave town.

By December 1964, the Rochester mob appeared to be o…

Thirteen individuals, including a father and son alleged to be associates of the "defunct" Pittsburgh Cosa Nostra, were arrested last week for participating in an illegal gambling ring.


Robert (Bobby I) Iannelli, 88, of Wexford, and Rodney (Rusty) Iannelli, 58, of Pittsburgh, were charged by a grand jury with running an illegal bookmaking and lottery business that brought in tens of thousands of dollars weekly, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Robert Iannelli has multiple convictions for gambling charges by both state and Federal investigators going back to 1969. His son, Rodney Iannelli, was arrested in 2000 for involvement in a Fayette County sports betting and illegal lottery ring connected to one of Pittsburgh's "last made mobsters," Thomas “Sonny” Ciancutti.






This latest case began when the state attorney general’s office and state police launched a probe in March 2015 that discovered the Iannellis were operating as bookmakers who accepted sports and lo…

"The mob ain't what it used to be, number one, and he’s not even part of the mob. They’re both so fcking crazy the mob wants nothing to do with them. But what they have is this intimidation factor 'cause they are fcking nuts.”
--Police detective on the Caponegro brothers, Joseph and Gregory
“I'm about ready to go to fcking jail!” --Greg Caponegro

Story includes three videos, below
A violent former associate of the Genovese crime family (formerly in the crew of one of the most powerful capos to ever rule the waterfront) and his twin brother have been on something of a tear recently, allegedly terrorizing residents of the Garden State.

Many of said Garden State residents allegedly terrorized by the Caponegro brothers – that’s Joseph (Joey Waterbed) and Greg -- no doubt will feel some relief at knowing that the police have finally taken steps to put a damper on the not-so-dynamic duo’s over-the-top activities by arresting one of them last week. (This is the Mountainside, NJ…

Police have identified a suspect in last week’s shooting of Cece Luppino, 43, who was gunned down last Wednesday afternoon inside a house owned by his parents, Rocco and Helen Luppino.



The Luppino name has been connected to organized crime for decades, going back to Giacomo Luppino, the Ndrangheta boss/Canadian viceroy to powerful Buffalo boss Stefano (The Undertaker) Magaddino, though Giacomo never had a successor to continue his legacy in Ontario-based organized crime.

Rocco Luppino is allegedly a major player in the mob today, as per reports.

Detectives have examined hours of surveillance video from the Luppino home and neighboring homes and have released a description of a suspect: A black man with an average/athletic build.

At the time of the killing he was wearing a black, waist-length winter coat, black pants, black boots, a black cap, and grey shirt.






Investigators believe Cece Luppino was murdered around 3:10 p.m.

Police say Luppino arrived home several minutes before the sh…

UPDATED
New England Mafia capo Edward Lato, 71, was transferred Wednesday from Fort Dix federal prison in New Jersey to a halfway house.



According to the BOP inmate locator he's in a facility in Philadelphia.

According to Target 12, which broke the story, Lato was sent to Pawtucket in Providence.







Lato was eligible for release to home confinement or a halfway house on Jan. 25, according to the Target 12 story, which based that on information acquired from the Federal Bureau of Prisons via a Freedom of Information Act request.

Lato's attorney, Mark Smith, remarked that he had "no knowledge" of Lato's situation.

We've emailed Tim White, the reporter whose byline is on the Target 12 story, for clarification, and we'll update this story accordingly.

Tim White replied:

"Philadelphia is where the BOP's Residential Reentry Center is. As I reported in my story, he is at a halfway house in Pawtucket (halfway houses are known as residential reentry homes i…

Not what we've been expecting after all the hoopla.... The Atlantic City "heroin pill" arrests, the reinvigorated FBI office in Philadelphia, the "new" probe...



A 15-count indictment was unsealed yesterday charging Philadelphia Mafia member Philip Narducci, 56, and his associate James Gallo, 44, with various crimes involving the making of extortionate loans, conspiracy, and collections of loans by extortionate means.

Narducci, the son of a mobster gunned down in 1981 while on trial, was convicted on racketeering charges in the late 1980s and spent more than 20 years in prison.






He was released in 2012 and five years later opened Chick’s restaurant with his wife, Gina, the official owner.

The indictment was filed in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and Special Agent in Charge Michael Harpst…