Cosa Nostra News

“The street life and all that comes with it is garbage. Believe in yourself and you’ll achieve whatever it is you want to achieve," John Gotti says.



John GottiIII, that is -- grandson of the legendarily flamboyant former Gambino boss, and son of the former acting boss who renounced his Mafia affiliation. (The John Gotti currently serving eight years for drug dealing and working with former Bonanno associate Gene Borrello to set cars on fire, that John Gotti, the one in the can, is the son of Peter, who is John A. (Junior) Gotti's brother, and is by our calculation a first cousin to the Gotti who's the fighter.)

John Gotti III is a No. 1-ranked mixed martial arts (MMA) welterweight in New York.

Gotti, 27, so far has had four pro fights that have ended in either a first-round KO or a TKO. He was profiled by the Boston Globe, which described him as a potential MMA superstar.

The story notes some unique ways that John J. Gotti, the former boss, lives on.

A roaring lion was am…

COSA NOSTRA NEWS EXCLUSIVE  UPDATED
Gene Borrello, a former Bonanno associate and the key witness in three recent Mafia roundups, was a major player in the arson case that helped the Feds finally nail 84-year-old Bonanno capo Vincent (Vinny) Asaro — two years after his lawyers bested them in court by winning a stunning and humiliating victory for the longtime wiseguy.


Also implicated in the arson case was John J. Gotti, a grandson of the late Gambino boss, who pleaded guilty to helping torch the car that earned Asaro’s deep animosity. (Gotti was a very capable wheelman, we've learned.).

Gotti and Asaro—in fact, all 20-plus defendants charged in that trio of 2017 indictments — copped out. Since there was no jury trial, the Feds have not publicly detailed the full extent of Borrello’s cooperation.

However, Borrello has been lifting the curtain slightly for Cosa Nostra News….
“I was doing everything” for Asaro and Ronald (Ronnie G) Giallanzo, Borrello told Cosa Nostra News.

“I did al…

REVISED
What do wiseguys chat about in their "off" hours, when they're unwinding over a scotch and rocks, say, at a tony Upper East Side steakhouse? They talk about killing rats, of course.



Apparently, some Genovese wiseguys recently did just that: They met and discussed the new name/whereabouts of Genovese family turncoat Michael (Cookie) D’Urso, 49, spurring him on to actually write an open letter to his former colleagues to warn them not to take revenge.

In the letter, D'Urso seems to describe how he obtained the news about a potential hit, though this may be misdirection: "You’d be surprised to find out how many confidential informants there are in your circle, who would love to tell the feds they heard about a murder plot to kill me." 

The letter appeared in The New York Post with an introduction written by Jerry Capeci of GangLand News.
D’Urso flipped against the Genovese crime family and wore a wire hidden within a $3,000 Rolex wristwatch for three ye…

Not long after he and his mob wife were busted at their home on Staten Island on drug and gun charges, Lee D'Avanzo, 52, was busted in New Jersey on charges of conspiracy to possess marijuana and possession.





This apparently was the case for which the NYPD raided the couples' home on Staten Island earlier this month.

A yearlong investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotics and Criminal Enterprise Unit targeting a large-scale marijuana and THC distribution network operating throughout Monmouth, Ocean, and Bergen counties as well as parts of New York resulted in charges being filed against 24 men and women.

One California man remains at-large and is considered a fugitive from justice, announced Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.

The investigation, dubbed Operation On The Ropes uncovered a scheme to secretly convert legitimate candies, including the popular Nerds Rope and Sour Patch candy brands, to an illegal THC-infused product. THC, or t…

Since the dawn of organized crime in the US, gangsters have been making fortunes by capitalizing on our love of betting; whether by taking a piece of the winnings or lending the dough to place the bet, they have numerous ways to earn off our vice.



Now former Gambino associate John Alite is attempting a first with Alite Sports, his new sports consulting firm, which offers guidance on sports betting, among other things.

It's also one of several things John Alite has going on in 2020. His new book, Darkest Hour 2: Through the Eyes of the Barrel, will be out in March, and he'll appear in a new Netflix series to break this winter. And a couple of other things we're holding back for separate stories.

Launched via a partnership between John and Peter Kazan, Alite Sports offers intelligence on who to bet on and how. The firm also offer tips on managing your money to minimize your losses. Unlike other websites offering similar services, Alite Sports doesn't actually take bets …

In 1988, years before his wife became (something of) a household name and his father's first cousin became the mayor of New York City, Lee D'Avanzo was part of a crew of wannabe wiseguys who raked in the cash via drug dealing, loansharking, money laundering, home invasions, and up to 30 attempted or successful bank burglaries.




By December 2001, when 11 members of the New Springville Boys were indicted for terrorizing Staten Island and committing crimes up and down the East Coast, the indictment identified D'Avanzo as the head of the ragtag crew. Some other names identified in the indictment: Neat (Ned the Head) Bilali, Robert Catanese, Francis Costanzo, William (Big Billy) Fauci, and Edward Shamah.

Between 1988 and 2000, crew members schemed to burglarize over 30 night-deposit boxes at banks in seven states: One string of heists in Washington state in 1998 netted the gang $240,000, court papers say. They also allegedly planned to ship more than 200 kilograms of marijuana f…

In a New York Times editorial, the stepson of Chuckie O'Brien — the foster son of Jimmy Hoffa — calls The Irishman "by far the greatest depiction of the false charge against my stepfather." ... "My 86-year-old stepfather ... for more than half his life, 44 years ... has watched himself portrayed in news articles, books and motion pictures — most recently, in Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” — as someone he is not. The effect on his life has been devastating."

If you haven't watched The Irishman, watch it...




What’s that? Did Frank Sheeran really kill Jimmy Hoffa (and Joe Gallo, etc.)?

How about we put that aside for a sec -- this interest in solving murders. Let's take our Sherlock Holmes hats-- the deerstalkers -- off. If you want to learn about the Hoffa murder, we'll send you a list of books.

Here's a secret: Martin Scorsese doesn't give a rat's ass who killed James Riddle Hoffa. And Crazy Joey Gallo (and JFK, maybe).

If Scorsese truly…