Cosa Nostra News

" Donnie Brasco " [is] based on a true story, that of FBI undercover agent Joseph D. Pistone, who spent years infiltrating New York's Bonnano crime family... Its hero, who never fires a gun except on the FBI firing range, was played by Johnny Depp (then best known for quirky, vulnerable man-child roles) and his mentor was played by Al Pacino (as a tired, rumpled mafioso, about a million miles from his Michael Corleone or Tony Montana). As the film marks its 15th anniversary (it was released on February 28, 1997), here are true tales of what went on behind the scenes, including one star's impulsive wedding, and how the real Pistone braved a contract on his head to ensure that the movie portrayed accurately the mob world he uncovered. 1. In 1976, Pistone was chosen to go undercover as purported jewel thief Donnie Brasco because he spoke fluent Italian, was familiar with the mob (having grown up in Paterson, N.J.), and because he claimed the ability not ...

UPDATED: Did you now there was a secret judge who quietly ruled the underworld for decades, directing the bosses of a criminal organization made up of loosely connected street gangs? That the "Mafia" was a media invention and did not exist as we know it? That there were never any "families," and no "Five Families" in New York, with all-powerful bosses at the top? Oh, sure -- these street crews did have bosses, like a man named Carlo Gambino, but he was just middle management, and not the criminal mastermind he is known as today. The man who really gave the orders was Paulie "Lefty" Della Universita, who ran this Italian entity of non-organized crime crews from the McCarthy 1950s to Reagan 1980s. Among other things, the "Judge," which is only one of the many names he went by, supposedly saved Vito Genovese's life.

Did the Catholic church give John Gotti a raw deal by denying him a proper funeral? Far be it from me to shed a tear for a murderous scoundrel whose various scams increased the price of everything in my adopted hometown.  But did John Gotti get a raw deal when the Catholic Church denied him a funeral mass?   A scholar makes the case here (PDF), arguing that the Church broke its own rules regarding how to deal with Mafiosi.

Doing a little research, I stumbled upon this blog, which is running an interesting piece about Ramona Rizzo's past. The story says, among other things, that she has a more direct connection to the Mafia: her father is a Gambino capo named Johnny Rizzo, and Ramona's husband ripped off both her own father and Joe Watts... Check it out story below, from the website AllAboutTRH Exclusive: ‘Mob Wives’ Star Ramona Rizzo’s Past Revealed! | All About The Real Housewives :

Another interesting post that finally includes info we have been hunting for -- who is Ramona's boyfriend, who was arrested for drugs and whose name was beeped out of tonight's episode.  We think we know who Mr. Mystery is, and that we have already covered the story of Ramona's boyfriend's arrest, whose name the below blogger, we think, spells incorrectly as "Scalfini." Check out our post, from last summer about the arrest of who we believe may be the mysterious boyfriend:  http://cosa-nostra-news.blogspot.com/2011/08/staten-island-marijuana-cocaine-bust.html Once again we present  AllAboutTRH Exclusive: Ramona Is A Liar! Plus Find Out The Real Reason Carla Doesn’t Care For Ramona Or Karen | All About The Real Housewives : A few days ago I read an interesting comment that related to a post I was going to make regarding Mob Wives. It was about Ramona and something that I’ve already heard. I thought I’d share it with you all so you can see yourself.

Julius Bernstein  was a relic of a different era: Raised in the Depression, a genuine World War II hero — and the last of New York’s great Jewish gangsters. Julius Bernstein, dubbed the last Jewish Mobster.  While the Brooklyn native connived for decades in anonymity, his once-secret FBI file — obtained by the Daily News — exposes for the first time a life devoted to earning crooked cash with the Genovese family. Pages of confidential documents provided via the Freedom of Information Law detail Bernstein’s extraordinary mob life and times: Shaking down the Sbarro restaurant chain for cash payoffs across four decades. Seizing control of a bus drivers’ union to amass an illegal fortune. Working side-by-side with legendary Gambino family capo Matthew Ianniello . When he finally flipped and became a federal informant shortly before his October 2007 death, no one was more surprised than the gangster known as Spike. “Wiseguys trust me,” he said on his ...

Louie Milito, whacked by long-time friend Sammy Bull. Don't know if many of you watched the video clip I posted of Diane Sawyer interviewing Sammy Bull back in 1992. I viewed it -- well, listened to it -- several times, and listened closely. I must admit I thought Sammy made some good points about a lot of topics, not just John Gotti. Some of the families of his victims were also on the show -- the Militos most prominently. They rode the "Sammy is a rat who killed my father/husband" train all the way to the station, and I found myself oddly unmoved by them.

John Gotti, as New Yorkers remember him. This one, anyway. John Gotti was once the focus of so much media attention, it's difficult to truly comprehend the magnitude, as well as the full ramifications if you didn't live within New York's boroughs. Yes, Gotti's fame is international. But it's in New York where he truly was first a household name, where the pre-Internet media couldn't get its fill of the man. Most New Yorkers weren't sure what to make of him. But all that came later. The Don from central casting had forgotten to assemble a press kit to be distributed immediately following his seizure of power on Dec. 16, 1985.

From  Next Magazine , with our apologies : ... The more you learn about [Big Ang] Raiola, the more apparent it seems that she was born to become a local folk hero. After all, this is the mob we are talking about, perhaps America’s most beloved subject of film and television.

From  SILive.com : When Karen Gravano’s tell-all about her life growing up in a fast-living mob family on Staten Island is published on Valentine’s Day, it will be nothing short of heartbreaking for the families of the victims of her father, the notorious hit man and turncoat Salvatore (Sammy the Bull) Gravano. At least two families of the 19 people Gravano was accused of murdering during his mob reign of terror are asking the office of the Arizona attorney general to go after the royalties from “Mob Daughter.”

The broken relationships featured on season two of Investigation Discovery's Nothing Personal: Murder for Hire are in vital need of professional services, though it isn't the temporary kind from therapists or love gurus. Rather, the quick fix for these rejected lovers and partners is the more permanent solution provided by a hired hit man. Actor and true-crime aficionado, Steve Schirripa, returns to guide viewers through the twists and turns of each betrayal. The six-episode second season premieres Wednesday, March 7 at 9 PM ET on Investigation Discovery.

Vito Giacalone, a reputed mob enforcer in Detroit and suspect in the disappearance and presumed death of Jimmy Hoffa , has died at 88. Giacalone, nicknamed " Billy Jack ," was the younger brother of Anthony "Tony Jack" Giacalone, who died in 2001, The Detroit News reported Wednesday. The elder Giacalone was to have met with Hoffa on the day the former Teamsters president vanished in 1975. Giacalone died Sunday. A funeral mass was held Tuesday at St. Thecla Church in Clinton, Mich., where he lived.

Mario Puzo The movie studio that controls the rights to "The Godfather" has sued the estate of its creator Mario Puzo, accusing his heirs of wrongfully authorizing new book sequels to the fictional mafia family's story. Paramount Pictures studio, in a lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court on February 17, accused the estate of Puzo, who wrote 1969 bestseller "The Godfather," of approving sequels to the Oscar-winning movies without the studio's permission and in violation of copyright agreements.

Since I am on a video kick, here is the first interview with Sammy Gravano  on ABC's PrimeTime Live after he helped put John Gotti away. (Yeah, the quality isn't the greatest but it does smooth out a little ways into it.) Watching this 1990 discussion some 22 years later, it is indeed difficult not to admit Sammy did score a few points against Gotti, saying if not for the audiotapes of Gotti talking mob business, the Feds wouldn't have gotten him -- and Sammy and Frankie Lo as well.  And a few anecdotes we missed or have forgotten: When the agents burst into the Ravenite prior to Gotti's last arrest, the "Dapper-soon-to-be-Velcro Don" told them he and his guys weren't going anywhere until they had a cup of black coffee (which is what old Italians call espresso). The agents stood there waiting. Also, Sammy noted that one night at dinner Gotti had Joe Watts tell the restaurateur to jack up the price of a $50 bottle of wine to $200 -- because it was widely ...

This includes interesting footage and recordings of Lefty Ruggiero and Donnie Brasco speaking privately. Go to YouTube for part 2 , if you're interested... Of note: It has been proven since, Galante was not boss of the Bonanno family; Pistone's view of the family was not 100% spot-on, probably due to his being a lower-level associate mainly kept out of direct family politics, subsequent cases have since proven.

FOOTAGE OF NICKY SCARFO - Gangsters Inc. : "

From the  NY Daily News : Kim Juiliano knows how to deal with a wiseguy boyfriend who flips. The beautiful moll of an indicted Colombo gangster bailed on her beau’s $2.5 million bond after she learned he turned rat. Kim Juliano , 49, filed notice in Brooklyn Federal Court last month, begging out of the financial arrangement that helped spring her made man, Reynold Maragni , from jail. The change of heart came after prosecutors revealed the high-ranking capo had secretly begun wearing a wire to record other mobsters while he was free on bail. “I am very uncomfortable having this bond attached to me on a personal level,” Juliano wrote to Brooklyn Federal Judge Kiyo Matsumoto. “I have not heard from Mr. Maragni, nor have I been able to get through to him in over a month,” Juliano’s letter states. “Mr. Maragni is now cooperating as an informant. I have legally signed my name to something that I have been mislead (sic) to believe.” The letter was sent Ja...

The below is from  NYPOST.com : The Westies are back — with a twist. Manhattan’s former “Irish Mafia’’ gang — long infamous for running loan-sharking and extortion rackets out of the tenements of Hell’s Kitchen through the early 1990s — has suddenly resurfaced with a highly sophisticated scheme using a fleet of superfast private jets to smuggle high-grade marijuana from California to cities across the country, authorities said. “It’s rare to run into an organization that’s wealthy enough and sophisticated enough to pull it off” — but they’re doing it, one law-enforcement source said.  At the helm of the gang’s Manhattan operation is John Bokun, whose uncles, Billy and namesake John, were Westies before the neighborhood became gentrified by pricey co-ops and wine bars, authorities said. The younger Bokun lives in what is now known as the West Side’s Clinton neighborhood and is accused of teaming up with a California drug organization to use his Dassault Falcon executive jet...

World affairs | Italian police seize $6 trillion in fake US bonds : The Italian police have had a busy weekend making arrests after they found $6 trillion of fake US bonds in a Swiss bank account. It’s not every day that you stumble across six trillion dollars worth of fake bonds hidden in the secret compartments of a Swiss bank account. The investigation into the fake bonds has actually been a pretty big one. Italian, Swiss and American authorities carried out the sting over a year-long period, according to Italian police officials. Initially, it started off as just a mafia loan shark sting. However, after tapping, intercepting phone calls and fine combing emails, the police realised the mess was a lot bigger then that originally thought. Six trillion dollars might seem like a stupid amount to print, but just remember it’s only about one third of the US debt. The bonds were actually seized back in January but we’re only hearing about it now. They were found in three large t...

Our weekly update of "Mob Wives," this one courtesy of   SILive.com : Though the 'Mob Wives' had heftier family issues to confront, the chirping between Drita's camp and Karen's continued. Drita went on a mission to tame her aggressiveness, so naturally she went to Evolution Boxing to improve her high-flying right hooks. She reminisced to the camera about the first time she let her fists go in kindergarten. The taunts from a bad haircut and parents' fashion choices did not go unpunished. When her daughter later asked her, "do you fight?" on the heels of a police officer's visit at school, Drita froze. Her eyes bulged as she struggled for the right answer while VH1 aired clips from the last two seasons. With the hair tugging, fist punching and yelling swirling in her memory, she was saved by the telephone. View full size VH1 Renee Graziano sees a therapist with ex-husband Junior Pagan to work on their relationship. Her soon to be ex-husb...

From the NYPOST.com : "Fiore Films — the production outfit behind the in-the-works John Gotti biopic for director Barry Levinson — is getting further into the Gotti business. Sources say the company is developing a reality TV series based on the lives of Gotti’s grandchildren, with Radar Pictures and Compelling Entertainment. The Gotti grandkids — John, Carmine and Frank Agnello, sons of Victoria Gotti — were featured in A&E’s “Growing Up Gotti.” After delays, the feature “Gotti: In the Shadow of My Father,” is to shoot this fall, sources say. The script is by James Toback. John Travolta and Al Pacino are starring, and Lindsay Lohan has been rumored to be in the mix." Related links: Cosa Nostra News: Gotti biopic 'coming together' Cosa Nostra News: Update: Gotti Biopic Obtains Backing of a ... Cosa Nostra News: It's Official: Gotti Biopic Put 'on Hold' Cosa Nostra News: Gotti Biopic Sinking Due to Lack of Funding?

Five alleged mobsters -- including Luigi "Baby Shacks" Manocchio -- accused of terrorizing and extorting protection payments from strip clubs around Providence , Rhode Island , have agreed to plead guilty to federal racketeering charges, officials said on Thursday, Reuters reports. Two others are going to stand trial, and an eighth defendant already plead guilty and was sentenced to 30 months; he admitted he was part of the mafia, which probably is why his sentence was so lenient; the other five men can be sentenced for up to two decades in prison. Luigi “Baby Shacks” Manocchio (AP) Plea deals were reached with the accused former godfather of the New England mafia, Manocchio, 84; capo Edward "Leddy" Lato, 64; and associate Alfred "Chippy" Scivola, 70, Peter Neronha, U.S. Attorney for Rhode Island, says in a statement. Two other men, Richard Bonafiglia, 58, and Raymond R. Jenkins, 47, have also agreed to plead guilty in the case, authorities ...

Boston.com : "Federal prosecutors say a 75-year-old Manchester man charged in a probe of illegal prescription drug trafficking is a "made member" of the mafia who had a large arsenal of explosives, guns and other weapons at his home. Federal agents say they searched Robert Gentile's home on Friday in the drug investigation and found sticks of dynamite, several guns, ammunition, homemade silencers and brass knuckles. Gentile and an associate, 75-year-old Andrew Parente of Hartford, were charged after the search with illegal possession and distribution of prescription painkillers including Oxycontin and Percocet. A federal magistrate judge in Hartford on Tuesday called Gentile a danger to society and ordered him detained without bail. Prosecutors say Gentile is a member of a Philadelphia crime family. His lawyer denies the mob allegation."

Reputed acting Bonanno street boss "Vinny TV" Badalamenti. A bail hearing for the reputed Mafia boss known as “Vinny TV” degenerated into a raucous episode that would have been home on the “ Jerry Springer Show ” Monday, reports the New York Daily News . Vincent Badalamenti remained in jail when it was all over, but seemed to enjoy his lawyer Ronald Fischetti ’s ferocious jabs at the government. “I don’t know where U.S. attorneys come from today, this is ridiculous,” Fischetti said over a claim that Badalamenti had weighed going on the lam. The racketeering case had already veered into the bizarre because the main cooperating witness — Bonanno turncoat Hector Pagan — is the ex-husband of “Mob Wives” reality show star Renee Graziano . Vinny TV, who is actually the reputed acting street boss of New York’s Bonanno crime family, had reportedly dispatched three tough guys to “chat” with a reality-show mobster who failed to pay back a $5,000 l...

Meyer Lansky, who was never as powerful has history contends, was brought in to run some mob- owned casinos based in his  experience at running casinos in Havana and elsewhere. From 8 NewsNow.com,  TIMELINE: Mob Hits in Las Vegas : Although the state legalized gambling in 1931 it wasn't until a decade later, when mobsters Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel and Meyer Lansky rolled into town, that organized crime took root in Las Vegas. Here are many of the seminal events that helped Las Vegas establish its mob connections. 1946 -- Siegel, an associate of the Genovese crime family, opened the Flamingo hotel with financial backing from Lansky. The following year Siegel was shot to death in his girlfriend's home in Beverly Hills, Calif. 1950 -- Tennessee Sen. Estes Kefauver, heading a Senate committee investigating organized crime, conducted a hearing in Las Vegas. Among those who gave testimony was Clark County Alderman Moe Sedway, an associate of Lansky and t...

ABC’s 20/20: Sins of the Father -- "Mob Wives" star Karen Gravano, daughter of Sammy “Bull” Gravano, discusses life with dad. Her book Mob Daughter is due in bookstores today, Valentine's Day. video platform video management video solutions video player Ms. Gravano, in part of her layout in 'Mob Candy' magazine, the one with Renee on the cover (it is actually available with four covers, one of which is Karen herself). From Amazon, the book you have been waiting for -- or not: Mob Daughter: The Mafia, Sammy "The Bull" Gravano, and Me!

From  Hollywoodlife.com: Are the Mob Wives teams about to be compromised? During the Feb. 12 episode, Karen Gravano ‘s allies Renee Graziano and Ramona Rizzo get into a massive, verbal blowout that leaves Renee in tears. “You wanted to make peace, I’m willing to make peace,” Ramona tells Renee during a preview video. But Renee can’t get it out of her mind what Carla Facciolo and Drita D’avanzo told her about the rumors that Ramona was allegedly spreading about her. “I’m trying my hardest not to express what’s really on my mind about Ramona saying Junior [Pagan] married me for my father,” she confesses to the cameras. “I don’t know how much longer I can hold my tongue.”... Read rest of article: Mob Wives Renee Graziano Feels Disloyal To Karen Gravano, Ramona Rizzo Preview video of tonight's episode: Get More: Mob Wives (Season 2)

A book review by  Al Lewis for MarketWatch : When Malcolm Kushner didn’t call me back right away, I was afraid he’d been whacked. I didn’t think it was such a good idea when Kushner came out with his mafia joke book earlier this month, telling hilarious tales of “Not so wise guys” and “dumbfellas.” Some of his jokes go like this: “Why was the stupid hit man hospitalized? He was sent to blow up a car and burned his lips on the tailpipe.” Kushner, 59, is quick to note that this isn’t really a mafia joke book. It’s a mob humor book. No disrespect intended. Author Malcolm K ushner pokes fun at the mob.  It includes a compendium of mobster movies going back to the 1930s. And it features real-life headlines, like this one from a 2003 New York Post story about a mob boss gunned down because he was gay: “Mobster Sleeps with the Swishes.” Lucky for Kushner, at least some mobsters have a sense of humor. Former Gambino family associate Louis Ferrante contributed...

The day after "Mob Wives" debuts and the big brawl that followed the premiere last night in New York sent at least one person to the hospital, and one of the new cast members was in court watching Federal Judge Sandra Townes sentence her husband Edward "Tall Guy" Garofalo to seven years in prison for murder conspiracy, extortion and witness tampering. (We still say we have information that the couple has split up; we wonder if perhaps they got back together for dramatic purposes for "Mob Wives" -- the incentive being the paycheck they are both earning for being on the show.) Next month the judge will sentence Alicia DiMichele, 40, for embezzling union funds from a trucking company she and her husband once owned. The figure has been placed at $40,000. Alicia was actually arrested over these charges and has already plead guilty to the embezzlement charge. “I’ve already plead guilty to embezzlement last year, so I’m actually just waiting for the judge to se...

Here is the first post I ever wrote for this site; I in fact created this site to have a place to put it! Despite my obvious criticism of writer Philip Carlo, who sadly died of a horrible disease, I still love his work and have read all his books... Add caption I recently read a hardcover book by organized-crime specialist scribe Philip Carlo about Anthony Gaspipe Casso, a fascinating, psychotic Luchese mobster, who I think is the first mobster in history to flip for the police, then flip back, only once you flip, you really can't flip back. So he is a mafiosi who was thrown out of the mob for deciding to turn state's evidence, only the state decided the evidence he provided wasn't strong enough to outweigh his crimes, which included the torture/murders of a lot of people.

I'll admit it, I was addicted to Mafia Wars a few years back when it first rolled out onto Facebook. I loved it! Not enough to spend money like those jackasses you'll read about below, but I played it every free moment. I grew a crime family that was over a thousand strong. I always took on "hits," not so much for the "cash" (think of it as Monopoly money -- or better yet, Mafia money, worthless outside the game) but to up my kill stats. I relentlessly robbed everyone I could, too. I kept earning fortunes, then rolling them over to upgrade my weapons, armor and real estate. I must've had a massive fleet of every kind of vehicle you could imagine at my disposal.  Soon, everyone was giving me high level posts in their families and I was a "virtual" mob boss  sitting on an empire, my stats at such eye-popping levels, no one was strong enough to kill me or rob me. Members of my family, newer at the game or not very good players would come to me ...

Marlborough diamond thieves Scalise (far left) and Rachel are now 73; Chicago Tribune-MCT-Landov  From The Daily Beast : At a time when even Mafia bosses turn informant, two slippery-fingered septuagenarians from Chicago are proving as rare as the famed diamond they stole more than three decades ago. Back when Joseph “Jerry” Scalise and Arthur “the Genius” Rachel were nabbed for heisting the Marlborough diamond from ritzy Graff jewelers in London, they refused to give up the 45-carat stone. They shunned all offers of leniency during 13 hard years in a British prison, and the owners never recovered the $980,000 jewel. “If Lloyd’s [of London] wanted to pay enough money, maybe they could,” Scalise joked. In 1993, Scalise and Rachel returned to a life of crime in Chicago, unchanged save for a slight Irish brogue from their years with IRA prisoners. But the underworld had become a place where everybody was turning rat—including the son and brother of mob capo Frank C...

"Old Friends, New Archenemies" ( Ep. 205 ) from Mob Wives 2 | Full Episode | VH1.com : VHI.com keeps copies of all "Mob Wives" episodes -- among other shows -- on its website, so if you miss an episode or want to watch one again, you can by simply going to the site and finding the one you want to watch. Since there was no episode tonight -- I don't know why -- I am attaching the video of the complete show from last week to compensate any "Wives" junkies who need a quick fix... check it out: Mob Wives (Season 2)

" Renee Graziano dishes up the dirt on Power 105.1 radio. Renee, riding out her celebrity (you go, girl!), seems to be all over the place these days, doing photo shoots or interviews with print/online sites and on radio. VH1.com highlights a recent radio interview Renee did with the Breakfast Club , where she discussed a range of subjects, including her plastic surgery nightmare, her connection to Drita D’Avanzo’s husband Lee, and for the first time, offered some insight into the latest with ex-husband Junior Pagan , who was exposed as working undercover for a unique team of DEA/FBI agents. Pagan helped put Renee's father back in jail by putting on his own radio show -- for the government, with Renee's father the unwitting guest star.

Ever hear of the Blogger News Network ? Neither have I, but I came across the website when a story it was running caught my eye, namely  FBI Busts 5 Bonanno Crime Family Members, Plus A Gambino . The News said this guy was Hector Pagan. He's not. I viewed a pic that named him Vinny TV. I named him that in the caption. A reader straightened me out, pointedly telling me I was wrong. So who the hell is this guy? ( April, 2017 : This isn't a story I'd bother writing these days but back then it was the "passion to blog" that fueled me. This is the kind of story that allowed me to build whatever traction I have these days....) It represents much of what's wrong with how the media covers the Mafia today.

TG Graziano One cover story has collapsed, but another one may be in place. [Or perhaps speculating on the machinations of a reality TV show that blurs the line between La Cosa Nostra, a members'-only secret society built on stealing money, and the rest of the world is a fool's game.] I just don't know -- but I do know that I dig immersing myself in this stuff and writing about it. Patrick Parrotta, TG Graziano’s attorney, recently gave an interview outside the courthouse, insisting everything was fine between Graziano and his Mob Wives daughters, daughter Renee's comments on the show, which was filmed last year, notwithstanding. While Renee stars in the show, it is the brainchild of sister Jennifer. Parrotta stated, “[TG] does not hold what Hector did against his daughters.” His lawyer further asserted that any animosity Graziano may have had about VH1′s hit show is in the past. “There’s no estrangement, everybody’s talking,” Parrotta said. This po...