Cosa Nostra News

US attorney (& Co.) reveals more news about NE mob boss DiNunzio; the guy in middle seems to have other things on the brain at the moment. Reputed mob boss DiNunzio showed tough side to member of New York's Gambino crime family - The Boston Globe : The man owed him money, tens of thousands of dollars for the purchase of his cheese shop in the North End, and Anthony DiNunzio was furious and wanted to send a message. RELATED 4/25: Feds charge DiNunzio, alleged mob boss VIDEO  Anthony DiNunzio is identified as New England mob boss “So I grabbed him,’’ DiNunzio, the reputed boss of the New England Mafia, allegedly told an associate last December. “Twenty-five [thousand dollars] comes to me.’’ DiNunzio’s associate, a senior member of the Gambino family, was sympathetic. And he responded, “He’s going to pay the twenty-five.’’ “Oh, yeah,’’ DiNunzio said, laughing and insinuating that if the payment wasn’t made, “I’ll kill hi...

Reputed Mafia consigliere agrees to “global” plea deal: lawyer - NYPOST.com : "The Gambino crime family’s reputed consigliere has agreed to settle all remaining charges against a group of mobsters busted last year, a lawyer revealed yesterday. Joseph “Jo Jo” Corozzo and four co-defendants struck the “global” agreement late last Friday, lawyer Bruno Gioffre Jr. told a judge in Manhattan federal court. Gioffre’s client, high-school dropout Sean Dunn, pleaded guilty to selling marijuana for the Mafia in exchange for a recommended sentence of up to seven-plus years in prison. Neither Corozzo’s lawyers nor the Manhattan US Attorney’s Office would detail the pending deal."

The FBI has been forced to release more records about its decades-long agreement with Colombo capo Gregory Scarpa Sr., one of its highest-level Mafia informants, a federal judge has ruled. Scarpa expert Angela Clemente started the process leading up to this latest development years ago. Among her goals is locating evidence of illicit acts by the FBI agent handling Scarpa, as well as helping clear the name of shafted NYPD detective Joe Simone. Formulated after Scarpa found himself arrested back in the early 1960s (J. Edgar himself is said to have approved the agreement), the deal between the Feds and Scarpa had been an uneven one, law enforcement sources have told me. One quipped: “The Feds didn’t flip Scarpa, he flipped them.”

The alleged acting head of the New England mob was arrested Wednesday, and in a federal court appearance in Providence, R.I., later in the day, he pleaded not guilty to multiple counts including racketeering and conspiracy.         Anthony DiNunzio, acting boss of the New England mob, was arrested. "In a colorful indictment returned Tuesday and unsealed Wednesday, federal prosecutors allege that the man, Anthony DiNunzio, 53, became the acting boss of New England’s Cosa Nostra crime family in late 2009 and oversaw the organization’s extortion of Rhode Island strip clubs and other such businesses, demanding payments of $2,000 to $6,000 per month," reports the New York Times . “Our indictment alleges that Mr. DiNunzio was an unscrupulous and intimidating leader of the New England L.C.N.,” said James Trusty, the head of the Justice Department’s organized crime unit, during a news conference. "According to the indictment, Mr. DiNunzio was recorde...

From masslive.com , we can read an article about the latest happenings in the ongoing Mafia murder trial now under way in New York City -- and it's not the one the aged, ill former Colombo boss is fighting through, though the last we've heard is Gioeli stopped leaving his cell -- an effort to stop the inevitable? Longmeadow loan shark Emilio Fusco , a member of the Springfield faction of New York's Genovese crime family, is on trial in Manhattan for the murder of rival mobster Adolfo "Big Al" Bruno , among other things, including a second murder. The prosecution in the Mafia murder trial "paraded its second self-confessed killer to the witness stand on Tuesday," masslive.com reports. Fusco hired a hit man in each of the murders he allegedly brought about. Frankie Roche , admitted hitman in the 2003 contract killing of Springfield mob boss Bruno , "coolly told jurors of a criminal history that began when he was a boy in Westfield, Mass., with ...

Gioeli's plan to have his cousin testify on his behalf backfired in the former mob boss's face. A key witness meant to testify on behalf of accused murderer Thomas "Tommy Shots" Gioeli caused a a stir in the courtroom when, on cross examination, he claimed that the former Colombo boss approved a killing. Thomas McLaughlin, a cousin to Gioeli, told Brooklyn federal court that Gioeli had approved the 1991 revenge killing of Frank "Chestnut" Marasa, The New York Post reported. He was shot to death in front of his Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, home on June 12, 1991. Gioeli lawyer Adam Perlmutter asked what role he, McLaughlin, had played in Marasa’s killing; the witness said he had driven Richie Greaves and Dino Calabro to the scene "where Greaves and Calabro fatally shot Marasa." Under cross-examination, McLaughlin revealed that, right before the killing, Calabro told him that Gioeli had approved the hit and the men assigned to it. Gioeli a...

Ministry founder Glenn Hovater From the  New York Daily News : Meet the Godfellas. In previous incarnations, mob rats Joe Campanella and William Cutolo Jr. were entrenched in the Colombo crime family. Now they want deliverance from evil - as "ministers" in a flock of mob misfits known as Goodfellas4God. "There are people who want to get out of that life and they talk to me," said ministry founder Glenn Hovater, a former pest control inspector who runs the operation from donated offices in Painesville, Ohio. Hovater started the group two years ago; most members are ex-wiseguys from Cleveland and Pennsylvania. A retired NYPD detective introduced him to Campanella; he and Cutolo Jr. are the only New Yorkers. Hovater will send Campanella, a former made man and Cutolo Jr., son of underboss Wild Bill Cutolo, on speaking tours to rail against "the life." Neither Mafia rat is in the witness protection program, so special security arrangements will be made to...

The below audio clip is taken from  Blog Talk Radio . Linda Scarpa is the daughter of deceased Colombo crime family capo Greg Scarpa, aka "The Grim Reaper." She has appeared in a season-one episode of the series "I Married a Mobster" and has suffered more than any person should ever have to suffer in a lifetime. In the space of 10 months, her father died of complications caused by AIDs, which he got through a blood transfusion. Her brother was shot twice in the head. Ms. Scarpa is also currently working on a book -- her life story, the foundation of which was growing up as the daughter of a high-profile gangster and an extremely complicated man of seemingly great contradictions, who lived in a subculture of our society that has more in common with much earlier centuries. Read this article  for a glimpse of the rarely seen side of the man, who was not a typical Mafioso by any means. Greg Scarpa, master manipulator, mafioso and civil rights...

Tina Franzese, wife of infamous Colombo mobster John "Sonny" Franzese, died on Easter Sunday. She was 77. I knew Mrs. Franzese, had hours-long conversations with her when I did a story on Sonny. More to come. Related Posts Missing Letter Describes Fate of Franzese Surveillance Records from Storied Bank Robbery Trial ' Nothing Personal' Debuts with Story of Larry  'Champagne'  Carrozza Hit

This is a picture of Salvatore, but not Maranzano.  Salvatore Messina. Author David Critchley, Ph.D., made a compelling argument in an Informer article that the picture above, widely viewed for many decades as being a photograph of Salvatore Maranzano, is not actually him. "An apparent photograph of 'Salvatore Maranzano' has appeared in varied venues, ranging from books to the Internet. What those who print it fail to mention [Ed. Note: I'd say they fail to mention because they fail to know!] is that it's not of Maranzano at all. The mistake made is a classic case of the much broader problem of inaccuracies plaguing accounts of the American Mafia, which spread myths and misunderstandings." The history of the American Mafia is riddled with more holes than a 1920's-era Ford in Chicago during the Capone years. But this one about Maranzano likely has thrown quite a few of you for a loop....

Gosling kicked ass in "Driver"; pushing his flick back for Ben Affleck is just the kind of thing a stuffed Hollywood shirt would do. From  Just Jared : Ryan Gosling , the 31-year-old actor, is starring in "The Gangster Squad," a chronicle of the LAPD’s fight to keep East Coast Mafia types out of Los Angeles in the 1940s and 50s, which will be moving from its planned October 12 release date. Warner Bros. Pictures has decided to move the Ben Affleck film Argo to that date and will push The Gangster Squad to a later date to avoid competition, according to Deadline . "The Gangster Squad" also stars Emma Stone , Sean Penn , and Josh Brolin .

From  NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth : The agent who oversaw the largest Mafia bust in FBI history was named Monday as the new special agent in charge of the bureau’s Dallas office. Diego Rodriguez, who joined the FBI in 1990, replaces Robert Casey, who is retiring on April 30. In New York, Rodriguez now supervises the criminal division, where he has overseen cases involving public corruption, violent gangs and financial crimes. In January 2011, more than 800 agents fanned out across the Northeast and rounded up more than 100 accused mobsters on charges ranging from murder to loan sharking. News reports in New York also indicate Rodriguez has sometimes used creative methods to go after wrongdoing -- even pleading with criminals to turn themselves in. Read full story:  FBI Announces New Head of Dallas Office Read Related Post Cosa Nostra News: USDOJ: Indictments from the 'Big LCN Bust' Last January

Phoenix Arts - Jackalope Ranch : When mob heiress Karen Gravano was in her late teens, her father Salvatore "Sammy The Bull" Gravano , who was second in command in the Gambino crime family, became an FBI informant and fed juicy bits of mafia info to hungry agents that eventually took down boss John Gotti. And apart from Gravano's own brushes with the law (including involvement in her dad's Arizona ecstasy ring , for which he's now serving time in Colorado and Karen was put on probation), that scandal is what has defined her. And much like her father gave up mob secrets, Gravano gives up her own in her new memoir Mob Daughter. Not that Gravano is a stranger to putting the spotlight on her family and its history. Quite the contrary: Gravano is currently starring in the second season of Vh1's Mob Wives, a "Family"-friendly reality program that seems destined for a third season. In the vein of other spousal shows like Bravo's Real Housewive...

NYPOST.com : "A Long Island bowling alley gave new meaning to “family” fun when a mob boss turned it into his criminal hangout. Columbo crime-family street boss Thomas “Tommy Shots” Gioeli set up shop at the County Line Bowling Center near his Farmingdale home because he wanted the sounds of falling pins and screaming kids to mask his underworld conversations from the prying ears of federal agents, according to testimony at his ongoing mob-slay trial in Brooklyn federal court." Read full article:  Colombo mobster used noisy bowling alley as a hangout to keep the feds from listening in

Bonanno boss 'Vinny TV' copped to a deal, faces two years. "The boss of the Bonanno crime family will plead guilty Monday to a felony charge, preventing his former mob associate from testifying against him," reports  NY Daily News . "Vincent (Vinny TV) Badalamenti and many of his Bonanno cohorts were indicted for racketeering earlier this year, largely due to secret recordings made by turncoat Hector Pagan , the ex-husband of “Mob Wives” star Rene Graziano ." Although Badalamenti’s lawyer wanted to go to trial, prosecutors offered to drop the racketeering and extortion charges, the article reports, meaning Badalamenti will plead guilty to the nonviolent collection of an unlawful debt, his lawyer tells the News. "Badalamenti faces about two years in prison, far less than the 10 years he could have gotten if convicted after a trial. When he’s sprung, he can return to running his Brooklyn bagel shop," the story reports. "The feds had a...

From the website  http://www.makemyfamilytree.com  there is a posted piece titled  Ramona Rizzo Family Tree Biography  where is written: "The new addition to the VHI Mob Wives cast sheds a spotlight on the Ramona Rizzo family. Born into a connected Italian mafia family, Ramona Rizzo led a colorful life from childhood to her dramatic marriage to a man of Arabian descent. In the late 1990s, Al Pacino portrayed her grandfather Benjamin Lefty Ruggiero in the film, Donnie Broscoe, that dramatizes her family problems telling the story of how an undercover FBI agent infultrated the mafia through his connection with her family. While the men in the family walked the mafia walk, the women pursued businesses in fashion, confections, and more. Now, Ramona Danielle Rizzo enters the business of reality television acting as wing woman for original Mob Wife cast member, Karen Gravano while she battles her nemisis, Drita DaVanzo." Click the link if you're interested in Ramona...

All About The Real Housewives  provides some insights gained from the above interview that "Mob Wives" star Ramona Rizzo gave to Hot 97. Ramona of course reminds us again, who her grandfather is, and you already know that unless you've been hiding under a rock the past six months or so. She also admits that her family is the "real deal," which we already knew via this post  Cosa Nostra News: AllAboutTRH Blog: ‘Mob Wives’ Ramona Rizzo’s Dad a Gambino Capo? , among other stories on the 'Net. They will never be on the show, she explains, noting that they disapprove of the show, which is quote shocking. Not. Let's get to the juicy stuff: "When asked if the feud between Drita and her [was for] real. She says it’s 'so real' and adds, 'I’m not into being a fraud. I don’t wear anything fake so why would I be fake.' Great comparison, Ramona LOL." The site is obviously alluding to previous lies that All About has caught her ...

The usually depressed and angst-ridden Renee caught in a rare, toothy smile. Page Six of the  NYPOST.com  reports that “Mob Wives” star Renee Graziano’s Staten Island home "was the site of an attempted robbery this week," according to sources who spoke with the New York tabloid. "A rep for Graziano confirmed that her house alarm was set off and police arrived to find some 'open windows.'" The reality star is the daughter of a major Bonanno big shot, T.G. Graziano, who was arrested when her ex-husband, Hector "Junior" Pagan, flipped for the Feds. Renee's rep told the NYPOST.com that "nothing was taken and no intruders were found inside. 'Everything’s fine. The police came. She’s worried to the degree that anyone would be [in this situation],' the rep said." We are not conspiracy theorists by any stretch, but a few terms did cross our mind when reading this story, among them: "FBI" and "black-bag ops....

Photo Credit:  Dimitrios Kambouris/ Getty Images Wetpaint.com  is reporting that Angela “Big Ang” Raoila   will soon be the star of her own reality television show. Wetpaint Entertainment, owner of Wetpaint.com, reports: "[We] can exclusively confirm that the larger-than-life reality moll is getting her own spin-off series..." However, further down in the story, we learn that this breaking news is based on a "deal" that is "in the works," and that nothing "has been signed" -- never good signs. The mob moll broke onto the national stage via a supporting "role" in "Mob Wives" season two. A big-breasted lively gal with Cosa Nostra in her soul, she has the street credibility usually found in Mafiosi. Big Ang is a convicted felon caught repeatedly selling cocaine during the course of an undercover DEA probe targeting a mob-tied drug ring operating in New York City, The Smoking Gun reported. Big Ang was one of 15 defendants i...

From  Canada.com: Former Montreal mob boss Vito Rizzuto to leave U.S. prison in six months. In less than six months Vito Rizzuto, a man described in the past as ``the Godfather'' of the Mafia in Montreal, is expected to return to a city whose underworld has undergone a seismic change in his absence. After serving five years in a U.S. prison, Rizzuto, 66, is expected to re-enter Canada a free man. And experts predict 2012 will be another tumultuous year for organized crime in Montreal, as the once untouchable criminal family Rizzuto headed moves to reassert its dominance against a shadowy enemy that has decimated its ranks. The detention part of the sentence Rizzuto received in 2007 for his role in a plot to kill three mafia captains in 1981 - part of an internal struggle within the Bonanno crime family in New York - is expected to end on Oct. 6. When Rizzuto pleaded guilty to a racketeering charge in 2007 that encapsulated the three murd...

In today's coverage of the ongoing trial of former Colombo boss "Tommy Shots" Gioeli, there was an interesting nugget about "Goumba Johnny," a Brooklyn-based former-deejay now-talk show host. From The NY Daily News : Capo Dino (Big Dino) Calabro and soldier Joseph ( Joey Caves ) Competiello joined Gioeli in discussing whether they should "tune up radio disc jockey Goumba Johnny for getting “fresh” with another Gioeli daughter, Competiello said. "Competiello and Calabro were in a Queens restaurant when Gioeli called to tell them the deejay could be found at Club Mirage in Farmingdale, L.I. They raced out east, but their prey had already left, Competiello recalled. "Goumba Johnny, an ex-bouncer whose real name is John Sialiano , did not return a call seeking comment. The former record spinner at WKTU now does an afternoon show at a Long Island radio station." Read complete article here: Mob rat testifies Colombo boss Tommy Shots &...

'Mob Wives: Chicago' began shooting months ago and is set to premiere early this summer. From  Forest Leaves , a Chicago Sun-Times publication, we learn that "Mob Wives: Chicago," which revolves around five women who were either married to or are relatives of members of “The Outfit,” has been shooting since December. Read on,  ‘Mob Wives’ in Elmwood Park stirs debate : When the VH-1 reality television show “Mob Wives” premieres this June, it will include a stop in Elmwood Park. But some Italian-Americans will not be greeting it with open arms. “Mob Wives: Chicago” has been shooting since December in the Chicago area. One scene takes place inside Baciami! Restaurant and Bar, 18 W. Conti Parkway, in Elmwood Park. Previously filmed in New York and New Jersey, the new season of “Mob Wives” revolves around five women who were either married to or are relatives of members of the legendary Chicago mob group “The Outfit.” But some Italian-Americans are not happ...

From the  Forward.com  we get a glimpse of t he National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, in Las Vegas, which opened this year and is considered "an American Jewish history museum by another name." I happen to be reading "Tough Jews," by Rich Cohen, and it is a great read. Quick factoid: One other thing Cosa Nostra can thank Arnold Rothstein for is the right to plead the Fifth, to not incriminate oneself. Rothstein's lawyer actually developed the defense, but Rothstein put him in the proper frame of mind conducive to such out-of-the-box thinking for that time. In the mid-20th century, a cadre of tough Jews, shedding the bookish bearing of exile, went forth to create a new society in a forbidding desert. Armed to the teeth, they lived outside the law and built their outpost by any means necessary. Against all odds, despite implacable enemies, the desert bloomed.  --Meyer Lansky National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement   Think y...

A slow news day is all we can figure for this excuse of a story by the NYTimes.com regarding "Mob Wives." The excerpt below is probably the only segment worth reading: "... The big question about the characters on this show (unlike, say, those “Housewives,” and the various jewelry, fragrance, clothing-line and book projects they aggressively promote while sipping cocktails and back-stabbing their friends) is why do it? It is one thing to have a camera show you on a safari to Africa, a recent plot point of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” and another to show you sharing a newspaper headline with a bartender about the mob bust that just ensnared your ex-husband. "The answer may be as simple as the sheer need to make a living: Ms. D’avanzo, who said she is starting a cosmetics line, recalled explaining to her parents (who were opposed to her doing the show) that reality stars go on to other opportunities. “Everyone is under the assumption in this lifestyle you h...