Cosa Nostra News

Surveillance photo of Joe Waverly Joel "Joe Waverly" Cacace, a high-level Colombo mobster who still carries lead in his chest from previous gunfights, has been acquitted of ordering the killing of an NYPD officer who married the Mafioso's ex-wife. A jury took only four hours to reach their verdict clearing Cacace of murder in aid of racketeering in the killing of Police Officer Ralph Dols, who was shot to death in 1997 outside his home in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. The verdict was reached yesterday, Nov. 26. Last year, Colombo gangster Thomas "Tommy Shots" Gioeli was acquitted of carrying out Cacace's alleged order, along with Dino Saracino. Cacace, 72, didn't walk out of the courtroom a free man following his acquittal as he is in the process of serving a 20-year sentence for racketeering after admitting to carrying out a hit on a federal prosecutor. He is not due to be released from prison until 2020 when he will be close to 80.

Wonder if the mob reads Thomas Harris... they either stole this from the third Hannibal Lecter novel, or Harris stole it from them, though he seemed to associate this peculiar ritual to the island of Sardinia... I kind of doubt this has anything to do with Harris. Man-eating pigs , I hadn't realized, are not as uncommon as you may think, even in the U.S. Italian mafia fed man alive to pigs, police say - ChicagoTribune.com : ROME (Reuters) - A group of Calabrian mafia assassins beat a rival with a spade and fed him alive to pigs, Italian police said after rounding up 20 people for various mob crimes including five murders.

To all my readers, no matter which side of the law you're on, I want to wish all of you a happy Thanksgiving! Can't believe Christmas is upon us already and writing "2013" finally stopped looking weird to me; before I know it I will have to get used to writing 2014... Don't eat too much turkey and what do you all say we try to do a good deed each day. All of us are capable of this, even FBI agents and mob bosses! Remember: Pay it forward! I hated the movie, but love the phrase....

Anastasia whacked by Gambino drug dealers--not Persico/Gallo faction. Albert Anastasia (Umberto Anastasio, Sept. 26, 1902 – Oct. 25, 1957) was one of the most ruthless and feared Cosa Nostra mobsters in U.S. history, bar none. A co-founder of LCN, Anastasia during the pre-war years ran Murder Inc., a group of primarily Jewish hit men always on call. He was boss of what became the Gambino crime family in 1957, having killed his boss, Vincent Mangano. Anastasia's own execution in a midtown barbershop is one of the most spectacular mob hits ever. It was the most high-profile "hit" since the big mob war of the 1930s. And Carmine "the Snake" Persico and the Gallo brothers had nothing to do with it. One source told Cosa Nostra News : "Joey Gallo went around after the Anastasia hit telling people to call he and his pals the 'Barbershop Quartet.' That means nothing. I have had guys intimate to me that they clipped a certain guy, when I knew for

From YouTube : "The very first reality mob convention in Las Vegas. A small tribute to those who participated in this year's first annual reunion for those of us who celebrated back in the day": Susan Ferritto is a good friend of ours and we want to take a minute to thank her for all the help she has given us behind the scenes, setting up interviews, getting us tickets to the Vegas convention which we ultimately couldn't attend because of work, and finding hot topics for us to report on and write about. You will see new stories we're working on in the weeks and months ahead....  Susan, you're one classy lady. And a looker too. Ray Ferritto may have been a "big bad Mafioso hitman," but he sure as hell wasn't all bad if he was smart enough to marry you! [And if he were still here, we sure as hell wouldn't have said this out loud -- especially the "looker" part!] We still wish he was here -- no disrespect intended

Bensonhurst native Marco Manfre , who marked his 2013 debut on Cosa Nostra News with this story, is the author of two books, Returning to the Lion’s Den: Life in an Organized Crime Family and The Outcast Prophet of Bensonhurst , both of which are set in the Brooklyn borough of his childhood, based on people who defined that place and time for him. At the time of the 50th anniversary of the JFK assassination I was glad Marco sent this. I always found it interesting that the mob's involvement in one of the most infamous "hits" in history has always been a given for G. Robert Blakey , the main drafter of the RICO act and self-proclaimed smarty pants who named it after Hollywood gangster  Caesar Enrico "Rico" Bandello (played by Edward G. Robinson) in "Little Caesar."

"Mob Wives" Expand for New Season: Watch Here! | Celebrity-gossip.net : Returning with a whole new batch of drama, "Mob Wives" season four debuts on VH1 next month. Veterans Renee Graziano, Drita D’Avanzo, and Big Ang are back, but a couple of new ladies will shake things up.

William "Wild Bill" Cutolo, Colombo under- boss, slain by the family's administration for being too powerful. And our next writer on Cosa Nostra News is none other than Tommy "Shots" Gioeli! No, not really -- we are linking to a story he recently wrote on his blog, which his daughter controls for him, in which Gioeli claims William " Wild Bill" Cutolo was behind the slaying of NYPD officer Ralph Dols, not Joe Waverly Cacace as charged. He further says Dino Calabro and Joe Competillo were the ones who really whacked Wild Bill, not the poor innocents sitting in prison for life. (We don't believe any of Gioeli's fanciful-sounding theories, by the way.) "[Gioeli] is accusing a guy [Cutolo] who Gioeli himself killed, of killing a cop," one former NYPD detective who worked OC and is familiar with all the players told Cosa Nostra News in an exclusive interview. "Gioeli should be an attorney." [We heard a Colombo w

Jimmy Calandra, left, Johnny Alite. They may be out of the life but they still enjoy the lifestyle. Jimmy Calandra and Johnny Alite were recently in Las Vegas bellying up to the tables. They both did good, especially Alite -- who won 75 large, we were told. Jimmy sent us the pic of the two of them near a major casino on the strip; we thank him for thinking of us. [I finally got my partner to watermark the pic; kudos to whoever was able to steal it beforehand!] The two former gangsters are friends -- and gambling is obviously among their interests. Something else they have in common is helping young people and others get out of, or avoid, the criminal lifestyle, whether it's the mob or a street gang. They each give talks about the life in front of church groups, colleges and other associations. Calandra and Alite are both available to talk about their days in the mob living lifestyles that most of us wouldn't be able to imagine; any groups interested,

Kinda ridiculous what Ramona Rizzo seems to be doing for cash since "Mob Wives" dumped her. But hey, ya gotta earn, right? So what if you're a celebrity whom almost anyone can recognize on sight.... [ Thanks to Cindy M. for this one! ] Also we hear Skinny Joey is denying what we reported last week regarding a "meeting" between the Philly mob boss and informant Chris Paciello (Christian Ludwigsen) -- Skinny Joey says that the rat didn't have the nerve to look at him, never mind threaten to break his teeth, and that Joey was the one who gave Paciello the Malochia . This is from Capeci's site, which is PPV. Also we have given some consideration to Junior's plight . Would a mob guy really use a knife? Well, one of our readers whose comments carry a lot of weight with us thinks we called this wrong when we said, no, about the knife. But now we're thinking, why not? Knives do have advantages, they are quieter and more intimate. So maybe it was Ju

Gangster Michael Meldish took a bullet to the head on Friday night in a grizzly exercise of Mafia recidivism. The killing has all the signs of a genuine, bona fide mob hit – old school all the way. Michael Meldish's good night kiss. Meldish, who se brother is currently serving time in prison, has been a notorious hitman believed to have killed more than 10 people in the two decades he spent running The Purple Gang. His reign ended on Friday night, at around 10:30 p.m. His body was found in the driver’s seat of a rusty Lincoln LS in Throgs Neck on Ellsworth Ave. “Michael was a stone-cold killer,” Joseph Coffey, former commanding officer of the NYPD’s organized crime homicide task force, told the New York Daily News, which added that Coffey had “tried for years to pin murders on Meldish…” Interesting choice of phrase. Joseph Meldish, now in prison, is alleged to have committed up to 70 contract hits. Coffey added: “We couldn’t get any witnesses. They had the p

An ex-Colombo hit man testified Thursday that he had no idea the victim he whacked on orders from his Mafia superior was an off-duty NYPD police officer. Mob snitch Dino (Big Dino) Calabro claims he was shocked the day after the 1997 killing when the murder was splashed on the front pages of the tabloids. "Whoa, what the f---, it was a cop!" Calabro said in Brooklyn Federal Court at the murder trial of Joel (Joe Waverly) Cacace. Calabro said he was part of a hit team that had been stalking Officer Ralph Dols for weeks after receiving orders from then-Colombo consigliere Cacace. Prosecutors contend Cacace wanted the cop dead because he had "dared" to marry the gangster's ex-wife Kim Kennaugh. Cacace, who was referred to as "she" by his underlings because of his long hair, had only described the victim as a Mexican who worked in a Queens social club, according to Calabro. "'She' had to know," Calabro said he fumed to alleged

"Uncle Joe" Ligambi is acting boss of the Philly mob. Philly.com: It might be considered the low-budget sequel. But reputed Philadelphia mob boss Joseph Ligambi and the federal authorities who have pursued him for 13 years both hope this time brings blockbuster results. Ligambi, known as "Uncle Joe," returned to court Thursday for his second trial in as many years on racketeering conspiracy charges. His nephew and alleged consigliere, George "Georgie Boy" Borgesi, sat by his side. Eight months ago, a federal jury deadlocked on the most serious counts against them after a marathon, four-month trial involving 12 other mob defendants. But as a new panel of 10 women and two men took up the case again, prosecutor Frank Labor cut straight to the chase. "Joe Ligambi . . . our boss," he said in his opening statement. "That was how he was introduced to a meeting of mob leaders in New Jersey in 2010."

 "Junior" Gotti reportedly was put on the shelf by the Gambino family. UPDATE Former Gambino crime family boss John A. Gotti Jr. says he was stabbed in the stomach while trying to break up a fight outside a Long Island drugstore, a law enforcement source told the Daily News. Gotti, the son of late “Dapper Don” John Gotti, told Syosset Hospital staff he took a knife to the gut on Sunday night while trying to stop two strangers from fighting in the parking lot of the CVS across from the Long Island Rail Road station in Syosset. The mob scion then made his own way to the hospital, where staffers called police because of the nature of the wound, another source said.

Charles DeLucca, our “foreign correspondent,” writes occasional stories for this blog, usually about life in organized crime in Italy; he often draws comparisons between the Camorra and the American Cosa Nostra. Life in "Il Sistema" ( La Camorra ) is depicted in a famous neapolitan song entitled "Il capoclan´." Unlike Sicilians, who see the State as the eteeeeeeeeernal enemy, we Camorristi own the State, and the State is part of our daily rackets, a part of our way of doing things. Anyway, this song starts by saying: .... " Da piccolo non ha potuto mai studiare, per sfortuna se ne andò a lavorare. Si sacrificò per mangiare la sera, volle la famiglia nella miseria...... Certo questo l'ha voluto Dio, se ora è un vero uomo di strada E se ha deciso così a chi deve dare il cuore? E' capo e sa campare e noi dobbiamo rispettarlo ." More or less, the song speaks about how poor one is when little; you can not study in school. To take your family

From  Food World News :   The Kitchen Consigliere The mob is stepping into the restaurant business. [ A mobster is, not the Mafia collectively obviously -Scarpo. ] According to The New York Daily News, former mobster, Angelo Lutz, has opened a new Mafia-themed restaurant thanks to crowd funding after he was refused a bank loan because of his criminal past. Lutz eatery " The Kitchen Consigliere " in Collingswood, N.J., uses the history of crime to build it's attraction, starting with the sign outside the eatery, which echoes the logo for "The Godfather" but with a chef's hat. A mural on one wall puts Lutz, also known as Fat Ange, at a table with famous gangsters such as John Gotti and fictional character Tony Soprano. On some nights, Lutz serves up a special he calls Joey's Pork Chops, in honor of Joseph "Skinny Joey" Merlino, the reputed Philadelphia-South Jersey mob boss.

The site's tagline: "If you know something say something." Uh-oh! But wait, hang on -- it's only in Italy... for now. Imagine if this were brought to the U.S., though? Don't worry, those of you who may have reason to worry; the concept won't work. Why? As the article itself notes: "The mafiosi themselves may be able to provide false information anonymously in order to confuse investigations." Plus, the site itself does not seem to be working -- at the moment, at least. Above is a screen shot of what the website presumably looks like when it is up and running... From the   BBC News : A new website called MafiaLeaks, which promises to protect the identities of anyone wanting to inform on the Mafia, has been launched in Italy.

URGENT REQUEST FOR ITALIAN-SPEAKERS: I need a friend who can speak Italian fluently... A story on this blog  about the Zetas and 'Ndrangheta working together, which was written and posted about two years ago, has just today gotten someone to write two of the longest comments I have seen in my history of blogging. The problem is that every word is in Italian, a language I don't speak (with any degree of fluency). I want to make sure the guy's not issuing some kind of orders on my blog. If his comments are legit, I'll leave them there. I don't need a word for word translation of it, just the gist of it, but in some detail. I'd be in your debt. Click the link above. Write in the comments section beneath this post, if you don't mind... As for the story -- which I don't even know is the cause of the comments -- it was about how the Zetas have expanded to the point where they have become a significant power in the international drug trade; and how

From SFGate : A man was sentenced to prison on Friday for his role in illegal gambling businesses that prosecutors said were controlled by a New York organized crime group. The Connecticut U.S. attorney's office said  Joseph Borea , 56, of New Canaan, was sentenced in Hartford federal court to 33 months in prison. Borea was fined $50,000 and ordered to forfeit $75,000. He was arrested last year and pleaded guilty in August to one count of conspiring to violate racketeering law.