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Showing posts from December, 2013

Manzoni's Top 10 Reasons Why I'm a Good Guy

I wish all of you -- whomever you are, wherever you are --  a very happy new year -- and here's to dedicating ourselves to realizing our potential in 2014! I liked " The Family " despite its much-lamented unevenness, as the critics kept pointing out. The fact that the film swings from comedy to violence as bloody as anything seen in movies like Goodfellas seems to have confused some--disturbed, is more likely. We all know how popular top 10 lists are this time of year; this one is as good as any. Manzoni, a former Mafioso from the U.S., is hiding out in France (didn't know WitSec was allowed to stuff criminals into neighborhoods in other countries -- turns out they can't). The film is based on a book written by a Frenchman about the U.S. mob. Only he seems to know the Sicilian mob a lot better; that is why the American Mafia in this film behaves more like its Sicilian brethren. But don't worry about that -- enjoy the clip.

Galante Hit Paved Golden Path for Rizzutos

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Vito Rizzuto in his prime. If Mafia history were taught in school, the date May 5, 1981, would be wrought with significance. That was the day of the infamous three-capo take-down in Brooklyn, when Bonanno family loyalists took on three bosses who were forming a rival faction to take control of the family. The loyalists won--and the family would continue to be run by its nominal boss, Philip Rusty Rastelli, a mostly impotent figure who held the top spot much longer than he would've liked in order to provide the true boss, Joe Massino, with cover.

"Mob Wives" Poll: Too Close to Call...

Yes (48%) No   (51%) I probably wouldn't stop covering "Mob Wives" in any event; the show is too popular. I don't "do" show recaps (some of the best I've ever read can be found here  and here , to name a couple). But when the show, in some way, shines a bright light on the inner workings of La Cosa Nostra, I try to capture it. As for the too popular comment, of my top 10 posts for the past month, half were related to "Mob Wives": Entry Leaked Court Records Expose D'Avanzo Mob Ties Bull Victim's Son Prompts 'Mob Wives' Reboot: Kare... Wanna Know Each Mob Wife's Net Worth? Read This...... Renee's Mob Candy Line: 'Everything a Mob Princess... Lee D'Avanzo, Not Tall Guy, Behind "Mob Wives" Reb...

Merry Christmas from the Mob Blog on Blogspot

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Cosa Nostra News wishes you all a belated Merry Christmas Eve/Christmas Day -- and my gift to you all is a little "mob candy"... no, I am not Renee, I am referring to mob candy of the eye candy type... My friend Miami says "happy holidays" as well.... Special video clip from Robert DeNiro coming soon....

Alleged 'Mobster' Hired Hit Men to Kill Three

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Ronald Galati Sr. We have never heard of a gangster "hiring" a hit man. Sounds like something a guy pretending to be a gangster would do....That is why we find so confusing the latest big-news Philly mob story -- that of Ronald Galati Sr., who is described as a mob associate who while under investigation for insurance fraud, hired hitmen to take out three targets. Philly's NewsWorks reported that Galati had been an associate of former Philly mob boss [Joseph 'Skinny Joey'] Merlino and had also been convicted of racketeering in the 1990s for his connection to a murder plot planned by rival mobster John Stanfa. (Is this a copy editing mistake or did Galati change his allegiance? Depends on whether "planned by" should be "planned for" -- but we digress.) SFGate reported that Galati Sr., 63, now behind bars again, has been the focus of an ongoing insurance-fraud investigation. He was arrested last week on allegations that he had hired hi

Rizzuto's Death 'Will Trigger a lot of Upheaval' - The Globe and Mail

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Rizzuto was strong enough to be a peacemaker; his successor has savvy shoes to fill. Montreal Mob boss Vito Rizzuto's death 'will trigger a lot of upheaval' - The Globe and Mail : Canada's most powerful Mafia boss, Vito Rizzuto, has died in a hospital, raising the spectre of further turf violence for control of the Montreal underworld. Mr. Rizzuto died at Sacré-CÅ“ur Hospital at 4 a.m. Monday, one of his former lawyers, Jean Salois, confirmed in an interview. Mr. Salois said the 67-year-old Mr. Rizzuto died of natural causes. Radio-Canada, which first reported the death, said Mr. Rizzuto died of lung problems." A spokeswoman for Quebec's coroner said her office had examined Mr. Rizzuto's death. "It is a death by natural causes, beyond any doubts. Therefore there will be no coroner’s investigation,” Geneviève Guilbault said. “It’s news no one was expecting,” said former RCMP organized-crime analyst Pierre De Champlain. He noted that M

Vito Rizzuto Dies; Rise in Mob Violence Likely in Canada

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> Recent photo of Vito. Thanks to Aly Isaac for YouTube video. In the end it was the banality of smoking cigarettes that got him rather than a smoking gun. Vito Rizzuto, 67, died of cancer in a local hospital, shortly before Christmas. While fighting to regain what was his -- as well as avenge the murders of his son, father, brother-in-law and other supporters -- he'd been secretly fighting lung cancer. He was found to have the disease will still in an American prison, where he was serving a six-year stretch for helping the Bonannos in the early 1980s take care of an inter-family dispute (ironically, he would later outgrow any need for ties to the New York families). While Rizzuto was away, the media wrote him off, saying the Montreal crime boss was finished. Some of his cohorts -- primarily the former Calabrians who had joined the Rizzutos after the bloody wars of 1970s Montreal -- split away and tried to retake control of the family. The most prominent man -- t

Lee D'Avanzo Cause of Mob Wives Reboot?

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Karen Gravano may have been on to something when she said someone wanted her off the show. But according to a source who spoke with Cosa Nostra News on condition of anonymity, that someone is Lee D'Avanzo , not Eddie Garofalo. Lee and Drita D'Avanzo. We wrote in a previous post  that Alicia DiMichele 's husband, Edward "Tall Guy" Garofalo, is "figuring to be a major star" in the upcoming season. This was based on a Jerry Capeci story in which Karen Gravano was the source (there were two other sources, but only Karen went on record). Karen had a theory about why Jennifer had revamped most of the cast of "Mob Wives" -- supposedly to make DiMichele and Garofalo's former marriage a centerpiece of the show. The Tall Guy has been in jail for three years and will soon head off to prison to serve his seven years  sentence . Alicia learns her fate in January, as we noted . According to Karen, it was the Tall Guy who secured his wife a

Montreal Boss Vito Rizzuto Apparently Claims Another

This one was shot to death under the noonday sun last Wednesday. Roger Valiquette Jr.'s bullet-riddled body was discovered in the parking lot of a rotisserie restaurant in the Montreal suburb of Laval, near his Mercedes SUV. Valiquette was "well-known in the Mob underworld," according to published reports. He is believed to have been part of a rival faction that had vied for control of the Rizzuto family's rackets. Running this faction had been Joseph Di Maulo, the first to die once Vito Rizzuto returned home in October 2012; he had been taken into custody by U.S. authorities in 2004 for participating in the take-down of three capos who were considered to have been conspiring to take control of the Bonanno family from Philip "Rusty" Rastelli after the storied hit on Carmine Galante . Rizzuto's father and son, along with several other associates were murdered while he was behind bars.

Rare Wiretap Audio of Whacked Gambino Boss Big Paul

We had been cruising YouTube when we came across this: audio of "Big Paul," obviously holding court. ( Thank you, Jodie980 ! Please contact me ...) I would assume these were the recordings made when the Feds wired Big Paul's "White House" on Todt Hill on Staten Island. The quality is not the greatest, but I have always wanted to hear Big Paul -- this is the first time I ever came across wiretap recordings with his voice on them. More to come...

Cleveland Gangsters Handle Media Relations 'Old School' Style

We consider ourselves part of the media, but we still enjoyed this 1982 video clip posted on YouTube in which Cleveland gangsters John Calandra and James Licavoli attack newspaper photographers as the two emerge from the courthouse following their conviction on racketeering charges. (They were allowed out on bond.) I believe Calandra (a member of boss Licavoli's inner circle) is the one in yellow strangling the woman with her own camera cord. I know that because Licavoli is the one swinging the cane at them. Here is some background from a Cleveland ABC affiliate: [It's] just after the 3:45 p.m. announcement of [Licavoli's and Calandra's] verdicts. A throng of media await the men outside the front doors of the courthouse, including WEWS reporter Paul Orlousky and WEWS videographer Bob Wilkinson. Licavoli and Calandra try to avoid the waiting media by exiting through the rear parking lot of the courthouse on Rockwell Avenue.

Colombo Underboss "Gerry Lang" Died in Prison

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Gerry Lang was serving a 65-year sentence even before the Commission Case began. Gennaro Langella, a former high-ranking member of the Colombo family, died on Sunday at the US Medical Center for Prisons in Missouri. He was 74 and still serving the 100 years he was sentenced to at the conclusion of the historical Commission Case of 1986. In death, he joins legendary mob bosses Anthony "Tony Ducks" Corallo of the Lucheses and " Fat Tony" Salerno of the Genovese clan, also given draconian prison sentences. (Though Fat Tony was only a front man for Vincent "The Chin" Gigante, he himself towered in stature and was a Cosa Nostra legend as much as Gigante.) Langella was convicted of a grab bag of mob-related crimes, but foremost among them was that he'd been in the administration of a Mafia crime family: underboss of New York’s Colombo borgata, one of the most strife-ridden families in all of the Mafia. Many Colombo members are related by b

Carlo Feared Pitera Death Threat for 'Butcher' Book

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Guy in the middle had no idea what the future held when this photograph was snapped. Philip Carlo (April 18, 1949 – November 8, 2010) wrote best-selling novels and non-fiction, focusing mainly on sociopaths, pedophiles and psychopaths. A popular, beloved writer and New York figure, he also was known for letting the occasional fact stray in his non-fiction, which spans the range from mobsters, including Thomas "Tommy Karate" Pitera , to serial killer Richard "The Night Stalker" Ramirez -- with Richard "The Ice Man" Kuklinksi falling somewhere in between. I just finished reading Carlo's final book, "The Killer Within"; he in fact died a few weeks after completing it, of the horrifying illness ALS -- better known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. Turns out, of all his subjects it was Tommy Karate who was weighing on his mind the most heavily toward the end of his life.

Camorra Clan Busted for Christmastime Poinsettia Racket

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Poinsettias are known in Italy as Christmas stars...  BBC News  reported that Italian police have arrested four alleged gangsters who had been engaged in a Christmas-related racket -- namely, the crew was allegedly forcing shop owners to buy poinsettias - known in Italy as Christmas Stars - at prices of up to 100 times wholesale. The gangsters, working in Naples, were demanding as much as 100 euros ($140) a plant for the past three holiday seasons, police say. Owners who refused had their shops vandalised. "It wasn't someone dressed like Santa Claus tapping on the doors of shop owners and businesses... Instead there were four emissaries of the Mazzarella clan," police said. The men were trying to raise funds for legal fees of jailed gang members, police said. They should have charged 300 times wholesale; arrests and wars have taken a massive toll on the Mazzarella clan, which is a shadow of its former self. The Mazzarellas are Camorra . (Charles DeLucca wri

Battle for 'Mob Candy' Brand Has Begun

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Heath Norman Wasserman holds the copyright for the brand Mobcandy (yes, one word, but it doesn't matter) in all but one of the product categories in which Renee Graziano has launched lines under the same brand name . Wasserman and Frank DiMatteo, owner/publisher of Mob Candy magazine, are partners, Cosa Nostra News has learned from DiMatteo. DiMatteo also said that two cease-and-desist letters were so far sent to Graziano regarding her use of the Mob Candy brand; to his knowledge, they were both ignored, he said. A meeting is scheduled for next week, the 23rd, DiMatteo said. Lawyers will be involved. The agenda: what to do next. Wasserman also has dibs on the Mob Candy name in many product categories in addition to the categories in which Renee has launched products -- except for jewelry, which Graziano has properly copyrighted, DiMatteo said. Wasserman, who is in the arcade machine vending business in Chicago, is planning on extending the Mob Candy brand into add

Capone Still Most Popular Mobster: American Gangsters Website

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Al "Scarface" Capone was the most un-Mafia-like boss in the  Mafia.  Alphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone (Jan. 17, 1899 – Jan. 25, 1947) is still the most popular of the American Gangsters , according to David Brooks, the proprietor of American Gangsters , a website that sells fans a range of products featuring images of famous mobsters in American history. This is based on an analysis of what Brooks sells through his website. And the general public is still primarily interested in Capone , the most popular mobster in America, and probably has been since the Roaring Twenties, as Brooks told us in a recent interview . True aficionados of the Mafia, however, are more interested in Lucky Luciano , Brooks noted.

Mafia Capo Elicits Nostalgia for San Gennaro, 'Littler Italy'

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A recent San Gennaro Feast, which will be 87 years old next year. A fashionable group of newcomers wanted to have it reduced by 50 percent... Genovese capo Conrad Ianniello, 70, who five years ago was found to be extorting vendors at the San Gennaro Feast, plead guilty to racketeering conspiracy charges, federal prosecutors said. He admitted to disrupting a Long Island company's labor union's efforts. He conspired with other alleged street guys in 2008 to "pave the way for an alleged Genovese associate, who was an official at another union, to unionize the company instead, prosecutors charge," according to SILive.com . He was caught on wiretap on April 17, 2008, thanking co-defendant and Genovese associate Ryan Ellis for delivering a message to the union not to organize the Long Island company. "You got his (expletive) attention. He called me," court papers quoted him as saying. "He says they got nasty. ... I said, 'I got your (expletive

Capeci on Tracking New York's Five Families

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Jerry Capeci enjoys lunch on the New York Times..... For me it began with Carl Kolchak, a fictional Chicago newspaper reporter played by Darren McGavin , who investigated stories that invariably lead our intrepid journalist head-on into supernatural forces that had somehow infiltrated our universe. Then it was Jerry Capeci... I voraciously read his Gangland column in print and then online. For all I knew gangsters fell into the same category as monsters and things of the night. I figure despite who my heroes were, I'd never be personally involved, never thought I'd get to know one, never mind multiple wiseguys. 

Did Someone Confuse the Tall Guy and Lee D'Avanzo?

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The Garofalos. As we reported in a previous post : Karen Gravano is claiming Edward "Tall Guy" Garofalo was a key player in putting together the cast of the latest season of "Mob Wives," which now includes his wife . Gravano also said -- you'll have to re-read the post for a full recap if you're interested as I don't feel like rewriting the damn thing-- "Apparently Jen also gets Tall Guy himself, as well. As Capeci wrote: Garofalo will be heard on the show via select tape recordings. An honest to God gangster will speak on Mob Wives! ..." We have been hearing a gangster's voice on the phone. Only it's not the Tall Guy's...

Alleged Mob Boss Gioeli on Joe Waverly's Victory

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Tommy Gioeli on Joel "Joe Waverly" Cacace's victory (at least he stopped putting the blame for the murder on Wild Bill , see story )... Alleged Mob Boss Tommy Gioeli's Voice : Congratulations In today's post I would like to congratulate my friend and onetime codefendant Joel Cacace on his justified victory over a petty, deceitful, and corrupt prosecution team led by my old nemesis, the new head of the Organized Crime Dept. for the Eastern District of New York, Elizabeth "Lizzy the Liar" Geddes.

Apalachin Finally Put the Mafia on the FBI's Radar

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About three weeks ago, we passed the 56th anniversary of the infamous meeting at Apalachin, when cops raided Joe Barbara's House. They didn't have the slightest inkling of what they were getting into -- and I refer here to the Mafia.... J. Edgar Hoover could no longer deny the existence of a national crime ring working in the U.S. He preferred chasing Communists and destroying people he didn't like. On Nov. 14, 1957, New York state police official Edgar D. Croswell noticed a suspicious number of expensive cars with out-of-state license plates converging in his small town of Apalachin.* He and his troopers began jotting down license plates. Croswell, owing to his knowledge of the mob (specifically, Carmine Galante who was in town that November day; Crosswell had arrested him previously and was well aware of who he was) knew something was up. (Croswell also had no illusions about Joseph (Joe the Barber) Barbara (a more appropriate nickname would've been J

Former Genovese Boss's Son Busted for Kiddie Porn

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Arthur "Artie" Nigro, onetime mob boss serving life; his son was found hawking kiddie porn. The New York Post is reporting that the son of imprisoned former Genovese mob boss Arthur "Artie" Nigro was busted Wednesday on kiddie porn charges in The Bronx, according to the police. Joseph Nigro, 35, was allegedly using a file sharing network to trade, store and download a mountain of sick images and videos showing children under 16 engaging in sex, sources said. After confiscating his computer, investigators analyzed the hard drive, which revealed the illegal images, sources said. Nigro confessed to the crime and was slapped with promoting and possession of sexual performance of a child. In September 2011, former acting boss of the Genovese family Arthur Nigro and two associates, Fotios Geas and Ty Geas, were sentenced to life in prison in Manhattan federal court for multiple crimes, including the 2003 murder plot against Adolfo "Big Al" Bruno.

Mobster of the Year: Vito Rizzuto Is Montreal's King of the Volcano

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Cosa Nostra News names Vito Rizzuto as Mobster of the Year, 2013. (We did this not knowing he would die about a week shy of the year's end, but considering what he achieved in the world he chose to live in--reclaiming what was his and having his enemies chased down and killed--the man certainly fit the bill. Buona fortuna, Vito...) Vito Rizzuto , continuing his ongoing vendetta against all his enemies, apparently sent a message as far away as Mexico last month, ending the life of Moreno Gallo while he was attempting to enjoy his retirement/exile from his homeland in a sun-baked beachside resort. This is one of the most recent hits allegedly ordered by Rizzuto -- but authorities are certain it is not the last. Rizzuto is back on top -- his opposition apparently wiped out. However, he is still hunting down those who turned on him, whomever they are and however far they attempt to flee. Experts say Vito is showing his Sicilian side now and likely will wait for year

'Mob City' -- Good Gangster Fare, Off to Slow Start

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From Media Life Magazine : When we think of classic gangster films, we think of their snappy dialogue, full of street poetry, and their atmospheric cinematography. But the main reason we remember the films is because they told a good story. TNT’s six-hour miniseries “Mob City,” which pays homage to those old films in every well-lit shot and well-wrought line of dialogue, forgets to grab us early with a compelling plot. Though viewers will enjoy the look and feel of the show, they could lose patience. Even at the end of the first two hours, it’s unclear whether what the characters will eventually do — as opposed to how they appear and express themselves — will be worth our time. But since the series’ creator and director, Frank Darabont, has made leisurely storytelling a virtue in such movies as “The Shawshank Redemption” and “The Green Mile” and in AMC’s series “The Walking Dead,” he probably deserves the benefit of the doubt.

The American Gangsters Website Capitalizes on a Uniquely American Genre

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As a society most people are fascinated by living a different lifestyle than they live. Whether it's a famous ballplayer, an actor or even a musician -- we all sometimes muse about living the life of another. Many of us also fantasize about being infamous mobsters--thugs, hit men and even godfathers. Whatever their station within the mob, these are men who chose this lifestyle -- and they are known as American Gangsters and they left their mark on history. Capone, Siegel, Luciano, Gotti and others lived by their own rules. Whether you’re a fan or a critic we can’t deny that their legacies have enchanted millions of us. And, they have served as examples later followed by legitimate business: The booze-running days of Prohibition brought us NASCAR as we know it today, and from the illegal gambling halls came the bright lights and casinos that today glow along the Las Vegas strip. Even the numbers rackets served as a forerunner, to today's state lotteries and scratch-of

DiMichelle To Face Tough Judge on Sentencing Day

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New mob wives Alicia, left, and Natalie. When the New York Post makes a cover story out of you visiting a courthouse to hear a judge sentence your husband to prison and focuses much of the reporting on the clothes you are wearing, you can pretty much conclude your 15 minutes have begun. It was the day after the "Mob Wives" premiere, at which at least one party goer was brought to the hospital following the major brawl that busted out  there, and Alicia DiMichele, a new star on the show, was off to attend the sentencing of her husband, reputed Colombo enforcer Edward "Tall Guy" Garofalo, Jr. , at Brooklyn Federal Court. Federal Judge Sandra Townes sentenced the mobster to seven years in prison for murder conspiracy, extortion and witness tampering. Next month the judge will sentence DiMichele, 40, for embezzling union funds from a trucking company she and her husband once owned. Like most of us would be in in her shoes, she is concerned, she told Radar

Must Read: Sonny Girard on "Mob Boss," the Al D'Arco Story

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Gaspipe reportedly wanted Little Al whacked, so Al turned. Sonny Girard is a former street guy -- retired now, he's written several fictional novels and is involved in other creative endeavors... If I could wish for one person to read "Mob Boss" and give me their take on the book about Al D'Arco's life and crimes, it would be Sonny Girard. He lived the life, and actually knew Al back in the days...he offers a unique perspective invaluable to all interested in the Honored Society. Sonny did years in prison without a mumble and whenever I do a story that has something to do with informants, I always say silently to myself: Sonny, forgive me... Sonny didn't rat; he did years of his life in prison, like so many mobsters have done, are doing, and will continue to do. Then, later he was asked to write a tell-all about the mob, naming names... He was offered a fortune to do it. He said no. How many in his shoes would've done the same? How many g

Imprisoned Sicilian Mafia Boss Toto Riina Threatens Prosecutors

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Italian Mafia boss Toto Riina has threatened to kill Palermo prosecutor Nino Di Matteo (Reuters) Mafia Overlord Toto Riina Renews Threats to Kill Palermo Prosecutors: ‘Corleone Doesn’t Forget’ - IBTimes UK :  Jailed Mafia boss of bosses Salvatore 'Toto' Riina has renewed death threats  against prosecuting magistrates over an alleged truce deal between the Italian state and Cosa Nostra. The latest revelations have prompted MPs to demand the matter be referred to parliament. Riina, who is serving a life sentence in Milan's Opera prison, was taped vowing Mafia vengeance against Palermo prosecutor Nino Di Matteo and his colleagues, while speaking to a fellow inmate and mobster. "We can't forget this this Di Matteo," Riina was recorded as saying. "Corleone does not forget." Known as "The Beast" for his brutality, Riina, 83, is a native of the rural Sicilian town of Corleone - a name made famous by the Godfather movie trilogy.

The Story Behind FBI Special Unit C-38

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Supervisory Special Agent Seamus McElearney. It was publicly proclaimed by no less than Attorney General Eric Holder that the FBI decided to sharply reduce resources allocated to battling the New York Mafia. This was revealed about three years ago -- concurrently with the infamous event known as "Mafia Takedown Day," when some 120 mobsters were arrested in their bathrobes at dawn--high noon for busting down the doors of nice, well-kept suburban homes. The FBI historically has had one squad assigned to each New York crime family, back during those decades when they systematically dismantled organized crime in the city, the so-called golden years of the mob . In contrast, as of this past June, the FBI had on the streets only two New York City-based squad s to keep an eye on the 700 or so members -- and estimated 7,000 associates -- of the Five Families, according to Gangland.com's Jerry Capeci. To say it another way, the FBI mob effort has been cut in hal

'Mob Wives' Debut Party Becomes Slugfest, Guercio's BF a Bruiser

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FROM  TMZ.com : Here's a shocker ... there was a huge fight at the "Mob Wives" premiere party in NYC last night -- with flying bottles, police and broken bones, TMZ has learned. Sources involved with the situation tell TMZ ... it all started when the BF of new cast member Natalie Guercio (pictured below) got into a verbal argument with another partygoer ... and things quickly escalated. We're told more than ten people started fighting in the middle of the venue ... and multiple sources tell us glass bottles were fired across the party. One source tells us one of the partygoers suffered a broken ankle in the melee ... but we haven't been able to confirm that. We do know one person was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment. Law enforcement tells us ... someone called police around 10:48 PM ... but by the time cops arrived, the fight was over. FYI -- the whole thing went down at Greenhouse ... which is located in the same building where the Chr

Renee's Mob Candy Line: 'Everything a Mob Princess Would Wear'

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We were shocked how many views this story racked up since we first ran it a year ago. Considering the more recent news about the cease-and-desist letters, we thought we'd post this again.... Episode one of season four of “Mob Wives” began with a party in Philadelphia. Renee hired a new model to work with her new clothing line. What line is that, some of you may ask. Well, Mob Candy (by Renee Graziano) is the name of the brand she has been talking up and promoting on the Internet for the past year or so. It includes a a lot of products: Mob Candy Jewelry , Mob Candy Apparel , Mob Candy Shoes , and accessories and t-shirts. Frank DiMatteo, owner, Mob Candy. Folks who look leftward on this very web page will see Renee posing for the cover of Mob Candy magazine ; no, it is not part of her line. Mob Candy magazine was in fact launched in 2007 by others with no ties to her then or now. Prior to the publication, the brand had originally been used for a line of M

Rudy Giuliani: Mafia Violence Has 'Certain Rationality'

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Rudy Giuliani  sounded wistful, maybe a bit maudlin, as if he was getting sentimental about the old days of New York, when organized crime held sway over the city and was a major focal point of law enforcement's efforts, as opposed to the Islamic terrorists who have stolen the limelight in the past two decades. The mob put contracts on Rudy Giuliani. He claimed that the Mafia in Sicily put an $800,000 contract on his head while he was New York City's Mayor. Speaking as a guest on Oprah Winfrey's OWN cable-channel show, "Oprah: Where Are They Now," the onetime prosecutor seemed to relish that he was once important enough to be a target for organize crime. Giuliani was U.S. Attorney before becoming the mayor, from 1994-2001. "Certainly, no one sent them to prison for the lengthy periods of time that I did," he said of American mobsters, adding that the mob had paper on him within his first year in office as mayor. (Still, don't the judge

1970s Probe Spotlighted Legendary Pittsburgh Mob Boss

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John LaRocca Did the Mafia commit the assassination of JFK ? If it did, which mobsters were involved? Pennsylvania's Trib Live noted an incident which for a time drew the spotlight on two little-known New Kensington gangsters: Gabriel “Kelly” Mannarino and his brother Sam — both of whom were part of the one-time rich and powerful Pittsburgh mob family of John LaRocca, who held power for some thirty years. The family has since nearly disappeared due to aggressive law enforcement tactics. Both LaRocca and Mannarino were partners with Tampa mob boss Santo Trafficante in owning the Sans Souci hotel and gambling casino in Havana, Cuba. 

Nassau Police Sergeant Played Secret Role in Lufthansa Case

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Courtesy of the Long Island Press There are so many mob stories right now, I can't keep up. I have been Tweeting them from original sources fast and furious (which reminds me, RIP Paul Walker, 40 years of age ). The Lufthansa Heist is back in the news, with a new wrinkle. TheLongIslandPress.com is running a story called "Lufthansa Heist: Nassau Cop Breaks Silence on Mob Case that Left 16 Dead, $6M Missing." Specifically, the report notes: "Despite the story being told again and again, few people knew the key role a Nassau County police sergeant played in helping to identify the perpetrators—until now. Through thorough police work and natural instincts, he turned a wannabe gangster into a witness whose testimony helped convict [Louis] Werner."

'Mob Wives' Debut Already Playing Out in the Press?

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According to an article published on Page Six on Sunday, Nov. 17, Alicia DiMichele Garofalo has been cheating on her jailed husband, Ed "Tall Guy" Garofalo, with a married man. We researched and reported on Alicia DiMichele in an earlier article in which we noted the couple was divorced or at least in the process of divorcing, and were separated -- and now she's suddenly married, even with the name Garofalo tacked on -- just in time for the season four debut of Mob Wives. Interesting how these shows seem to work - they change the facts first in a PR blitz, to pave the way for the various "conflicts" on the show. We also note that Lee D'Avanzo , husband of Drita, one of the two or three mob wives still on the show, had ties to Garofalo (as well as TG Graziano). Interesting that the new mob wife and not-fired mob wife have a Garofalo relationship in common, Alicia  more, um, directly, and Drita apparently through her husband. It's pro