Cosa Nostra News

Sir Trevor hosts two-part series on the mob. CLICK HERE  t o watch part Two  The Mafia with Trevor McDonald Sir Trevor McDonald seeks to show viewers the "reality" and not the "mythology" of the Mob on the program. Episode Two: After spending three months travelling across New York, Miami, Philadelphia and Southern California, Trevor hears detailed accounts of life in the Mafia as he meets major figures at home, at work and in bars, as well as on the streets where they operated for the documentary The Mafia with Trevor McDonald. In the second episode, Trevor learns more about the lives the former mobsters have made for themselves since trying to leave the Mafia behind.

In 1995, a member of the Gambino crime family plotted the violent murder of John Alite and anybody in the car with him, according to a former Gambino associate directly involved in the conspiracy who was going to be one of the shooters. Alite was marked for death. Stephen Newell, about whom we've previously written, told us the  hit was to be staged  at a towing company/auto-body shop in Queens at the intersection of Crossbay Boulevard and Redding Street.  Alite would pull up in his car to meet someone -- and two men would open fire from a passing van. One of the gunmen, arrested on an unrelated charge, revealed the plot, prompting the FBI to visit Alite with a warning.   This is only one such plot; there were others.  W e caught up with Stephen Newell a few weeks ago. He'd seen our story  and had some corrections and amendments. Newell is an interesting person. He is mentioned in both Gotti's Rules: The Story of John Alite, Juni...

Was Palazzolo set to take control of the Bonanno family's Queens action? Arrested yesterday was mobster John Palazzolo, 77, a reputed street boss of the Bonanno crime family's Bronx faction -- or at least he was; it appears he's been knocked down in rank. Apparently the Feds found him committing a serious crime: having coffee with other wiseguys.... Well, we take liberties here. He was found "suspiciously meeting" other mobsters in the parking lot of a diner. When wiseguys meet in the parking lot of a diner wouldn't they naturally act suspiciously? What exactly defines "suspiciously"? We had a little chuckle over this one. It sounds to us like whatever is left of the FBI working OC in New York is crying out for attention...

Jerry Capeci's GanglandNews  today reports that "25 inmates — including five mobsters and two Albanian hoods whose names Gang Land has obtained," engaged in a "bloody jailhouse brawl"during leisure time in the rec room of the federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut, on Saturday, March 14. Danbury, the article noted, is a low-security facility that houses 750 sentenced inmates. Alex Rudaj,of Albanian Mafia. Following the violent confrontation, everyone involved was "thrown into "the hole" after receiving stitches or treated for cuts, bloody noses and other non-life-threatening injuries." Prison officials and the FBI are investigating but declined to confirm or deny the fight, the website reported. Sources say the suspected mob pugilists included Colombo soldier Vito Guzzo, 50, Gambino mobsters Michael (Mikey Y) Yannotti, 51, Michael Roccaforte, 38, and Neil Lombardo, 59, and Bonanno wiseguy Robert Lino, 48. Their primary vict...

This year Mob Wives really lived up to its tagline: Trust No One.... This year most of the drama on Mob Wives occurred off screen and after the season ended following a two-part reunion that got heated enough to make Vivica Fox weep. (It almost makes you forget she did a pretty good job kicking ass herself in Kill Bill. See pic--->.) Since episode one, the major dynamic of the entire season was proclaimed loud and clear: this year it's all about the bitch called pay back that ultimately took the form of an implied major confrontation between Natalie Guercio and Natalie DiDonato. But the big fistfight or shootout or whatever we all expected never happened. (Nor did we relish the thought of it. We don't like the idea of two women fighting.... we want women to act, well, womanly, not like dudes...And, yes, we did interview one of the cast members and we will get to her following some prefatory remarks.)

After spending eight years behind bars for his role in the killing of a city cop, Lillo Brancato, the actor known for his “A Bronx Tale” debut and a small recurring role in The Sopranos season two (he was one of the two guys who shot Christopher Moltisanti) allegedly "landed a part in a boxing epic being filmed in Brooklyn and Staten Island." Lillo Brancato to star in mob film alongside Alec Baldwin. The New York Post reported that Alec Baldwin, Danny Glover and Mike Tyson star in "Back in the Day," the story of a Bensonhurst youth who trains to be a prizefighter under the tutelage of a local mobster. Not a single cliche in this one! According to the Post, Brancato, 38, called the Hollywood role a “blessing” and gave all the credit to producer and star William DeMeo. Brancato was involved, though not charged with, the brutal murder of an off duty NYPD officer who tried to stop Brancato and an ex-mob associate from robbing a next door apartment for narcoti...

We got the link -- for real. Here it is -- ready? CLICK HERE   for  The Mafia with Trevor McDonald Episode 1 Sir Trevor McDonald seeks to show viewers the "reality" and not the "mythology" of the Mob on the program. Episode One kicks off with John Alite and Michael Franzese, as well as Michael "Mikey Scars" DiLeonardo, who speaks here publicly for the first time since providing his damaging testimony. He lives in constant fear of Mafia reprisal. Sir Trevor hosts two-part series on the mob. In one scene, DiLeonardo drives Sir Trevor down the one block of Little Italy that remains, Mulberry Street, to offer a passing glimpse at the place where he was formally inducted into the Gambino crime family on December 24, 1988.

Who did we speak to? We spoke with one of the cast members of Mob Wives today and will post the interview tomorrow today, Wednesday . Amazon.com Widgets We'll include some input from a couple of anonymous sources, but the major thrust of the article will be attributed to the lady with whom we spoke today.....

Nicodemo S. Scarfo and pal Salvatore Pelullo are slated to face the music (though it's continually been postponed) for their efforts to steal around $12 million from  FirstPlus Financial . Scarfo, 49, the son of imprisoned mob boss Nicodemo D. "Little Nicky" Scarfo, faces nearly life in prison, as does Pelullo, 47, an associate who helped loot the Texas-based mortgage company. Also scheduled for next week: yet another meeting as per the defense's efforts to win a new trial by maintaining that the jury in the FirstPlus case never should've been exposed to any mob-related discovery material. Nicky Scarfo Jr was shot six times while dining here. He and walked out of the hospital a week later, having suffered only flesh wounds. The trial of Scarfo and Pelullo did not involve the Mafia, defense attorneys contend. Therefore, the prosecution's references to the mob "prejudiced the jury and [served] to glamorize and sensationalize an otherwise mundane f...

Lots of news stories in the summer of 2001 fell down the  memory hole  after the brutal 9/11 attacks. A certain Gambino crime family associate who in his heyday was as powerful as an inducted member was likely quite pleased that one developing story from that summer was essentially shut down. This ex-mob wife, formerly married to Joe Watts should've had a television show. Largely know for being one of John Gotti's lieutenants, Joseph "Joe the German" Watts began his rise in the mob during Carlo Gambino's reign. Watts made a name for himself with the Gambinos under Paul "Big Paul" Castellano. But he earned his fortune under the Dapper Don and was afforded the respect more typical of a capo. Because Watts showed fealty to Gotti and his group of conspirators, collectively known as The Fist, which orchestrated the assassination of Castellano on the swanky upper East Side amid rush hour in December 1985 (Watts was a backup shooter), ...

Anthony Scotto, left, lawyer James LaRossa. The son of TV news anchor ­Rosanna Scotto made news last week when he was arrested on charges of swiping an expensive designer purse. What garnered our interest was a note at the end of the New York Post Page Six story : [Rosanna] Scotto, 58, is co-anchor of WNYW/Channel 5’s “Good Day New York” ... [and] is co-owner of her family’s restaurant, Fresco by Scotto, on East 52nd Street. She is also the daughter of Anthony Scotto, a former boss in the Gambino crime family.... Scotto, while never the boss of the crime family, was a powerful figure in his own right. His story heralds an earlier era of America's Cosa Nostra, when mobsters were able to discreetly rise high in big business. Scotto is considered to have been the most powerful labor racketeer in the entire country in his heyday in the 1960s-70s. He earned two additional distinctions nearly unbelievable today: He once lectured at Harvard and was considered by...

Sir Trevor McDonald's two-part series The Mafia With Trevor McDonald debuts this month. We previously ran a  trailer for the show . The show seeks to provide insight into the Mafia's "brutal, unforgiving hierarchy," as the  Daily Mail  noted. Former Philly mob boss Ralph Natale The program debuts Monday, March 23 at 9 pm -- however, of you're in the U.S. you'll probably have to watch it via your computer.

Click below link for videos John Junior Gotti says he never watched “The Sopranos,” and that the real truth of “the life" resides between “The Godfather” and “Goodfellas." He said this as a guest, along with Peter Lance, on Coast to Coast AM , which aired on March 10th. To access all segments of Junior's Michael Smerconish interview on CNN, during which he discussed the film adaptation of “Shadow of My Father ," see Peter Lance's website.

Surveillance image of former DeCavalcantes. A total of 10 members and associates of the New Jersey-based DeCavalcante crime family were arrested today for running a prostitution ring, drug trafficking and plotting to kill a rival, according to U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman . The complaints confirm that the New Jersey family is run closely with the Gambinos in New York and that both have Sicilian members in leadership positions today. Frank "Shipe" Nigro, 72, Paul "Knuckles" Colella, 68, Mario Galli, 23, and Anthony "Whitey" Stango, 33, all from New Jersey, were arrested this morning and face the bulk of the criminal charges cited in the complaints unsealed today. Also taken into custody today were Charles "Beeps" Stango, 71, of Henderson, Nevada, and John "Johnny Balls" Capozzi, 34, and Nicholas Degidio, 37, both from New Jersey.

I get lots of email. Mostly from mob enthusiasts asking me to cover this or that. I have yet to receive a communique from, say, a beautiful women in town seeking someone to show her New York's many unique splendors. Sometimes I get emails from mobsters.

"In this life, there’s a lotta hypocrisy that you just learn to live with—like there’s a rule against dealing drugs, and Gene Gotti [another Gotti brother], is doin’ a long bit for that; you’re not supposed to go with other goodfellas’ wives—happens all the time; you’re not allowed to kill a big boss without the other families’ permission—John Gotti and Sammy whacked Nasabeak [Beak-nose Paul Castellano] and almost started a war."  --Michael "Mikey Scars" DiLeonardo "Ah, Christ on the fucking cross. Right now I'd give my fucking life just to have fucking Buffalo win one."--John Gotti courtesy of Wikimedia Commons  A Brooklyn-based Bonanno crime family associate who served time with Gene Gotti took issue with the headline to this story today and contacted us accordingly. He strongly disagrees with our use of the word "Gentleman." "You're losing your touch. Don't get it twisted: I would never bow down to Gene Gott...