First Mob Boss Since Bonanno to Write Memoir
Lost Lives and Forgotten Vows, which Thomas Dunne Books is slated to publish, is due to hit bookstores in the fall of 2016. Natale will work on his tome with producer Dan Pearson (of "I Married a Mobster") and New York Daily News reporter Larry McShane,
Former Philly boss who flipped inked deal to write book. |
The book claims it will offer “a behind-the-scenes master’s class on organized crime.”
We may argue with the use of the term "master's."
The Natale story is not, after all, one about the mob's golden age.
Natale was an arsonist and drug dealer who told a federal informant everything -- literally every thing.
He was said to be Joseph "Skinny Joey" Merlino's puppet -- the guy put on the street for the Feds and cops to focus on while Merlino and his tight-knit crew worked behind his back.
Natale attained power when he emerged from prison in 1994. He sought to run the notoriously disorganized Philly Mafia with the discipline of a Prussian general administering to his soldiers. (Prussia is the proverbial “army in search of a nation," while the Philly mob more closely resembled the Keystone Cops than, say, the Genovese family.)
Natale's army was brimming with mooks, killers, traitors, braggarts and bumbling fools -- an underworld turned upside down following decades of unrelenting bloodshed following the "illegal" 1980 shotgun murder of respected Mafia Don Angelo Bruno, a Sicilian-American mobster who had close ties to Carlo Gambino and who ran the Philadelphia crime family, peacefully and prosperously, for two decades.
Joseph "Uncle Joe" Ligambi is widely credited for being such a shrewd Mafia boss precisely because he was able to successfully clean up what in part can be termed Natale's mess.
Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scarfo, who pulled a "John Gotti" years before even John Gotti, seemed more interested in murder than money.
Murder or money? Who really cares.... |
Natale's reign lasted until a 1998 indictment was poised to send the then-69-year-old away to prison forever (for wisely dealing junk).
Natale "got religion" and struck a deal with federal agents, earning himself the title of "the first American Mafia boss to turn on his own family."
A U.S. attorney general said Natale's cooperation against Skinny Joey (then touted in the press as reminiscent of the Sammy the Bull and John Gotti case) "represent[ed] the complete collapse" of the Philadelphia mob.
Yeah, right.
From THR: “Ralph Natale, has out killed, out smarted and outlived his adversaries. Now he gets to tell history in his own words not just mafia history but American history,” said Pearson in a statement announcing the deal. “Lost Lives and Forgotten Vows will take the reader on a trip into the epicenter of Americana in the mid-to-late 20th Century where pop culture and politics frequently intersected with the underworld, and where Ralph Natale was the man charged with greasing the wheels so the multiple relationships between those entities could run at full speed.”
Gonna read this on GP but Natale is a fkn clown.
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely going to read this -- it's going to be the lynchpin for the next generation of "scholarly" books on the mob for the second half of the twentieth century. Natalie was put in position for a reason to which he was entirely oblivious yet he still knew all the players intimately....
ReplyDeleteHe was used like a sucker, for as smart as he was ( very street n prison smart ) was how dumb he was, he took merlino in when Joey was doing time with him, Ralph set him up in jail, made him bunk with him, they got real close n Ralph gave him advice on how to handle Stanfa who Merlino was at war with, they made a pack while in their that Ralph would run things when he got out cause of all the contacts he made while doing time, funny thing is, he was never made! It was a joke, Joey used him like he uses everybody, gave him all false info n made him take the heat, that's where the uncle junior nickname came from.
ReplyDeleteHe was never made? I didn't know that!. I knew he was put in as an uncle junior.
ReplyDeleteThis guys to an argument a started to make about the validity of Philly's Cosa Nostra....
ReplyDeleteHe testified in court that he made himself while in jail with Merlino, Merlino was just made at the time and wasn't a boss so he couldn't have made him, it's a straight joke!
ReplyDeleteThe going rate back when Joey and Boy Borgesi were taking guys in was 10.000 k. You see all the guys Borgesi took in eventually turned. One Boston Bob luisi was to have paid 100000. They said joey made Ralph but who really knows. Stanfa was to have made Joey and the guys from italy who turned on him then mafe others such as Big Vince 'Big Ron' Phil Colletta' and John John Veasey. But who truly knows. But if you ask them they will tell you they were all made. Some were msfe at Johns warehouse in Grays Ferry in the cooler gor fear of being recorded true shit. As for Ralph he.s been known to stretch the truth but who has.nt in this business. Philly
ReplyDeleteExactly, this is what happened to philly after the commission was broken and unable to meet. When Bruno was killed people paid with their lives via the chin and the genovese crew. Since they couldn't meet and dictate over philly, jokes like Natale make themselves. Unbelievable
ReplyDeleteDidn't Gigante and the Genovese lie and tell philly they had commission approval to whack Bruno, then whack those who killed him, to disrupt them and break up the Gambino influence?
ReplyDeleteThe story is, Bruno's underboss was from north jersey, nickname was tony bananas, he was talking to genovese front man funzie tieri who the Chin used as the boss, Tony was complaining to funzi about how he has to hide to make real money (drugs) funzi told him to do what he has to do (eyebrow raised) Tony took that as killing Bruno n went n did it, when the commission called Tony in to explain he said funzi said it was ok, funzi said 'I never said to kill him, I said work it out' that was the double cross, so Bruno gets killed cause he was the Gambinos proxie vote and they kill Tony for killing a boss without permission, that led to Phil Tests getting the nod as boss who turned out to be a genovese friend which now gave them the philly vote on any commission decisions. An old time Bruno guy told me when this was happening, did u ever hear of the double cross? Well in this life u gotta worry about the triple cross, that's one crazy world where if your not alert you life could be on the line at anytime.
ReplyDeleteHe sent George a few chapters but it was too much bs. Now he's found someone to publish & I wonder if he changes the part about Joey making him.
ReplyDeleteLou it's clear you read Mafia Prince even your little anecdote about the triple cross is straight from it's pages. I love how you made it yours tho!
ReplyDeleteMafia prince was written by leonetti, u won't find what I said in there, what u can do is, look up the Marconi brothers, Funzi n Mark, they were from the Bruno days, two of the most under the radar well respected old timers u never heard of, everything I comment on concerning anything from those days came from them, they were very close to my family n practically raised me.
ReplyDeleteHe looks like a broken down valise.
ReplyDeleteWhere you been at Mr.Scarpo I'm jonesing for your blog it's been a few
ReplyDeleteEXACTLY what you said was in Mafia Prince. Damn, son.
ReplyDeleteI can't be;eve this guy was never straignted out or if JM had some BS ceremony in the can. It's supposedly happened before Michael (Baldy Mike) Spinelli was made in the shit house in MCC burning toilet paper in place of a saint picture. Gasspipe officaiting in MDC. LOL. I also read that the Columbo's made Fat Larry Sessa in MDC, If that one is true it just shows the level of people they are making today. Talk about a broken down valise, that's is low as one can go. Talk about a Moron. Hope all is well Ed, have been missing your articles. All the best buddy !!!
ReplyDeleteI don't know I didn't read it but I'm willing to bet the person who said it was Funzi Marconi cause he sat n told my father that quote about the triple cross, if it's in that book n someone other than him said it they stole it from him, he told us this 30 years ago before leonetti or anyone else ever wrote a book
ReplyDeletegotti had said we do not recognize philly guys
ReplyDeleteThe quote came from nicky crow!!!
ReplyDeleteOK -- finally finishing up for posting later today (after I fall unconscious for hopefully eight hours) my latest: So Who Killed Abe "Kid Twist" Reles?
ReplyDeleteThe bulls were paid off by Anastasia to trow'em out da winda.
ReplyDeleteAnd who told it to Nicky crow? I'm telling you, I know who said that quote before anyone ever wrote a book, also, I didn't read it but if Crow Was he in leonett's book? These guys on here are saying it was in Phils book.
ReplyDeletenicky crow had his own book.he was one of the first guys to flip against scarfo back in the 80's
ReplyDeleteWhat happened Ed ? Are you guys on vacation?
ReplyDeleteInteresting......
ReplyDelete