Cosa Nostra News

Peter "Bud" Zuccaro Bud Zuccaro must've had a heart attack that day when he heard pounding on his front door and opened it up, only to see Jimmy the Gent standing there, along with Tommy Two-Guns and others. They were fuming over something, but Bud probably had no idea over what or why. He was probably more concerned with impending death staring him in the eye. James "Jimmy the Gent" Burke killed enough people to fill a cemetery under a boccie court (according to Henry Hill, who was probably exaggerating somewhat.). 

Model of Lufthansa cargo terminal at JFK in 1978, exhibited in court.  A former Lufthansa Airlines worker described what happened on that night in 1978, when masked gunmen infiltrated the Lufthansa cargo area at JFK, committing what was then called the largest robbery in American history.  The witness took the stand today in Bonanno member Vincent Asaro's trial in Brooklyn Federal Court. The charges Asaro faces include co-masterminding the infamous $6 million Lufthansa heist with James "Jimmy the Gent" Burke. Asaro also is charged with the murder of Paul Katz, a suspected mob snitch strangled with a dog leash.  Early in the a.m. in 1978, Rolf Rebmann was among the staffers grinding out the hours at the Kennedy Airport terminal targeted by mobsters using inside information, including blueprints.

EXCLUSIVE INFORMATION: On this date in 1957, New York mob boss Albert Anastasia was shot to death in the Park Sheraton Hotel's barbershop. Born in Tropea, Calabria, Italy, on Feb. 26, 1902, "Don Umberto" was murdered in New York City after spending more than seven years as boss of one of the Five Families. And it wasn't the Gallo brothers or a crew affiliated with Raymond Patriarca or anyone else who killed one of the Mafia's most ruthless members, as has been speculated. According to Michael "Mikie Scars" DiLeonardo, Jerry Capeci was partially correct when he identified the shooters years ago in an exclusive story.

Check out Cosa Nostra News's online store for books, films and other mob-related items you may find of interest. (Comments are working now. If anyone has a problem commenting, please shoot me an email.   (Also the store itself is fixed -- if you already looked at it, you probably noticed the margin problem. That's fixed as well...) I'd like to invite you all to stroll inside my new eStore. The store is open 24/7 -- that's right, it never closes -- and you can drop by anytime by clicking on the above tab or right here:  Cosa Nostra News eStore. Books, films (on DVD and on-demand) and other products of interest to anyone who reads this blog are available in Cosa Nostra News's estore. Also feel free to recommend any items I may have left out (if you've written or read a Mafia-related book you think I should include, please feel free to leave me a comment (when you are able if you can't right now). Also, please keep in mind....

Vinny Asaro, last man standing, on trial risking a life sentence at 80. Vincent Asaro sat in a car with James Burke, about a mile away from the Lufthansa cargo terminal on a December night in 1978, when eight mobbed-up gunmen were stealing a haul expected to be around $2 million, only to discover -- first to their joy, then to their horror -- that the crime had netted them three times that amount. This story has been told before of course, initially in the iconic book  Wiseguy , followed by an equally iconic cinematic adaptation, Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas , not to mention the library of articles and additional books about the vaunted robbery. Once the largest heist in American history, it has been eclipsed. The 1990 Boston Museum robbery , valued at $300 million, currently is considered the largest. Still, there remains information about the Lufthansa Heist  that only now is being revealed. That is if you believe Gaspare Valenti who claims he flipped in 200...

Vincent Asaro at Brooklyn Federal Court in 1966. In a Brooklyn courtroom this week commenced the trial of an 80-year-old Bonanno family gangster, Vincent Asaro, who allegedly was involved in the notorious 1978 Lufthansa Heist . Not only was he supposedly the Bonanno family's overseer at JFK airport, the prosecution charged, noting that Asaro himself played a direct role in the heist. Ex-underboss Salvatore Vitale testified yesterday, providing a window into events surrounding the notorious robbery at JFK airport. Asaro supposedly was heard muttering "motherfucker" constantly under his breath during testimony, trying all the while to stare Vitale in the eye. Asaro personally handed off a case stuffed with jewelry from the infamous 1978 Lufthansa heist to future Bonanno boss Joseph Massino , Vitale said Monday at the first ever mob-related trial over the historic "unsolved" crime. Massino himself also is slated to testify, among others.

Seth Ferranti's blog, Gorilla Convict , features an interview with Daniel Simone, author of The Lufthansa Heist: Behind the Six-Million-Dollar Cash Haul That Shook the World . The interview is comprehensive and intriguing. Ferranti himself is intriguing... He earned a master’s degree, got married, launched a writing career and founded a publishing house, all from behind bars. He's accomplished more inside than I ever will outside! But seriously, Seth did over 20 years on a bullshit rap.

"Nevada owes a debt of gratitude to Frank Schreck," a Las Vegas Sun editorial recently noted . Schreck was named this year's International Association of Gaming Advisors honoree and in recognition gave quite a speech. It included a head-turning revelation about a major Mafia figure notorious for his stint working in the  Stardust hotel and casino  (among other places), which once occupied a prime slot on the fabled Las Vegas strip. Geri, on Lefty's left, looks like Sharon Stone.   Schreck, considered a premier gaming attorney in Nevada and elsewhere, recounted his personal take on Las Vegas history, including the enduring legacy of oddball billionaire Howard Hughes . Schreck's rise commenced in 1971 when then-governor Mike O’Callaghan’s appointed the then-27-year-old lawyer to the Nevada Gaming Commission, setting a record. Schreck remains the youngest commissioner ever appointed to that regulatory body, which was charged with policing whether someone could...

Frank Vincent sports a '70s 'fro in Family Enforcer , Joe Pesci 's film debut. Wanna watch Family Enforcer, the film that launched Joe Pesci's career? Robert De Niro allegedly viewed the B-flick and recommended that Martin Scorsese check it out. That's apparently how Pesci (and Frank Vincent, who also starred in the film) wound up in Raging Bull, then Goodfellas. Family Enforcer was originally named The Death Collector, and versions of the 1976 film can be found under either title. Amazon offers it as part of a double- and even triple-feature DVD for as little as $5 (with free two- day delivery for Amazon Prime members ). Grindhouse Releasing , which focuses on acquiring and distributing "classic" films (ie, shock horror ( Cannibal Holocaust ) and exploitation films) is preparing a new version of Family Enforcer for release as well. Or you could watch Family Enforcer for free....

On August 11, 1996, the seemingly impossible happened at the high-security U.S. Penitentiary in Allenwood, Pennsylvania. Tommy Pitera, right, with Bonanno boss Spero. An inmate was "serious[ly] assaulted," yet an incident report suggests there was little physical evidence in terms of wounds. Some witnesses said they could see no wounds. The inmate himself, who appeared "nervous," denied that he'd been assaulted. Nevertheless, he'd been beaten repeatedly in the face with a metal object that was never found. Imprisoned Bonanno crime family member Thomas "Tommy Karate" Pitera was sanctioned by prison officials for committing the assault. If not for the testimony of several Confidential Informants (all of whom feared for their lives, according to documents), prison officials never would've nabbed Pitera for the assault. Excerpts from high-level security Discipline Hearing Officer Report (DHO) number 430571 dated August 29, 1996, are inclu...

Inside the Last Great Mafia Empire... Thanks to NCS for interviewing me and linking to my book. I'm going to include first part here but you should visit the website for the full interview (if you're interested).... "Joining us in the hot seat today is the journalist and author Ed Scarpo who runs  Cosa Nostra News and also has a book available called Inside the Last Great Mafia Empire in which former Mafia Capo Dominick Cicale makes a contribution. "Ed also runs a Facebook page called Cosa Nostra News which is dedicated to covering the Mafia in America as well as the Sicilian Cosa Nostra, Calabrian Ndrangheta and Neapolitan Camorra."

The married couple. John, stupenda sposa ... REVISED, EXPANDED The late John Gotti 's grandson, John Gotti Agnello , was married this past weekend. Agnello, the son of Victoria Gotti and Carmine Agnello and one of the stars of A&E's Growing Up Gotti, wed his longtime love Alina Sanchez, a physician’s assistant. According to Page Six , the 500 guests gave gifts of at least $5,000. The couple left the evening with $2.5 million.* The event took place at the Oheka Castle in Long Island and went from 5 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 25, and ended at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

NYPD Detective Sgt. Joseph Coffey died this past Sunday. He was 77 and had suffered from cancer. The high-profile mob buster was known for his frequent media appearances, as well as an organized crime taskforce he led that solved more than 80 gangland hits. Coffey also personally arrested John Gotti three times, earning the deep animosity of  the feared former Gambino boss, who in the early 1990s ordered the beating of the then-retired detective. Joe Coffey, the mob buster who John Gotti wanted sent to the hospital. “He was one of the greatest detectives in the NYPD ever,” Jerry Schmetterer, a former Daily News police bureau chief who coauthored The Coffey Files: One Cop's War Against the Mob , told The Daily News. “He was a larger-than-life guy who always wanted to be involved in the biggest cases."