Cosa Nostra News

Alleged Philadelphia Cosa Nostra boss Joseph (Skinny Joey) Merlino , after pleading guilty to an illegal betting charge last Friday, made a prediction about his hometown team's NBA playoffs. On Jan. 31, 2018, Joseph "Skinny Joey" Merlino enters federal court in New York. (SOURCE) Merlino, a degenerate gambler, as per his own attorney , told reporters outside Manhattan federal court that the Philadelphia 76ers were his pick to win the championship. (Gamblers may want to pay heed to Merlino's sports soundbites.... Before the February mistrial, Merlino had predicted, successfully, that the case would end in a "deadlock win" for him. He also offered what turned out to be a winning tip on the Super Bowl: "Oh, and bet the Eagles .") Merlino also discussed Philadelphia rapper Meek Mill's recent release from prison, saying, "I'm glad he's at home with his family where he belongs." Rolling Stone recently thumbnailed...

Manhattan prosecutors reportedly angered a judge yesterday by allowing Joseph "Skinny Joey" Merlino to plead to a gambling charge. Skinny Joey Merlino an d wife, Deborah  at Manhattan Federal Court for racketeering trial on Jan. 31, 2018. They essentially abandoned a years-long effort to convict him of racketeering, health care fraud, loan-sharking, and other counts. And the judge isn't happy about it, as he made clear yesterday, April 27, 2018. In February, Merlino beat the raps when a jury deadlocked, leading to a mistrial. Since then, Manhattan federal prosecutors decided against trying the alleged Philadelphia Cosa Nostra boss again . Judge Richard Sullivan showed his animosity by asking prosecutors why they allowed him to plea to a charge that carries a two-year maximum sentence. "In my experience prosecutors will try the case again. What makes this case exceptional?" Sullivan asked Assistant U.S. Attorney Max Nicholas. ...

Michael Imperioli appeared on ABC's "Popcorn with Peter Travers" to promote his new book. Tony's crew: The Sopranos cast. On the show to hype  The Perfume Burned His Eyes , Imperioli discussed his "unofficial Mafia induction ceremony," during his first major acting job, playing Spider in Martin Scorsese's  Goodfellas . "It's a very funny story when I get killed in that movie," he said. "In the second scene I had a glass in my hand because I'm a waiter. And I did my own stunt of falling backwards, falling into the bar and hitting the ground. And the glass was real. They didn't have a breakaway for some reason. So two of my fingers got cut really badly." Imperioli sought medical treatment for his injury right away, appearing in the hospital still made up from the scene, bullet-ridden and bloody. "I went to the hospital but I had bullet holes in my chest and blood everywhere. So at the hospital in...

It's been another head-spinning week in Washington, news-wise, whatever your political viewpoints. I personally haven't seen so much mention of the New York Mafia since the 1990s.... The heyday: John Gotti and Sammy Bull. In case you haven't been paying attention (or were in jail), former FBI director James Comey has been hawking his recently published political tell-all, A Higher Loyalty, and during all the interviews, he continues to mention the New York Mafia, specifically, John Gotti and Sammy the Bull. Comey basically has been saying that President Trump reminds him of a Mafia boss. For months, Trump aggressively sought Comey's loyalty in a stream of meetings and phone calls, Comey writes. The effort included a now notorious White House dinner with Trump and Comey a week after the inauguration during which Trump, Comey writes, told him: "I need loyalty. I expect loyalty.” To Comey, the President's "demand was like Sammy the Bull...

Vincent (Chin) Gigante's son was released last week on bond, a whopping $9.8 million bond that included $1 million cash and the family's Upper East Side townhouse, the Daily News reported. Vincent Esposito and his father, legendary boss of the Genovese crime family. Vincent Esposito, 50, also must hire 24-7 security and install surveillance cameras at the front and back doors of the East 77th street townhouse, which is valued at $8.3 million. Esposito and four other reputed Genovese mobsters were arrested in January and charged with running a longtime racketeering scheme involving extortion and other crimes. He pleaded not guilty. After three months in MCC, Esposito was "thrilled to be out," his attorney, Jeffrey Lichtman, told the News. The man himself didn't have much to say other than, "No comment, no thank you," and "Please don't come back here" when daily news reporters went knocking there yesterday. Vi...

Who fired a gun at the mobbed-up Marco Polo restaurant in Brooklyn early one February morning? The guy wearing the fedora hat and waist-length coat, below, of course.... Suspect: he allegedly shot at Brooklyn eatery. That's what the NYPD said when they released surveillance footage of the suspect who fired several lead-filled shells into the eatery on Court St. and Union St. in Carroll Gardens at about 6 a.m. on Feb. 25. He's white, about 6-foot-2 tall and thin, and was wearing a dark jacket and light pants. A nearby surveillance camera filmed him that morning as he walked toward the restaurant near the time of the shooting, police sources told the Daily News. Cops weren't alerted to the shooting until three hours after the fact. As noted at the time , co-owner Marco Chricio told The New York Post that the restaurant "was caught in the crossfire between battling gangs from neighboring Gowanus and Red Hook housing projects." Not so fast... T...

One of  Frank Salemme's co-defendants in the 1993 murder of a former nightclub owner claims he's irrelevant to this particular case and therefore should be left out of it. Cadillac Frank all cleaned up and looking sharp. His lawyers are making what seems like a bizarre argument. They in effect say that, despite the many, many incriminating allegations linking Weadick to Cosa Nostra activity (including a homicide), he should get a pass on this one since nothing directly ties him to the 1993 murder. In a court filing, his lawyers, William Crowe and Mark Shea, note that nothing in the evidence against Weadick "has any relevance whatsoever to the charged crime." Allegations about Weadick are limited to only the following: his general association with Salemme; a previous arrest for alleged involvement in 1987 drug ripoff; the fact that throughout the 1990s Weadick was generally known to be armed; his reputed involvement in drug dealing and collect...

The Department of Justice's Office of Public Affairs issued an a nnouncement of yesterday's sentencing proceedings of two alleged members of the Genovese crime family's Springfield Crew on extortion-related charges. Salvatore Giovanni Cufari, aka "Big Nose Sam" Cufari. First recognized boss of a Mafia entity in Springfield. He was born January 31, 1901 in Bianco Nuovo (now called "Bianco"), Reggio Calabria, in Italy. In Worcester, Massachusetts, federal court, Ralph Santaniello, 50, and Giovanni Calabrese, 54, both of Longmeadow, Massachusetts, were sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman to serve 60 months (or 5 years) in prison and 36 months (or 3 years) in prison, respectively. After prison, they are to serve two years of supervised release. In August 2016, five were arrested: Santaniello, Calabrese, Gerald Daniele, 52, of Longmeadow; Francesco Depergola, 62, of Springfield, Massachusetts; and Richard Valentini, ...

Larry McShane of the Daily News recentl y (well, somewhat recently) extolled the alleged virtues of Vincent (Chin) Gigante son Vincent Esposit o, the "accused high-ranking Genovese crime family associate" arrested in January. The Vincents, Esposito, left, and Gigante. Esposito was living in the wretched confines of the Metropolitan Correctional Center. His defense attorney, Jeffrey Lichtman, attempted to spring Vincent on bail, McShane reported. Turns out, as per court filings, Vincent, 50, lived most of his life with his octogenarian mother in the Upper East Side townhouse and is her primary caregiver. He shopped for her, cooked for her, and rarely ventured beyond the part of Manhattan where he lived. Esposito is the son Gigante had with longtime mistress Olympia Esposito, Vincent's aging mother, who is 83. "According to a court filing by Lichtman, Esposito is “a man who is revered for his dedication to his immediate family and to others.” ...

April 11 update Ralph Santaniello, Springfield crew chief, got five years... Also, inserted Gerald Daniele info Giovanni (Johnny Cal) Calabrese, 54, was sentenced earlier today (April 10, 2018) to three years in federal prison for extortion. Johnny Cal was only paying his bills, he said, when he was arrested in August 2016. Alleged boss of the Springfield Crew Ralph Santaniello, 50, is to be sentenced this afternoon. That  makes three o f the five alleged members of the Genovese crime family's Springfield Crew to be sentenced in U.S. District Court for shaking down a towing company owner and running an illegal gambling ring in 2013 and 2015, respectively. In March 2018, Gerald Daniele, 52, of Longmeadow was sentenced to two years in prison. The defendants were arrested and charged on Aug. 4, 2016, as per the larger so-called East Coast LCN Enterprise case. Four copped out, and one was convicted by a jury last December. Calabrese, an extermination wor...

UPDATED See bolded typeface for new info Federal prosecutors in Boston say former New England Mafia capo Robert "Bobby" DeLuca will testify about more than the 1993 murder of Boston nightclub owner Steven DiSarro. Hanrahan While his testimony could spell trouble for New England Cosa Nostra wiseguys, DeLuca has worse than the usual baggage, which could mitigate his testimony. Deluca, whose brother also is slated testify, will directly implicate former mob boss Luigi "Baby Shacks" Manocchio, who allegedly played a key role in a 1992 gangland slaying of a mobster who allegedly plotted against Francis (Cadillac Frank) Salemme. The centerpiece of Salemme's upcoming trial is the DiSarro murder, but as per court files, DeLuca also will testify that Salemme, 84, ordered the murder of mob enforcer Kevin Hanrahan in 1992. The motive apparently was that "Hanrahan was suspected of (participating) in a plot to kill Salemme." "DeLuca passed Sale...

The first member of a four-member bank burglary crew who pleaded guilty in federal court to burglarizing Maspeth Federal Savings’ 64-19 Woodhaven Blvd. branch in 2016 has been sentenced. From left, Anthony Mascuzzio Charles Kerrigan, and alleged mastermind Michael Mazzara. Staten Island resident Christopher Kerrigan was given a seven-year, seven-month prison sentence last Friday, and three years of post-release supervision, for his role in a number of heists in addition to the one on the Rego Park-Middle Village border. His brother, Charles Kerrigan, will be sentenced next Friday. Michael Mazzara, the alleged mastermind of the operation, and Anthony Mascuzzio will be sentenced on April 13 and May 4, respectively. Last December, Mazzara and Mascuzzio each copped to two counts of bank theft, while the Kerrigans each pleaded to two counts of bank burglary, one count of bank theft and one count of conspiracy to commit bank burglary. Charles Kerrigan also admitted to one...