Cosa Nostra News

The most amazing thing about FBI Special Agent Michael R. McGowan (retired) is not that he is the first -- and so far only -- undercover FBI agent to infiltrate three crime families. Mike McGowan Nor that he has infiltrated Russian crime groups, Mexican drug cartels, and outlaw motorcycle clubs, nor gone undercover to nab criminals of a multitude of stripes, from contract murderers to corrupt politicians. It's not even that he won recognition from the highest levels of the FBI and the Department of Justice for completing some of the most daring and deadly assignments in recent memory. What bedazzles us most of all about  Mike McGowan is that he did all those things while sporting the same gigantic walrus mustache he sports even now (see it, up above?). "That was a little flipoff to the bad guys," he told us recently in a telephone interview. Both the mustache and its owner have been prominently mentioned in recordings of discussions among so...

Former New England mob boss Francis (Cadillac Frank) Salemme, 85, has appealed his conviction and life sentence for the 1993 murder of Steven DiSarro, a South Boston nightclub owner. Salemme's attorney filed the appeal Wednesday He and co-defendant Paul Weadick, 63, were both convicted in Boston federal court in June. Weadick also is appealing. DiSarro, a 43-year-old father of five, was killed to prevent him from cooperating with federal authorities. His remains were unearthed behind a Providence mill building in 2016. The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston will hear the appeal. Salemme was in the Federal Witness Protection Program when DiSarro’s remains were discovered, leading to Salemme's arrest. At the sentencing hearing, DiSarro’s son, Michael, told Salemme about irony. “(Y)ou killed our father for thinking he was going to rat and become a snitch. When actually, Mr. Salemme, you ended up being the snitch... “You are a coward a...

This was written by Nick Christophers ... Some of the cast of The Mulberry Street Musical. For producers Denise and Rocco Iacovone working on The Mulberry Street Musical has been a labor of love, to say the least. The Mulberry Street Musical is a heart-warming, comical slice-of-Italian life back from the 40s and 50s. Italian, Greek, Jewish -- whatever your ethnic background -- you'll love every line. It will have you smiling, laughing and maybe even shedding a tear. The original creator of The Mulberry Street Musical was Jerry Strivelli, who Denise first met when she was 12 years old. They met at a teenage club in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, at St. Athanasius parish. Strivelli started the club to keep kids off the streets. He taught them poise, public speaking, eloqution, grace, and how to think on their feet and improvise. The kids performed for orphans or the elderly. For Denise it was an enlightening time. She had even fibbed to get into the program, te...

Judgement Day is coming -- and such an inconsequential one, reputed sitting Cosa Nostra boss Joseph (Skinny Joey) Merlino probably never saw it coming. Still you never know what's waiting round the corner... Merlino, husband and wife, at January trial in Manhattan. He will be sentenced on October 17 for his role in the East Coast LCN Enterprise case. The guidelines call for a one- to two-year stretch in the can -- a skidbid for Merlino. (" You don't even take your socks off  "  for them, as Gambino capo Michael DiLeonardo once told Intelligent Talk radio show host Ralph W. McElvenny on City World Radio). The alleged sitting boss of the Philadelphia Mafia has faced life sentences. Last Friday, Merlino’s defense attorney asked US District Court Judge Richard J. Sullivan to seal two letters from Merlino's Boca Raton, Florida, cardiologist. Defense attorney Edwin J. Jacobs Jr. of Atlantic City noted that the letter from the cardiologist contains “p...

After pleading guilty, reputed Luchese wiseguy Joseph Datello faces life in prison for attempting to murder a federal witness. Datello Specifically, Datello, 67, of Staten Island, New York, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit racketeering, and as part of that plea admitted racketeering acts including the attempted murder of the Witness, narcotics trafficking, and collecting debts through the threat of violence. According to prosecutors the witness in question helped the Fed's build cases against Datello and other members of the Luchese crime family, including alleged underboss Steven Crea. Authorities said Datello thought he knew where the witness could be found; with Crea's blessing, he then went there to kill the former Luchese associate. U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said : “Witness safety is paramount to ensuring the prosecution of criminal organizations. Thanks to the FBI’s Joint Organized Crime Task Force, who uncovered Datello’s c...

Are international Italian Mafia organizations such as the Sicilian Cosa Nostra and Calabrian 'Ndrangheta fighting a mob war by proxy in Canada? Pierre de Champlain, the acclaimed author and former RCMP analyst, believes that could be a possibility, he noted in a recent tweet, speculating that these global criminal entities may be fighting from abroad to take the drug trafficking business away from organized crime groups in Canada. I just question about this war in Canada and it could be a possibility : Are international Italian Mafia organizations such lie Sicilian Cosa Nostra and 'Ndrangheta are fighting from abroad to get control over Canada's mafia in order to gain control over drug trafficking? — Pierre de Champlain (@PdeChamplain) September 20, 2018 If that were the dynamic at play, it's worth noting that the US, despite historically tough anti-drug laws, is known to have  the highest level of illegal drug use in the world. Champlai...

James Cardinali was one one of the more fascinating peripheral characters in  the Bergin Hunt and Fish Club years of the John Gotti  story. Before boss, John Gotti was acting capo of the Bergin  Those days,  Paul (Big Paul) Castellano,   the boss of the Gambino crime family who  was derisively called the Pope behind his back, would proffer his regal wisdom in the form of gambling tips he'd bestow on underlings and worthy confidants, including John Gotti, then a Queens-based acting capo. Though he used their information in spectacular fashion, Gotti hated guys who gave him gambling tips --- or at least he seemed to when he referred to them as "(those) (f)ucking fuck bastards with their fucking tips." Gotti uttered that descriptor after he learned from the Bergin television that he had lost two horse races. One of his horses had even "run out" -- meaning bolted from the racetrack. So steep were the losses that sometimes, the goodfellas ...

After decades behind bars, longtime Gambino wiseguy Gene Gotti was recently spotted in Valley Stream outside his home... Better run to the hills! Hardcore veteran wiseguy Gene Gotti post-release at his home on Long Island . The mob is worried about how his release will impact their rackets! Saints preserve us! Call the police! Maybe some priests? (Though they may be too busy with other things these days.)  While we didn't actually see such exclamations -- well, we did spot one of them, actually -- based on some of the more hysterical newspaper reports we've eyeballed, we certainly would not have been surprised if we had. No, Gene Gotti isn't going to come and eat you. The brother of late Gambino boss John Gotti was released from prison last week, and we don't know why newspapers continue to flog this. Is it really so surprising that the man has been seen?  Gene Gotti does exist. He's not, like, fictitious. He has a real family, too, and some sou...