Cosa Nostra News

Was Russell Bufalino ever the boss of the Genovese family in a temporary fashion, we were recently asked via email. The following is our answer ... Russell Bufalino By 1975, Russell Bufalino —the soft-spoken, eight-fingered Sicilian with the lazy eye who was called “McGee” by his closest associates —was at the height of his power in the American Cosa Nostra. According to law enforcement and journalist sources, at around this time he was at the helm of no less than three crime families: In addition to his own crime family in Pittston, Pennsylvania, he had assumed control of (as well as absorbed) the Buffalo crime family after the July 1974 death of longtime boss Stefano Magaddino . Bufalino also reportedly had assumed temporary control of New York’s Genovese family, sometime after the July 1972 murder of front boss Thomas (Tommy Ryan Eboli) and before Anthony (Fat Tony) Salerno took over. Bufalino may have been arguably one of the most powerful mobsters in the nation in t...

To have been a fly on the wall at the downtown Brooklyn halfway house where the leading contenders for the slot of Colombo family boss, Theodore (Skinny Teddy) Persico Jr. and Joel (Joe Waverly) Cacace, both cooled their heels for months.... Theodore (Skinny Teddy) Persico is heir apparent. Unless the COVID-19 pandemic changed anything , Joe Waverly departed the Brooklyn Residential Reentry facility last Friday, May 22. Skinny Teddy still has a few more days to go before his slated May 29 release. For now, Andrew (Mush) Russo is once again acting Colombo family boss. Skinny Teddy Persico, 56, has been the presumed heir apparent since cousin Alphonse (Allie Boy) Persico, went away for life after his 2008 conviction for the 1999 murder of William (Wild Bill) Cutolo. Skinny Teddy's father, who died in 2017, was a brother of Carmine (Junior) Persico, the legendary and unpredictable boss of the Colombo crime family who died last year at the age of 85 while serving a 139-ye...

In 1982, mob shooters killed an innocent bystander while gunning down a father and son duo suspected of stealing from the Colombo family's proceeds from the classic porn flick Deep Throat. Joseph Peraino Sr. was the target. He survived, but was paralyzed The incident was later dubbed one of the New York underworld's most depraved acts. The victim, Veronica Zuraw, was a former Roman Catholic nun for the Brooklyn Diocese. The Colombos couldn't have picked a worse innocent bystander to shoot in the head if they'd deliberately tried. Former Colombo shooter Salvatore (Big Sal) Miciotta discussed the gangland hit -- that ended the lives of both a mobbed-up pornographer and the former nun -- in a documentary that never disclosed certain details about Big Sal, including how his testimony had been so discredited, a judge ruled he could never testify again. Miciotta's false testimony got several gangsters off scott free on a host of mob charges, including murder, and...

The judge will let Tommy Shots know "shortly" if he can get out of prison early because of COVID-19. Nick Christophers  listened in on the conference call and wrote the following, including a detailed transcript of the call Monday to get Tommy Shots sprung.... Maureen, wife of Gioeli, outside Brooklyn court after his 2012 acquittal for murder. Nick is the author of several books , including Prison Rules , Destinies , and Godfathers of the Night,  which is the story of the Greek Mafia... By Nick Christophers During a hearing Monday (May 18), Thomas (Tommy Shots) Gioeli’s mouthpiece took a shot at getting him sprung from prison four years early based on his fears of contracting COVID-19; the judge said he would decide shortly whether he would grant the former Colombo acting boss's request. In a telephone conference call Monday, his attorney, Federal prosecutors, and Judge Brian Cogan discussed what should happen next regarding Goieli's delicate health condi...