Cosa Nostra News

COSA NOSTRA NEWS EXCLUSIVE This is the third story in a series based on information provided by former Luchese wiseguy John Pennisi. ... At some point in recent years -- probably when law enforcement started making arrests for the 2013 murder of a Luchese associate in the Bronx—“guys in the (Luchese) family’s Brooklyn crew started to discuss making a move," Pennisi said. Boss Vic Amuso and Gaspipe chat with capo Frank Lastorino Sr. Ever since official boss Vittorio (Vic) Amuso was sentenced to life in prison without parole in 1992 following his conviction on 54 racketeering charges, including nine hits, he relied on wiseguys in acting positions and on a ruling panel to run the family for him. One man who was part of Amuso's ruling panel for years is Matthew (Matty) Madonna, who was made acting boss -- until he was nabbed for ordering the slaying of Micheal Meldish, the Luchese associate murdered in 2013 in the Bronx. (This year Madonna and three others were sentenced to life ...

FORMER GAMBINO UNDERBOSS SALVATORE (SAMMY THE BULL) GRAVANO: (We were told) that we weren’t allowed to deal junk, we weren’t allowed to kill with bombs , we weren’t allowed to violate one another’s wives or kids, we weren’t allowed to raise our hands to one another, and they skipped by a few other rules. They told us that you would be placed with a captain, and you’ll eventually be told all the rules .  Was Paul Castellano feeling lazy that day? Montage of John and Sammy pics... Gravano testified for nine days during Gambino boss John Gotti's trial in 1992. Only a year or two prior, in December 1990, Gravano-- along with Gotti and acting consiglieri Frank (Frankie Loc) Locascio-- were arrested at the Ravenite on murder and racketeering charges; Gravano flipped about 10 weeks before the trio was slated to go before the jury. In part two, Sammy the Bull is still under direct questioning by John Gleeson , the then assistant United States attorney ( who would go on to bigger and b...

COSA NOSTRA NEWS EXCLUSIVE  In May 2017, the Feds nabbed a slew of Luchese members and associates, most of whom were out on bail when John Pennisi started getting chilly vibes from his amico nostra later that same year. May 2017 roundup nabbed Steve Crea, Matty Madonna, Dom Truscello. The bust was part of the government’s ongoing and endless effort to crack the mob, charging 19 individuals with ties to the Luchese family with an array of crimes (from 2000 to 2017), including murder, attempted murder, racketeering, gambling, witness tampering and narcotics trafficking. The indictment charged four captains, plus the Feds hit the trifecta in that they had nabbed the triumvirate of Luchese street bosses—underboss Steven Crea, acting boss Matthew Madonna, and consiglieri Joseph DiNapoli. (Of the three, Crea had been the longtime street representative for imprisoned for life boss Vittorio (Vic) Amuso.) We left off with John Pennisi being asked by Anthony (Spanky) Castelle outside the Ci...

COSA NOSTRA NEWS EXCLUSIVE The Feds know lots of wiseguys out there on the street—some of them very well. But there also are wiseguys the Feds don't know at all. Guys who are not on the "radar" at the present moment. John Pennisi was one of those guys.... Recent pic of John Pennisi. The Feds weren't building a single case against John Pennisi when he first went to them to talk in 2017, and it took a while for them to fully comprehend what had happened, that a guy who knew a hell of a lot about current goings-on inside the Luchese family had just fallen into their lap. Pennisi -- who flipped and testified in detail about certain events related to the Luchese family (plus the other families that comprise the New York Mafia) (and if you are wondering, yes, wiseguys are still out there hustling) -- was following in the footsteps of another former member of the Luchese family: Onetime acting boss Alphonse (Little Al) D'Arco , who flipped and testified in the early 1...

The current relationship between the American Mafia and the Pagan's is not the only thing about the 1%ers that has evolved since the 1980s, when the outlaw motorcycle club balked at paying the street tax imposed by then Philadelphia boss Nicodemo (Little Nicky) Scarfo. The Pagan's balked at the street tax imposed by Little Nicky. As of September 2020, the Pagan's, one of the "big four" largest outlaw motorcycle clubs in the US, are undergoing a violent "resurgence," according to a recently published report by the New Jersey State Commission of Investigation (SCI) .  The MC, which uses drones and encrypted communications to avoid detection, has seen an unprecedented surge in membership, nearly doubling in size over the past few years. The Pagan's also are significantly more violent , with experts noting that there have been more violent incidents committed by the Pagan's during a recent 18-month period than during the prior 10 years combined. (Be...

Talk about asking for trouble... Stevie Westside from Staten Island (who you most probably never heard of) is in an unenviable position: He was the topic of a not-at-all flattering  Daily News story this holiday weekend....  About the only solace we might extend (were he to ask) would be to highlight that it could always be worse: the News could've plastered a big photo of his mug alongside this pic of his house.... Stevie Westside's house; from New York Daily News Stephen (Stevie Westside) Blanco from Staten Island  brought his girlfriend along with him to collect debts for a Costa Rica-based gambling operation while he allegedly boasted about being a made member of the Mafia. When she wasn't sufficiently impressed, he upped his game by claiming to be a boss with the Genovese crime family. And while she may have bought some of his bullshit, it was when he drugged her and tried to steal $20 grand that she decided to visit an NYPD precinct on Staten Island'...

UPDATED   The recent sentencing of former underboss Steven (Stevie Wonder) Crea to life in prison for the 2013 murder of Michael Meldish (though the Feds never bothered to prove Crea's involvement in the murder at trial in White Plains) marks the closing of a long chapter in Lucchese crime family history.  Vittorio (Vic) Amuso, left, and Anthony (Gaspipe) Casso running Lucchese family. Since the arrest of the longtime underboss in 2017, much of the power in the Lucchese family has moved from Crea's Bronx bailiwick to Brooklyn, where acting boss Michael (Big Mike) DeSantis and underboss Pasquale (Patty Red) Dellorusso are based (though the Brooklyn crew is actually in Staten Island, confusing the situation). The Lucchese crime family retains a powerful presence in the Bronx, however, where consiglieri Andrew DeSimone lives. In addition to being underboss, Crea, who reportedly earned multiple millions from construction industry labor rackets, served as the primary representati...

Steven L. Crea, the underboss of the Luchese Family, was sentenced to life in prison for the 2013 murder of Michael Meldish. Stevie Wonder Boy during 1980s arrest. The sentenced was announced last Thursday by Audrey Strauss, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. She also ordered that Crea pay a $400,000 fine and forfeit $1 million. At the end of this story is a chart with details on all the defendants involved in the case. A jury convicted Crea and three co-defendants on November 15, 2019 following a six-week trial before U.S. District Judge Cathy Seibel, who also imposed the sentence. Strauss said: “ Steven L. Crea – the underboss of the Luchese Family – is the last of a dozen made men arrested in 2017 to be sentenced for his crimes. For his role in the 2013 murder of Michael Meldish and other crimes, Crea will now spend the rest of his life behind bars. Thanks to the outstanding investigative work of the FBI and NYPD, we continue our commitme...