Cosa Nostra News

For threatening an ex-girlfriend's husband and father as well as "glorifying" mob life via a series of podcasts, former Bonanno associate/would-be podcaster Gene Borrello was sentenced yesterday to four months in prison, followed by six months of house arrest and three additional years of probation. He also was banned from doing podcasts and setting foot in Howard Beach, Queens. Gene Borrello  That is according to a court document John Alite, Gene's partner on the Johnny & Gene Show , read over the phone earlier today. Borrello, 36, was an up-and-coming associate close to becoming a wiseguy with the Bonanno crime family before flipping and helping Brooklyn Federal prosecutors put away more than 21 mobsters. He pleaded guilty in 2016 and was sentenced to three years supervised release and time served. In total, he spent about five years in prison for committing crimes that could've earned him a life sentence.  He and Alite launched the Johnny & Gene Show i...

It was 1959. The year that signaled the end of days for mobsters running around unhindered in the paradise playground of cash that is Sin City. The installment of a new, dazzling (and now iconic) “Welcome Las Vegas Nevada” sign meant welcome - but only for some folks and not others. The welcome sign that didn't welcome everyone.   It was in this year that the Gaming Control Act came into force and spelled the end of a mainly drama-free run for underworld figures, who had been moonlighting around the city at the various gaming establishments taking their cut off the top of profits and gaming the system. It’s Cosa Nostra News served fresh from the files of history.   Introduction of the Nevada Gaming Control Act - and the Nevada Gaming Commission In July of 1959, the Nevada Gaming Control Act was brought into effect which outlined a two-tier regulatory system that defined how gambling was going to go down from now on in Nevada. The tiers were that of a Gaming Control Board - w...

Here is a fresh take on the story of Salvatore (Sammy the Bull) Gravano from a source we've never heard from before. James A. Gagliano, the author of the following, was under J. Bruce Mouw . Mouw, of course, was the FBI Supervisor of Squad C-16, the FBI "crew" assigned to investigate the illegal activities of the Gambino crime family in New York City (mostly in the 1980s and 1990s). Gagliano served 25 years with the FBI where he held investigative and undercover positions (among many other roles). These days, Gagliano  serves as a law enforcement analyst  for CNN. He also is an adjunct assistant professor and doctoral candidate at St. John’s University in Queens, NY, and is a sought-after speaker on criminal justice, homeland security, and organizational leadership matters. Salvatore (Sammy the Bull) Gravano. This photo was taken on the night of his arrest inside the Ravenite with John Gotti, Frank Locascio, and Tommy Gambino. By James A. Gagliano J. Bruce Mouw was ...

In this segment, two recent transcript series collide as prosecutor John Gleeson goes through the Ravenite transcripts asking Salvatore (Sammy the Bull) Gravano about the significance of certain comments. John Gotti, Sammy the Bull Gravano, Gambino boss and underboss.... This entry might prove insightful for those who had difficulty following the Ravenite transcripts. For example, take the following: GLEESON: In [the FBI transcript of the November 30, 1989, tape], Mr. Gravano, you say: “Well, you know, that and there’s an ‘inaudible.’ He would’ve, he would’ve tried to make a move from outside, I think.” What were you referring to when you said: “He would’ve tried to make a move from outside”? GRAVANO: Possibly from outside the Family. GLEESON: Who would have made a move? GRAVANO: Paul. GLEESON: Against whom? GRAVANO: Against John and Angelo. GLEESON: When you say outside the Family who, in your opinion, would he have gone to? GRAVANO: The Genovese Family. Possibly, the Westies. Who wou...

Photo is of Nicky Slick, on left, and Bonanno wiseguy Tommy Karate Pitera....  By Nick Christophers In a time where almost anything goes, wrongly incarcerated wiseguy Nicky (Nicky Slick) DiPietro may have a small chance of getting sprung after spending 18 years in prison for a crime some believe he did not do. LIFERS: Nicky Slick, left, Tommy Karate Pitera In 2000, Nicky and three other men were club hopping in South Philly. It was a night that would alter his life. One of the men with Nicky Slick that night we refer to as Blondie. They arrived at the venue Club Deco and were about to enter. The front door had a metal detector, but the back entrance did not. Nicky and one of the men entered through the front and “Blondie” and the other man went the back way. Once they were inside and mingled for a while a dispute arose near the dance floor. The dispute involved Blondie and another man, later known as Tad Green. Tad Green was a local drug dealer. Green supposedly owed Blondie money...

Former Bonanno associate Gene Borrello⸺who flipped against the Bonanno family and helped put away dozens of violent criminals, and who gave us some interviews before launching a podcast about the mob with former Gambino associate John Alite⸺was arrested for threatening to kill his ex-girlfriend’s husband and hurt her father after she refused to grant him the rights to use a photo of her in a book. Gene Borrello. That must be some photo!   Borrello, 36, helped Brooklyn federal prosecutors put away more than 21 mobsters, pleaded guilty in 2016, and was sentenced to three years of supervised release and time served. All in all, he spent about five years in prison for committing a range of crimes that otherwise would've earned him a life sentence. The recent problems apparently arose for Gene, according to published reports, back on January 24 when his ex-girlfriend refused to give him permission to publish a picture of her in a book, to paraphrase Assistant US Attorney Lindsay Ge...

This certainly sounds like it could be interesting, possibly....(Yes, we're hedging  our bets for now). Christopher Meloni will reprise the role of NYPD Detective Elliot Stabler. A spinoff of the long-running Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and the seventh series in the Law & Order franchise, Law & Order: Organized Crime will premiere on April 1, 2021, on Thursdays at 10:00 p.m. ET on NBC, right after the 9:00 p.m. time slot of Law and Order: SVU.  The spin-off will have a total of 13 episodes in the first season. The series will star Christopher Meloni as Elliot Stabler, reprising his role from SVU. In the show, Stabler returns to the NYPD to lead the Organized Crime unit after suffering a "devastating personal loss," according to the official synopsis from NBC. "The city and police department have changed dramatically in the decade he's been away, and he must adapt to a criminal justice system in the midst of its own moment of reckon...

T rue crime Mafia shows on mainstream TV usually focus on the same handful of figures: John Gotti, Al Capone, etc..... Recently we realized some could construe that we've also been focusing on mobsters with mainstream appeal, with tons of blog space devoted to two of the most high-profile mobsters in US history: John Gotti and Salvatore (Sammy the Bull) Gravano. Our coverage included publishing transcripts related to the former Gambino boss and underboss.  Albert (Chinky) Facchiano As we've previously noted (somewhere), our motive is only to publish historical information that previously wasn't accessible online. Nevertheless, we decided to balance the scales somewhat by focusing on the following unknown wiseguy.... Before we leave the topic, the two series: 1992 Testimony of Gambino Underboss Salvatore (Sammy the Bull) Gravano The Ravenite Transcripts: John Gotti's Secret Meetings In Mrs. Cirelli's Apartment Real-deal wiseguys are ready to kill for their mob family...