Cosa Nostra News

The mortality rate was decidedly low for two men once linked to Connie Castellano, daughter of Gambino boss Paul Castellano. But while one of the two, her husband, may have invited his horrifying fate, assuming he was guilty of what he had been accused of, the other man, a suitor with a sarcastic sense of humor, most certainly did not. Top, Sal Vitale; bottom from left: Joe Massino, Vinny Basciano, John Gotti Constantino Paul (Big Paul) Castellano was a model of the proverbial white-collar mobster, the kind who could capably run complex business enterprises like a garment-center trucking concern and a wholesale food company. His white-collar faction, which included the labor racketeers, etc., was supplemented and balanced by the blue-collar wiseguys under underboss Neil Dellacroce—the hijackers and head crackers, etc.—who provided the muscle, as some pundits viewed the Gambino family breakdown under Castellano. (We have problems with that dichotomy, though, such as in which column woul...

Nick Christophers, who contributes articles to this site and has written several mob-related books, is in talks to make a big-screen version of  his novel Destinies. Nick also recently appeared in an episode for the new MobTV, a free, ad-supported streaming channel (think of a Netflix that shows mob-based films and television shows only). Poster for Destinies, based on novel by Nick Christophers. Nick will appear on MobTV with former Colombo mobster Larry Mazza  (who discusses MobTV in the podcast below). MobTV is the brainchild of Infamous Media, an independent company owned by Soprano’s writer and producer Terence Winter, the creator of Boardwalk Empire and executive producer of The Sopranos. Winter co-founded MobTV with Joe Poletto, a former HBO executive.  As per a Hollywood Reporter story published in December, "Infamous Media’s streaming offering will have free, ad-supported channels available to users; one of the first channels will be focused on mafia and other m...

"You don’t know how mean this guy is, Donnie. Lilo is a mean son of a bitch. A tyrant. ... Lot of people hate him. They feel he’s only out for himself. He’s the only one making any money. There’s only a few people that he’s close to. And mainly that’s the Zips... There’s a lot of people out there who would like to see him get whacked." —Benjamin (Lefty Two-Guns) Ruggiero to undercover FBI agent Joe Pistone, aka Donnie Brasco Carmine Galante Read Part One: Carmine Galante, Godfather Of Heroin Trafficking The Montreal pipeline pumped vast quantities of heroin into the US for years, but was only one of New York City’s countless sources of narcotics. Not even Carmine Galante relied solely on the Montreal crew. About a year after the notorious Apalachin summit in 1957 (Galante attended but successfully evaded law enforcement by concealing himself somewhere on Joe Barbara’s estate), he was nailed. The indictment alleged a narcotics conspiracy that involved the smuggling of 160 kilo...

The Bonanno crime family's reputed official boss, Michael (The Nose) Mancuso, 67, was recently charged with parole violations after he was spotted meeting with several defendants in the ongoing case against Colombo boss Andrew (Mush) Russo and others.  Mikey Nose Mancuso after recent arraignment. Credit: Noah Goldberg/Daily News . The case mostly targets top-level wiseguys and associates in the Colombo family with shaking down a labor union. The only wiseguy in another crime family named in last fall’s indictment is Bonanno soldier John (Bazoo) Ragano. Ragano was charged with loansharking, fraud, and drug trafficking offenses as well as issuing fraudulent workplace safety training certifications. As per the indictment, Ragano, who is also known as “Maniac,” audaciously claimed to operate two workplace safety schools in New York that supposedly provided Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) training courses and certifications, along with various New York City certific...

During a closed hearing in Brooklyn Federal Court on March 9, a Federal judge approved the release (on $1.6 million bond) of ailing reputed Colombo underboss Benjamin (The Claw) Castellazzo, 84, who has been accused of helping lead the Colombo crime family’s efforts to loot a Queens-based labor union. Alleged underboss Castellazzo, 84, was released from MDC. Castellazzo, who  joins other Colombo crime family wiseguys so far released on bail, got a bargain rate compared to reputed Colombo boss Andrew (Mush) Russo,  87, who has been free on  a $10 million bond since October. Castellazzo and the rest of the administration of the Colombo crime family—the youngest and most violent Cosa Nostra clan in the country— were arrested last September for allegedly masterminding a 20-year effort to loot the union, which Gang Land News identified as Local 621 of the United Construction Trades and Industrial Employees Union in Flushing. The 19-count indictment unsealed in Brooklyn Feder...