Cosa Nostra News

In January 2014, Bajram Lajqi was sentenced in Brooklyn federal court to six years in prison; he'd plead guilty on June 27, 2013, to drug trafficking and firearm use. Bajram Lajqi under arrest in 2013. Lajqi was a "member" of an Albanian organized crime group that operated in the United States, Canada, and Europe. On June 4, 2011, Lajqi attempted to murder another member of the gang. “...  Lajqi, in particular,  exemplifies the violence tied to large-scale narcotics trafficking, as his drug-fueled quest for revenge led him to gun down a rival outside a Bronx restaurant,” the U.S. Attorney said in a  press release .  Now the U.S. Attorney is doing an injustice to Lajqi right there, by making him sound, at the very least, like a competent hitman. The truth is, he's not. We love how the gothamist wrote this one up: "What with all the massive busts and small-time stabbings, the mob just ain't what it used to be. Nowadays nobody takes any ...

As the "new" Mafia seeks to find its place in the post-9/11 world, families are more selective about who will have the honor of being straightened out, noted Joaquín "Jack Falcone" García . Falcone--who wrote a book that is essential reading for all who are interested in the goings-on of Cosa Nostra--had been an FBI agent for over 20 years when he infiltrated the Westchester-based crew of Gambino family capo Gregory DePalma. He spoke with Cosa Nostra News this week.  Gambino family capo Gregory DePalma.  As part of its overall strategy to better isolate itself while it has the perceived breathing room -- the FBI has magnified its focus on terrorism and other crimes, downsizing its efforts against organize crime in New York -- the mob has put the word out to members: be careful who you sponsor, Falcone said.

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Arnold Squitieri was as security conscious as Joe Massino . As former FBI agent Joaquin "Big Jack" Garcia originally informed us , in 2002, Gambino crime family acting boss Arnold "Zeke" Squitieri, who was on parole for a drug conviction, had appointed a ruling panel of three mobsters with whom he was especially tight: Alphonse " Funzi" Sisca, Louis Filippelli, and Chris Sucarato  were Zeke's official eyes and ears on the street. Acting underboss Anthony Megale was involved with overseeing rackets in the Stamford, Conn. area. ( Megale  died  in the summer of 2015). Squitieri, in his own fashion, allowed personal feelings -- nepotism, basically -- to informally preempt the Gambino crime family's official hierarchy. Louis Filippelli had the most juice out of the three, as he was Squitieri's nephew. However, Filippelli was only a soldier in Gambino capo Alphonse "Funzi" Sisca's crew. Since Sisca was Squietieri's brothe...