Cosa Nostra News

EXPANDED Just about every wiseguy who ever lived, no matter how smart he is—no matter how low he holds his head—sooner or later will find himself in a prison cell. The only mystery is the duration of the sentence (which, depending on the content of the indictment, could be a couple of years or decades—or centuries).  Freddy (right), Ty (center), Arillotta (second from left). Spending time in the can is as much a certainty for wiseguys as death and taxes are for the rest of us. Case in point: even the  recently departed Gambino capo Anthony Scotto , who died at age 87 earlier this month, eventually went to the clink... Scotto was a powerful figure in the Mafia whose story heralds an earlier era of America's Cosa Nostra, when mobsters could discreetly rise high in big business. Scotto (pronounced SKOE-toe) was 29 years old when he became president of the Brooklyn-based Local 1814 of the International Longshoremen’s Association in 1963, succeeding his father-in-law, Anthony ...

" Freddy was extremely mild mannered. Every morning (we) would pick up the three of them for trial (Freddy and Ty Geas, and Arthur Nigro).... I always patted down and shackled Freddy. He always walked out of the cell first, followed by Ty, and Nigro lagging behind last. They walked out in the same order every day for four months. That stuck in my mind because I knew Nigro was a “boss” but to me, Freddy seemed to take on that role ." That was one of the things we learned during a recent chat with a former deputy marshal who spent considerable time on the job getting to know numerous members and associates of organized crime in New York, including former Genovese family acting boss Arthur Nigro and brothers Ty and Freddy Geas, both former members of the Genovese family's Springfield Crew.  Fotios, left, and brother Ty, who got life sentences for the slaying of mob boss Big Al Bruno. Freddy Geas also is the number one suspect in the brutal murder of James (Whitey) Bulger , ...

An assault and battery charge filed last July in Springfield District Court against Anthony (Bingy) Arillotta, the former boss of the Genovese family's outpost in Springfield, Mass., was dismissed. Arillotta's assault case was dismissed. Arillotta (who appears in this week's Johnnie & Gene podcast, see below) was released from prison in 2017 after serving an eight-year stretch for various acts of mob mayhem, including murder and racketeering. Last summer, he was arrested and charged with assault and battery for allegedly hurling a carton of lemonade at a female family member during an argument over the presence of a pet dog (Arillotta is allergic and wanted the dog removed). The woman did not suffer any visible injuries and refused medical treatment. At the time of the arrest, Arillotta was still on federal probation,though reportedly the allegations never rose to the level of posing a violation threat. “It’s over now,” Bingy said after the court hearing e...

The family of James Whitley Bulger, the notorious gangster/snitch murdered almost one year ago allegedly by two men with organized crime ties, will file a $200 million wrongful death claim against the government over the brutal prison house murder in West Virginia last October. Questions remain about Bulger's death. The family said the legal filing was to learn the reasons why the 89-year-old was beaten to death within 24 hours after his arrival in general population at U.S. Penitentiary Hazelton. One of the suspected killers allegedly confessed to murdering Bulger. Bulger was killed in his cell at the notorious Hazelton lockup on Oct. 30, 2018. He died minutes after he suffered “blunt force injuries of the head," according to his death certificate. He was buried in St. Joseph Cemetery in West Roxbury. Hank Brennan, an attorney for Bulger, this week sent a statement to the Wall Street Journal, noting: “We believe that James Bulger was deliberately placed in harm’s ...

FINAL FINISHED VERSION Anthony Arillotta, who’d rise to replace his mentor as boss of the Springfield crew, was well regarded and considered a " capable and promising mobster " by then-Genovese acting boss Arthur Nigro, whom Arillotta began meeting regularly in the Bronx, as per court filings related to Nigro’s appeal. Frankie Roche, left, was gunman who shot Genovese boss Big Al Bruno, right. Loyalty to Nigro "gave me a lot of clout,” Arillotta declared in testimony during one of two trials about his standing in the Genovese crime family’s Springfield crew. “I didn't have to worry ... listen to anyone back in Massachusetts, Springfield. Gave me a lot of power, being direct with Artie. He was the boss. I could go anywhere in the country and I would have a boss that was the actual boss. I would belong to him, direct." Arillotta—who would boss a crew of murderers, drug dealers, loan sharks, and robbers—was inducted into the Genovese family by Nigro...

 FINAL One of the most notorious gangster/snitches of the 20th century, James (Whitey) Bulger, who was found beaten to death inside a West Virginia prison last October, no longer wanted to live -- and that is what led to his doomed transfer from a Florida "safe haven." And that's basically all there is to it, says Charles Lockett, the Florida penitentiary’s former warden, who retired in December. That's according to a recent  interview with NBC News. We can add tidbits from that interview to the vast repository of knowledge about Whitey Bulger's murder that's been accumulating since the October 30 event. We also can add Bulger's death certificate, which was recently made public -- and which disagrees with what the medical examiner reported. What else did we recently learn? At least one of the three key suspects remains in solitary confinement. But six months into the murder, and much remains unknown. Federal officials still haven't charged ...

UPDATED If they weren't trying to gouge out his eyes, they definitely tried to cut out his tongue. That's the latest news from a federal source speaking on condition of anonymity. Freddy Geas at 2003 trial. The attackers who killed notorious mob boss/FBI informant James "Whitey" Bulger at a West Virginia federal prison tried to cut his tongue off, a federal law enforcement official said. Bulger, 89, was beaten beyond recognition in the fatal attack Tuesday, one day after he was transferred there from another facility. Officials have said that federal investigators are eyeing several potential suspects in the murder, including Fotios “Freddy” Geas who is currently in solitary The New York Times reported that "At least two inmates were quickly sent to solitary confinement after Mr. Bulger was found, according to three employees of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, who requested anonymity because the investigation was not public. Mr. Geas wa...