Cosa Nostra News

On Wednesday, more than 100 people attended the funeral of Louis Barbati, 61, co-owner of L&B Spumoni Gardens Pizzeria, a popular New York City eatery, who was shot to death at 7 p.m. on June 30 right outside his home in Brooklyn's Dyker Heights section, on 12th Ave. near 76th St. Mourners paid their respects at St. Ephrem’s Church in Dyker Heights. "Disgraced" former Rep. Michael Grimm ( aka "Mikey Suits" ), described in news reports as a family friend, was among the attendees. Among those Barbati leaves behind are his wife of 25 years, Joanne, and two sons, Louis, 24, and Joseph, 18.

COSA NOSTRA NEWS EXCLUSIVE When wiseguys are in prison, does rank matter? Carmine Agnello held his own against three. Opinions vary. On the inside all made guys are equal, some say, while others have said rank is less of an issue. Still, supposedly there are  official Cosa Nostra bosses serving life sentences:  Vic Amuso, Peter Gotti and Carmine Persico. So rank must matter, but it seems to depend on the place, the time and possibly the dynamic of those inside the unit. I recently heard about something that happened involving Lee D'Avanzo when he was a resident of  MDC  Brooklyn. The source was there at the time, but on a different floor. What happened made Carmine Agnello so furious with Lee, supposedly a sit down or two took place over the matter. (Agnello was made; Lee wasn't (or isn't.)) Agnello and D'Avanzo were housed in Brooklyn's MDC along with Francis "BF" Guerra -- the only three Italians on the main population floor at th...

BF Guerra: once he was a murderer, but now he is a drug dealer, the feds say. Late last month, Francis “BF” Guerra, a long-time associate of the Colombo crime family, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for selling his own prescription drugs. We need a little space to set the stage. First, according to an FBI press release issued on Sept. 23: "The sentence was imposed by the Honorable Sandra L. Townes, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of New York, at the United States Courthouse in Brooklyn, New York." "The sentence was announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and George C. Venizelos, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), New York Field Office.