Cosa Nostra News

In 1995, when their paths crossed inside Manhattan’s Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC), and after trading insults, Greg Scarpa Junior nearly beat Luchese boss Vittorio (Vic) Amuso to death. The NYPD linked Greg Scarpa Junior to 24 gangland hits. Former Assistant US Attorney John Kroger highlights the violent encounter in his memoir  Convictions: A Prosecutor's Battles Against Mafia Killers, Drug Kingpins, and Enron Thieves . Aside from passing reference to the incident on Gang Land News, it seems the Feds successfully downplayed what happened, with  Jerry Capeci reporting that in September 1998 that, "Scarpa (Jr.) has been kept away from other mobsters ever since he punched out Lucchese boss Vittorio (Vic) Amuso three years ago. Amuso had made some disparaging remarks about his father's FBI informer status." (We’re referring to references found via Google Search regarding the assault. Someone in a comment says the assault was widely covered, presumably in 1995 wh...

The Sydney Morning Herald interviewed Michael Franzese who addressed a couple of compelling topics, one of which is the murder of Larry "Champagne" Carrozz a, supposedly over a married Carrozza having the audacity to date the also-married daughter of Colombo powerhouse John "Sonny" Franzese." Michael also reveals that he learned in recent years that he was not adopted. (Franzese is visiting Australia to promote " An Evening with The Godfather ," which was delayed because "Australian immigration authorities pondered "character" issues before granting Franzese's visa." While in Australia Michael Franzese also gave an interview--click  here  to check it out--to life coach  Joseph Sulfaro  of the Newport Hypnotherapy, Health & Healing Centre.)

In 1974, mob shooters accidentally killed an innocent bystander while in the process of gunning down a father and son suspected of stealing some of the Colombo family's proceeds from the ticket sales related to the classic porn flick Deep Throat. In time this incident would be dubbed one of the New York underworld's more depraved acts. Peraino Sr. survived the hit,  but was paralyzed. Former jailhouse snitch Salvatore "Big Sal" Miciotta, who was so discredited in the courtroom, he could never testify again, talked about the infamous hit for a documentary. William "Wild Bill" Cutolo, a powerful, charismatic Colombo capo later named underboss (only to be murdered in 1999) and five Colombo gangsters were freed because of Miciotta's false testimony, which also destroyed an honest man's career in the NYPD, among other things. Colombo shooters lured a father and son into a trap to kill them. Their crime was skimming from the proceeds g...

Greg Scarpa Jr., left, Senior, right.... A long-time friend of Cosa Nostra News telephoned the facility today and recorded the discussion, emailing the MPEG to yours truly. Apparently, her feminine voice worked its magic on him and within seconds he gave her what we needed and couldn't get -- recorded confirmation. Greg Scarpa Junior is "transitioning, yeah," the man on the phone finally admits after she asks what an RRM is. Specifically, she'd said "I thought it was a place for people getting out soon, who were...." And he said it (and you will soon hear it) -- "Transitioning, yeah."

Gregory Scarpa Junior, sentenced to 40 years to life for assorted mob mayhem (a law enforcement source told us he's been linked to 24 homicides alone), has been transferred from the same Supermax that Vinny Basciano was in. Scarpa Junior at Colorado's ADX. Only Scarpa Junior has been moved -- we're not sure when -- to something called a Residential Reentry Management Field Office based in Kansas City, Kansas. "He's never getting out," the source told us. "They might have moved him to make him more comfortable now that everything has settled down." But still -- a a Residential Reentry Management Field Office?

Michael Persico This arrives directly from Kenji Gallo's Breakshot Blog : This Tuesday another man who has lived the mafia life will face a judge and be sentenced for his crimes: Michael Persico. This so called “mafia prince” never had to get in the trenches to get his hands dirty. He was born into power and ordered others (who were not born into the ruling class) to do his work for him. He lived the life of privilege, wealth and power that comes with being mafia royalty. A position he never earned. He was able to live the way he did because of the murderous reign of his father Carmine.

Luca DiMatteo A federal grand jury last week charged Luca DiMatteo, 70, of Merrick, with extortion, loan-sharking and racketeering conspiracy. The indictment accuses DiMatteo of serving as an acting captain in the Colombo crime family, one of New York’s five Mafia families, reports the Long Island Herald. DiMatteo was charged alongside his nephew, Luca “Lukey” DiMatteo, 46, of Brooklyn, and another man, John Shields, also known as Scott Greco, 46, of Atlantic Beach. The DiMatteos extorted a business owner for more than 10 years, squeezing him for $100 to $200 every other week until he closed the business in June, said Kelly Currie, acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York. The indictment covers January 2009 to June 2015. Uncle and nephew also engaged in loan-sharking and racketeering conspiracy, Currie said.

Linda Scarpa "Ready or not here i come... ready to share my secrets... my story..." --Linda Scarpa If you smoked pot with this 14-year-old girl back in 1983, you had a major screw loose. That's because the girl in question is Linda Scarpa . Her dad, Gregory Scarpa, was also known as "The Grim Reaper."  One of the most violent mobsters to strut through New York's boroughs, Scarpa was a chief assassin for imprisoned mob boss Carmine Persico during the 1990s Colombo war.

Kenji Gallo, blogger, asskicker, author of "Breakshot," one of the best books about the Mafia available. From this week's  Breakshot Blog  by friend Kenji Gallo  (a onetime associate of the Colombo family who became a turncoat charged with running a radio show for the feds. Kenji also wrote a great book about life in the mob -- particularly in the crazy madhouse known as the Colombo family. We wrote a little about Kenji and his book  back in this post .) some interesting info on how the mob communicates... "The Colombo’s were aware that the FBI and others were always watching or listening to them so they adopted some new tactics. A thumb across the cheek was how they referred to a made guy and a thumb across the back was their way of indicating a Capo. All the families used methods close to this, in Los Angeles they would point to the chest for a soldier, the shoulder for a Capo and the sky for Pete Milano the Boss.

Joseph Anthony Colombo Jr. Joseph A. Colombo Junior, affectionately known as "Pop," died on October 29, 2014 at his home in Newburgh, New York. He was 67. He's survived by his wife, Diane, and kids Dina, Denise, and Joe. He died following a long battle with Neurological Lyme Disease, according to one news report . Joe Junior was among Joseph Colombo Senior's five children, which also includes sons Christopher, Anthony and Vincent. Visitation will be held from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. on Monday, November 3rd at Brooks Funeral Home, 481 Gidney Ave., Newburgh. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated by Rev. William Scafidi at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, November 4th at St. Mary's Church, Newburgh. Burial will follow in Calvary Cemetery, New Windsor. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made in Joseph's name to Hospice of Orange and Sullivan Counties, 800 Stony Brook Ct., Newburgh, NY 12550 or to Lyme Research Alliance, 20...

  Albert Gallo under arrest. "Yeah, I left it noisy. That way it scares any pain-in-the-ass innocent bystanders away." In August 1972 the mob committed one of its worst blunders ever when innocent businessmen were fired on in cold blood at the Neapolitan Noodle restaurant at 320 East 79th Street in Manhattan. " The Godfather " was still playing in New York theaters five months after its release. On Friday, Aug. 11, 1972, a hit man from Las Vegas walked into the Noodle during the dinner hour rush. Mistaking four businessmen at the crowded bar for Colombo family acting boss "Little Allie" Persico and three Colombo wiseguys, the shooter opened fire with two long-barreled pistols, killing two of the businessmen — kosher beef wholesalers from Westchester County and Long Island — and wounding their companions. The men were old friends celebrating a daughter's wedding engagement. They arrived at the Noodle at the exact wrong time, as the P...

Fox News talking head Diane Falzone, who appeared in the magazine Maxim. This  Fox News Video  sort of asks Michael Franzese the main question regarding the former Colombo capo who quit the mob and continues living openly.  If he didn't rat anyone out, how did he get out of the mob alive? They kind of skipped the natural first question though, just to pin down the answer: Did he rat anyone out? There are conflicting stories out there that we wanted to give Michael the opportunity to answer here on this blog. The Fox Video blurb is titled: Ex-Mafia boss: Hoffa not in Meadowlands , body won't be found. Fox isn't the sharing type so you will have to click the link to watch the video, under which is noted: "Former mobster Michael Franzese is subject of new film ' God the Father '."

"Where Hoffa at?" "They will NEVER find Hoffa's body. trust me on that one." --Michael Franzese, in a Reddit  IAmA  subreddit Early in 2014, Michael Franzese participated in Reddit's much vaunted IAmA -- basically a real time session in which those on Reddit, called redditors, ask questions of someone who is famous or noteworthy for some kind of achievement or notoriety or both. Michael Franzese discusses the Mafia, Goodfellas and meatballs. Reddit [reddit] is an entertainment, social networking service and news website where registered community members can submit content, such as text posts or direct links. Also, registered users, called redditors, vote submissions "up" or "down" to organize the posts and determine their position on the site's pages.

Michael Franzese THIS POST IS OLD; the event closed. Wanna meet a gangster? An official inducted member of Cosa Nostra? I just received an invitation to extend to all my readers, who are free to extend the invitation to anyone they want. Readers of Cosa Nostra News (and anyone they care to extend this offer to) are personally invited to meet Michael Franzese and his wife Cammy in New Jersey to discuss the new movie about Michael's life and times in the Mafia, " God the Father ," over breakfast. To register click on this link: Attend Breakfast with Michael Franzese . Watch the trailer on the continuation; looks pretty cool to me...

DiMichele Alicia DiMichele is due to plead guilty in Brooklyn Federal Court next month for stealing union funds, the newspapers reported today. We'll believe it when it happens, as this case has been fraught with twists and turns . This means DiMichele will change her plea yet again in order to agree to pay $40,000 in restitution to Teamsters Local 282 for embezzling funds "— but her brother had to step in Tuesday to write the first check," the New York Daily News reported .  Brother Anthony wrote a check out for the initial restitution payment of $20,000. As noted, Judge Sandra Townes allowed DiMichele to change her not guilty plea because the judge had decided to impose a restitution amount even larger than the hefty $116,000 prosecutors were then seeking. The parties had originally agreed to an amount of $20,000. Basically, Townes prompted DiMichele to agree to pay twice the amount of the original agreement.

In 2002, South Philadelphia mob associate  John "Johnny Gongs" Casasanto  wanted to join one of New York's Five Families, the Gambino crime family. He appeared to have  an "in": he'd met the family's acting boss while in prison. But Johnny Gongs never left Philly's mean streets (probably because he liked the ladies too much, especially married ones; in fact, he reputedly banged one mob wife too many). Johnny Gongs 2003 murder remains unsolved. Former Gambino associate John Alite told authorities he had met with Casasanto several times after Casasanto came home from prison in 2002. According to Casasanto, John A. (Junior) Gotti wanted Alite to bring him to New York "to introduce him to a couple of guys . . . to get him straightened out," Alite testified. But Alite said he didn't go along with the program. "I met with him after that and I said, 'Johnny, you'll get killed in New York. Every corner...