Cosa Nostra News

This entry begins with a Gambino family meeting to plan the hit on boss Paul Castellano. In attendance were Gambino players Sammy the Bull, Frankie DeCicco, Joe Watts, John Gotti, Angelo [Ruggiero], Eddie Lino, Fat Sally, Vinnie Artuso, Johnny Carneglia, “Tony Roach,” and Iggy.  John Gotti, left, Frank DeCicco. See previous installments in this series: 1992 Testimony of Gambino Underboss Salvatore (Sammy the Bull) Gravano, Part 1 1992 Testimony of Salvatore (Sammy The Bull) Gravano Part 2: Gambino Ceremony, Meeting John Gotti 1992 Testimony of Gambino Underboss Salvatore (Sammy The Bull) Gravano Part 3: Murders 1992 Testimony of Salvatore (Sammy The Bull) Gravano Part 4: Plotting To Kill A Boss The following continues with Sammy the Bull still under direct questioning by John Gleeson, the then Assistant United States Attorney. GLEESON: Was there a meeting to plan the murder?  GRAVANO: Yes, that was the night before we had a serious meeting.  GLEESON: Where was the meeting...

In 1989, Gambino boss John Gotti put out feelers to trial lawyer James LaRossa , who Gotti wanted to hire to represent him as co-counsel for an anticipated prosecution for the 1985 Paul Castellano murder. James LaRossa, left, Paul Castellano, middle. We mentioned this in a recent post about James LaRossa — the accomplished trial lawyer who died in 2014 at the age of 82 — who is now the topic of a biography written by his son , James. Last of the Gladiators, A Son’s Memoir is available now. As we were noting, as per federal investigators, Gotti’s invitation included the proviso that if LaRossa were to decline, the noted attorney would find himself pushing up daisies a lot sooner than he would’ve thought possible. When asked about the alleged threat, LaRossa wasted no time in declaring it a joke, and nothing more. Prosecutors gave him a healthy out, in any event. They told LaRossa that he might be called as a witness because of his association with Castellano, who ...

Frank Cali had ascended to the role of street boss of the Gambino crime family, though now it appears that, yet again , there's uncertainty. Who's the boss? Frank Cali, maybe. Whether he's street boss or not, one thing seems clear: Francesco Paolo Augusto Calì would bring the New York-based crime family, one of the fabled five, back where it belongs: in the grip of a shrewd Sicilian who likely will strengthen its ranks and magnify its fortunes. Domenico (Italian Dom) Cefalu is Sicilian, but in terms of boss material, there are more suitable candidates, according to Michael "Mikie Scars" DiLeonardo , with whom we spoke for this story. His rise would also have an historical significance. It brings the Gambinos, once the largest and most powerful Mafia family in the country, full circle. If Cali is street boss, "the Gambino family is where it's supposed to be," DiLeonardo told me, "back in the hands of Sicilians. I...

Lost in the blinding media spotlight of the January 20th bust of about 130 mobsters and associates was the writing of what could be the final chapter in the story of Joseph "Joe The German" Watts, a gangster's gangster, whose resume goes all the way back to Carlo Gambino's reign, for whom he served as a hit man in the 1970s. Mugshot of a haggard looking Joe Watts. Watts --  never "made," or officially indoctrinated into a Mafia family, because he isn't Italian -- was still part of John Gotti's inner circle and often afforded the status of a capo. Watts was respected for his ability to earn and do "work," aka murder, in Mafia parlance. A strong-arm enforcer, Watts was capable of torture, which, contrary to public opinion, most mobsters do not have the stomach for. Watts, 69, has signed a plea agreement under which he will serve 13 years; initially the Feds had indicated that they might seek the death penalty for Watts (an...