Cosa Nostra News

Defense lawyers using the "musical consiglieris" defense in the courtroom apparently wasn't the only reason why Michael (Mikey Nose) Mancuso, boss of the Bonanno family, took the drastic step of expelling (aka shelving) his own acting boss and three others from the crime family back in 2019. Mikey Nose Mancuso.  Credit:  Noah Goldberg/Daily News . It also had something to do with betrayal: ex-acting boss Joseph (Joe C) Cammarano tried to take control of the crime family while Mikey Nose was still in prison, according to today's Gang Land News , which reports that details of Joe C's maneuvering against Mancuso came to light via testimony at the Bonanno racketeering trial .  Gang Land also reported today that tensions between Mikey Nose and Joe C. ramped up significantly last week, to the extent that there was a big brawl at a Long Island funeral parlor during a wake for Cammarano's father-in-law, Vito Grimaldi.  "Mikey Nose is a torpedo—a killer." I...

Bonanno capo Joseph (Joe Valet) Sabella was slammed with double the amount of prison time his lawyer had sought: He was sentenced to seven years plus about three months in prison last Friday by U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein. Joe Sabella was promoted to capo during the time of the alleged crimes. In February, Joe Valet pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy, among other crimes. Then, the wiseguys he was supposed to go to trial with — Joe Cammarano and Porky Zancocchio — won acquittals. But then those two, and two others, were shelved by Bonanno boss Mickey Nose Mancuso who took offense at how the trial defense strategy depicted the consiglieri position, as Gang Land News reported. What's it all mean for Joe Valet? The fck if I know.... But Gang Land noted last week that Sabella is "entitled to lots of second thoughts about the decision he made..." Sabella was involved in a large-scale illegal dumping racket, he assaulted both a vale...

Summations began on the morning of March 11, and the jury was handed transcripts of the audio recordings played during trial..... John Zancocchio leaving court last month. From 2012 until last year, Joseph Cammarano Jr. and John Zancocchio were powerful Mafiosi who profited from a mob-controlled dump on Staten Island while overseeing a group of underlings who strong-armed and terrified people into paying up. So Federal prosecutors have been alleging in Manhattan Federal Court the past few weeks. They also allege that Cammarano is the  boss and Zancocchio the consiglieri. Cammarano, 59, who lives in Long Island, is charged with racketeering conspiracy and conspiracy to commit extortion. Zancocchio, 61, of Staten Island, is charged with racketeering conspiracy, attempted assault and conspiracy to commit extortion. If convicted, Cammarano faces 40 years in prison and Zancocchio, 45. If you ask their attorneys, however, you'd understand that the two men w...

Vincent (Vinny TV) Badalamenti, a former acting boss of the Bonanno crime family, was preferable to Joe C and Porky, one government witness said in testimony yesterday at the rackeering trial of Joe Cammarano and John (Porky) Zancocchio in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. One witness liked it better when Vinny TV was acting boss. The witness recorded audiotape in his pizzeria, which apparently the Joe C regime was jostling to take from him at the time. Still, the witness said that he tried to get along with them, and had even patronized Porky's restaurant, Bella Donna, where made members of the Bonanno crime family congregated on Fridays. "Like at happy hour," Judge Alvin Hellerstein interjected, evoking laughter even from members of the jury. The trial is wrapping up quickly: the government said it might finish presenting its case today, March 6. On Monday, former associate Stephen Sabella testified that Zanco...

While reputed Bonanno street boss/official underboss Joseph (Joe C) Cammarano and alleged consiglieri John (Porky) Zancocchio face the full weight of the federal government’s case against them on racketeering charges in Manhattan’s Southern District, the Bronx-based crew of the Bonanno crime family anxiously await the full-time return of the boss. Michael (Nose) Mancuso returns full-time this month. Michael (Mikey Nose) Mancuso, who is due out one week from next Tuesday, allegedly has been visiting various parts of the Bronx since he was moved to a halfway house last summer. In December 2008, when Mancuso was acting boss, he was sentenced to 15 years for ordering the 2004 murder of Randolph Pizzolo. He and Anthony (Ace) Aiello, who was sentenced to 30 years, also were called “two worthless lives” by Connie Pizzolo, the victim’s daughter, inside a Brooklyn federal courtroom just prior to sentencing. Mancuso had faced life in prison under the original indictment, but followi...

UPDATE ADDED The Bonanno racketeering trial kicked off this week in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York before Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein (who is asking some great questions). Joseph “Joe C” Cammarano Jr. allegedly has good hair.....  On trial are accused acting Bonanno boss/official underboss Joseph (Joe C) Cammarano Jr., 59, and alleged consiglieri John (Porky) Zancocchio, 61. To win an acquittal, the two must get past the testimony of not only two mob turncoats who defense attorneys are reportedly planning to discredit for being "too cozy" with the NYPD and FBI, but legitimate business owners and others. The two top bananas of the Bonanno crime family face charges related to extortion and racketeering conspiracy. Former Bonanno capo Peter (Pug) Lovaglio and associate Steven Sabella are slated to testify against the two alleged gangsters. Also slated to testify are owners and employees of a demolition company, a constructio...

Alleged Bonanno capo/consiglieri John (Porky) Zancocchio's lawyer claims that the racketeering indictment against Porky and nine other alleged wiseguys should be dismissed because Manhattan Assistant US Attorney Jason Swergold did an extraordinary favor for turncoat Bonanno ­captain Peter Lovaglio. Porky stuffed his face after judge let him out of jail in order to eat healthier. The prosecutor, the lawyer claimed in the filing, handed the turncoat copies of government wiretaps to bolster his $5 million lawsuit against the NYPD. Furthermore, the material also could serve as a “cheat sheet” for when he testifies against high-ranking Bonanno wiseguys, as per "blockbuster federal court filing claims," noted by the New York Post. About a year ago, Zancocchio and alleged Bonanno acting boss Joseph "Joe C" Cammarano Jr. were among 10 reputed mobsters indicted by federal prosecutors for their alleged roles in a racketeering enterprise involving murder,...

John (Porky) Zancocchio, an alleged Bonanno crime family consigliere/bookie who once took action from baseball great Pete Rose is back in prison for violating his $1 million bail conditions. John (Porky) Zancocchio as seen on FBI surveillance photo. Zancocchio, 60,  committed the crime of frequenting places on Staten Island (in walking distance from his house) that broke the terms of the agreement, and Manhattan Federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein tossed him behind bars, as the Daily News reported . Zancocchio was among the 10 reputed mobsters arrested in January, including the Bonanno crime family's acting boss, Joseph Cammarano Jr., 58 . The bust also included mobsters from other crime families, one from the Luchese and another from the Genovese crime families. All face charges of conspiracy to commit murder, extortion, loansharking, wire and mail fraud, and narcotics distribution. He also has prior convictions for tax evasion. Zancocchio was out on bail u...

On Friday, 10 reputed mobsters, including the Bonanno crime family's acting boss, Joseph Cammarano Jr., 58,  were arrested in raids on Staten Island, including one at Xcess Gentlemen's Club in Charleston, according to a report by NBC 4 New York . (The indictment purports to name two consiglieris.) Joseph Cammarano Jr. holds court The bust also included two other mobsters from other crime families, one from the Luchese and another from the Genovese crime families. All face charges of conspiracy to commit murder, extortion, loansharking, wire and mail fraud, and narcotics distribution. Prosecutors allege that starting in 2012 until this month, the group of extortionists and drug dealers conspired to commit murder and assault in furtherance of the Bonnano operation. As per news reports: Albert “Al Muscles” Armetta is singled out for earning his nickname by allegedly getting paid to tune up at least one victim on Bonanno family orders. Or, as the indictment ...