Cosa Nostra News

A recent Appellate Court ruling granting a requested delay has cleared the path for a new trial for alleged Luchese underboss Steven L. Crea, acting boss Matthew (Matty) Madonna, soldier Christopher Londonio, and associate Terrence Caldwell, who were convicted and sentenced to life in prison for a gangland hit in the Bronx in 2013. Reputed mob associate Meldish was shot dead in the Bronx in 2013. Lawyers for Crea, Madonna, Londonio, and Caldwell filed the joint motion last month to request a delay because, the lawyers say, they found new evidence containing Brady, Giglio, or Rule 16 material—which has to do with the disclosure of exculpatory and impeachment evidence—which they will use in a motion seeking a new trial. The Rule 33 motion was to be filed in U.S. District Court in White Plains, the same courthouse where Crea, Madonna, Londonio, and Caldwell stood trial in 2019 for the murder of alleged Luchese associate Michael Meldish . Crea and his three co-defendants were convicted on ...

COSA NOSTRA NEWS EXCLUSIVE UPDATE TWO Matthew (Matty) Madonna is 84 and would be prime fodder for COVID-19, but he's also a longtime mobster who made it to the pinnacle of organized crime in New York City -- and in July of this year he was sentenced to life in prison without parole for murder. Yet only two months later and he's not in prison, according to the BOP inmate locator site. But a letter (see below) dated July 14 from Madonna's representatives at the law firm Dratel & Lewis (originally posted in the comment section courtesy of the New York Mafia website  staff) reports that Madonna is at the Westchester County Medical Center continuing to recover from a "serious" bout of COVID-19 that caused him to lose 40 pounds in a two-week period. Former Luchese mobster John Pennisi, who we've been writing about, told us, "I heard he had COVID--hope he didn’t pass away?" (No, John, apparently he's hanging in there....) As previously noted , imp...

UPDATED   The recent sentencing of former underboss Steven (Stevie Wonder) Crea to life in prison for the 2013 murder of Michael Meldish (though the Feds never bothered to prove Crea's involvement in the murder at trial in White Plains) marks the closing of a long chapter in Lucchese crime family history.  Vittorio (Vic) Amuso, left, and Anthony (Gaspipe) Casso running Lucchese family. Since the arrest of the longtime underboss in 2017, much of the power in the Lucchese family has moved from Crea's Bronx bailiwick to Brooklyn, where acting boss Michael (Big Mike) DeSantis and underboss Pasquale (Patty Red) Dellorusso are based (though the Brooklyn crew is actually in Staten Island, confusing the situation). The Lucchese crime family retains a powerful presence in the Bronx, however, where consiglieri Andrew DeSimone lives. In addition to being underboss, Crea, who reportedly earned multiple millions from construction industry labor rackets, served as the primary representati...

Steven L. Crea, the underboss of the Luchese Family, was sentenced to life in prison for the 2013 murder of Michael Meldish. Stevie Wonder Boy during 1980s arrest. The sentenced was announced last Thursday by Audrey Strauss, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. She also ordered that Crea pay a $400,000 fine and forfeit $1 million. At the end of this story is a chart with details on all the defendants involved in the case. A jury convicted Crea and three co-defendants on November 15, 2019 following a six-week trial before U.S. District Judge Cathy Seibel, who also imposed the sentence. Strauss said: “ Steven L. Crea – the underboss of the Luchese Family – is the last of a dozen made men arrested in 2017 to be sentenced for his crimes. For his role in the 2013 murder of Michael Meldish and other crimes, Crea will now spend the rest of his life behind bars. Thanks to the outstanding investigative work of the FBI and NYPD, we continue our commitme...

Former acting Luchese boss Matthew (Matty) Madonna, 84; soldier Christopher Londonio, 45; and associate Terrence Caldwell, 61, were sentenced to life in prison on Monday, July 27, following their 2019 jury conviction for the Bronx murder of Michael Meldish, among other crimes. Cops examine car in which Michael Meldish was killed in the Bronx in 2013. Audrey Strauss, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced the sentences, which were imposed by U.S. District Judge Cathy Seibel, as per  a media release . Steven L. Crea, the Underboss of the Luchese Family, who also faces a life sentence, will be sentenced at a later date. According to Gang Land News, he will be sentenced next week . As per Gang Land the reason for the delay is that, at the time of the hearing, which was conducted remotely due to COVID-19 precautions, "no court appearance slots were available for inmates at the Metropolitan Detention Center," where Crea is b...