Cosa Nostra News

Investigators mentioned three crime families in filings -- the Gambino, Genovese, and Philadelphia crime families. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board voted unanimously Wednesday (November 28) to reject a hearing examiner's recommendation that state investigators had failed to prove conclusively that Lombardi's owner Michael Giammarino, above, was unfit to work in a casino. Law enforcement officials alleged that the Mafia was attempting to infiltrate Pennsylvania casinos through Lombardi's, which was founded in New York's Little Italy in 1905 and has credible claims to being America's first pizzeria. Giammarino plans to appeal the decision, though he seems to face an uphill battle. "The bottom line is that the investigative and prosecutorial arm of the board failed to establish a single fact which might indicate that Michael Giammarino has done anything wrong in connection with his efforts to establish a Lombardi's at Parx," Giammarino...

Is the oldest pizzeria in America linked to the Mafia? Investigators with a state gaming control board claim Yes, it is... Alleged Genovese capo John Brescio was the public face of Lombardi's. Lombardi’s Pizza was founded in Manhattan’s Little Italy in 1905 and was the place where pizza was created. As per The New York Times, "New York pizza did not exist before 1905, when Gennaro Lombardi, a Neapolitan immigrant, began to sell pies in his grocery store in Little Italy. Lombardi's was by most accounts the first New York pizzeria" ... It touts on its website that it's "(s)till located in the Little Italy section of Manhattan" where it offers "its beautiful, smoky-crusted coal oven baked pizza, topped with San Marzano tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, and basil"... Mafia or no Mafia, let's all meet there and have a slice....  Lombardi's was slated to expand into the Parx Casino in Bensalem, Pa, in time for Christmas 2017. Howev...