Cosa Nostra News

The first Q&A with former Luchese wiseguy John Pennisi ...These are the first few questions, followed by John's answers. QUESTION : The prevailing thought on mafia hits is that they no longer happen. The 2013 Meldish rubout was seen as brazen and uncommon and of course Caldwell, Londonio and the entire administration paid dearly for it. However, in John's story there are at least two instances which suggest hits are still a viable option. 1) When Big John tells John two family members are wearing wires John immediately suggests whacking them without hesitation. 2) John eventually walks into the Federal Building when he becomes convinced the Lucchese family was planning to kill him. Michael Meldish's boots were still outside his apartment days after he was killed in 2013. So, my question is - how prevalent are mafia hits? Was the Meldish rubout in 2013 really the only one in modern mafia history (or at least since the mid-2000s)? Or does the mafia still carry out hits bu...

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...

After a six-week jury trial, Matthew Madonna, Steven L. Crea, Christopher Londonio, and Terence Caldwell were convicted Friday of murder, conspiracy to commit racketeering, and other felonies. Fifteen other defendants previously pled guilty to related charges. U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “The violent and disturbing acts of these four organized crime figures included the brutal murder of associate Michael Meldish . Fittingly, all four defendants have been found guilty of their heinous acts of fraud, extortion, and murder on the six-year anniversary of Meldish’s death. Thanks to the outstanding investigative work of the FBI and NYPD, we will continue our commitment to making organized crime a thing of a bygone era.” According to the evidence presented at trial, and other court documents : Until his arrest in this case, Madonna was the Acting Boss of the Luchese Family of La Cosa Nostra , one of the “Five Families” that constitute the Mafia in the New York City a...

After entering his plea on Tuesday before White Plains Federal Judge Cathy Seibel, reputed Luchese capo Steven Crea Jr. , 46, of New Rochelle, didn't get to return home (as he undoubtedly had hoped) to enjoy his last few months of freedom with his family before sentencing. Steven Crea Junior. He was instead handcuffed and put in a prison cell. Prosecutors had sought his immediate arrest after citing for the judge statutes mandating incarceration once a defendant is convicted of a violent crime. Crea Jr. pleaded guilty to murder conspiracy and assault charges related to an unconsummated revenge scheme he and his father, Luchese underboss Steven (Stevie Wonder) Crea, cooked up to whack a Bonanno associate stemming from a bizarre 2012 clash between the Luchese and Bonanno families at a Bronx social club. As per the indictment, Crea Senior ordered the murder of Carl Ulzheimer, a Bonanno crime family associate who lived in the Bronx in 2012, according to the Feds. Specifical...

UPDATED Luchese captain Steven Crea Jr. admitted to plotting with his father, underboss Steven Crea, to kill Bonanno associate Carl Ulzheimer in 2012 following a Bronx social club encounter that Crea Senior deemed a personal affront. Crea Senior during 1980s arrest for murder. He faces a maximum of 13 years behind bars for his part in an attempt to have another mobster whacked. A federal indictment accused the younger Crea of participating in the slaying of Michael Meldish, 62, the one-time co-leader of a homicidal crew called the Purple Gang, but he did not admit to the killing as part of his guilty plea Tuesday, his lawyers said. “Our client did not enter a plea of guilty to the murder of Michael Meldish because he is not guilty of that conduct. In fact, he took more time rather than enter a plea to something that is not true,” said his lawyers, Joseph DiBenedetto and Seth Ginsburg in a statement Tuesday night. Crea Jr., 46, passed a polygraph exam last November ...

In November 2013, a low-profile Luchese associate was murdered in the Bronx -- and many stories in the media blitz that followed referenced the Purple Gang, an obscure 1970s street gang with reputed Mafia links. Police probe Meldish shooting in the Bronx in 2013. The  Purple Gang roamed the South Bronx and Harlem where members were involved in the large‐scale distribution of heroin. They also whacked people -- and in many cases, dismembered their victims, of which there reportedly were 17 by December 1977. (Many of the 17 had been active informants for law enforcement when slain.) Purple Gang members essentially cut their teeth as glorified coffee boys in decade-long apprenticeships.  They stepped up their game when the competition was wiped out -- meaning, they filled a huge niche after law enforcement cleared away many local narcotics trafficking rings, including the one known as the French Connection. The Purple Gang  entered the contract killing busines...