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...

Nicodemo S. Scarfo and pal Salvatore Pelullo are slated to face the music (though it's continually been postponed) for their efforts to steal around $12 million from  FirstPlus Financial . Scarfo, 49, the son of imprisoned mob boss Nicodemo D. "Little Nicky" Scarfo, faces nearly life in prison, as does Pelullo, 47, an associate who helped loot the Texas-based mortgage company. Also scheduled for next week: yet another meeting as per the defense's efforts to win a new trial by maintaining that the jury in the FirstPlus case never should've been exposed to any mob-related discovery material. Nicky Scarfo Jr was shot six times while dining here. He and walked out of the hospital a week later, having suffered only flesh wounds. The trial of Scarfo and Pelullo did not involve the Mafia, defense attorneys contend. Therefore, the prosecution's references to the mob "prejudiced the jury and [served] to glamorize and sensationalize an otherwise mundane f...

John Alite, left, George Anastasia at Free Library event last night. PhillyVoice : "George Anastasia, nationally renowned crime reporter, author and Philadelphia Inquirer writer, will make an appearance at the Free Library on Tuesday, Feb. 24. He will be reading from his new book, " Gotti's Rules: The Story of John Alite, Junior Gotti, and the Demise of the American Mafia ." "Gotti's Rules," which was released last month by Harper Collins, goes behind the scenes of New York City's Gambino crime family from the point of view of the man who betrayed them, John Alite . Alite was a hit-man who later testified against close friend Junior Gotti. "In his book, Anastasia uses FBI documentation and interviews to construct the story of John A. Gotti's rise to notoriety and how Junior later filled his big shoes.

By now, most have probably read about the FBI releasing a recording of a Mafia induction ceremony from 25 years ago in Medford. The Boston Globe , specifically, has been getting plenty of mileage out of this story for many of those years. The story includes a huge error that's been repeated in many of last week's rewrites. On Oct. 29, 1989, New England Mafia boss Raymond “Junior” Patriarca anointed four new soldiers into his crime family. A full-blown ceremony with a total of 21 wiseguys in attendance, it occurred following a civil war.

Nick Christophers , a top editor at  Mob Candy , writes about the Greek Mafia for us. And, this is only the first of several articles.  Thanks, Nick! The American Mafia, among its various other roles, is the gatekeeper to the much coveted and very lucrative American underworld. Guest columnist Nick Christophers Other ethnic crime groups have sought to carve out their own piece of the action. Many of these groups often find that it's easier and more profitable in the long term to partner with America’s Cosa Nostra.