Cosa Nostra News

The Philadelphia crime family formally earned a slot on the humiliating list of Cosa Nostra borgatas to have one of their "secret" initiation ceremonies electronically recorded by law enforcement. Anthony Persiano recorded his 2015 initiation. (Photo s ource : The Gangster Report) Law enforcement has recorded four "secret" Cosa Nostra initiation ceremonies over the decades, to our knowledge. The Feds recorded a Patriarca crime family ceremony in Medford, Massachusetts, in 1989. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police recorded a ceremony involving the Bonanno crime family, which has long-standing historical ties to Italian organized crime in Canada. The ceremony occurred in 2015. The Philly crime family has had induction ceremonies recorded twice. Most recently, Northeast knockaround guy Anthony Persiano became a Federal informant and recorded his October 2015 ceremony. ( Persiano is the CI we wondered about in 2018, when news broke about the FBI bust involving members an...

Reputed South Philadelphia Cosa Nostra underboss Steven (Stevie) Mazzone, 58, last month pleaded guilty to racketeering, illegal gambling, loan-sharking, and conspiracy to commit extortion. Reputed underboss Steve Mazzone, left. Mazzone and his brother Salvatore were among 15 members and associates of the Philly crime family rounded up in November 2020.   As per Mazzone's agreement, the judge in the case is to consider a prison term of no more than five years for the Philly mob's reputed number two. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, U.S. District Judge R. Barclay Surrick can follow the deal or ignore it. Mazzone's sentencing has been slated for Oct. 26.  The  Philadelphia Inquirer  report also noted that, of the 15 defendants, 11, including the Mazzone brothers, have pleaded guilty or agreed to do so. Three others are awaiting trial. One has died. The superseding indictment was unsealed November 23, 2020. The charges—announced by William M. McSwain, the U...

" Johnny Alite went to jail. In jail he met people from Philadelphia and Atlantic City. He (wound) up hanging out with the New Jersey mob, then came to Florida. He stole all these businesses from every person. You think he would give me a penny? He didn't give me a quarter; not a penny, not one red cent. Not one red cent did I get. And I swear that on my other arm, that I should lose the use of it. Not one red cent ..."--from the 2006 opening statement of Gambino capo Ronnie One-Arm Trucchio on trial in Miami for racketeering and extortion.... In 2015, Gotti's Rules, written by George Anastasia, hit bookstores to tell the inside story of Gambino enforcer John Alite, who was once a close associate of John (Junior) Gotti, who he later testified against. Now, Mafia International lets John Alite tell his story in his own words. (It is not a comprehensive autobiography however.) Since Gotti's Rules , John Alite has been a steady presence on the blogosphere. Using soc...

UPDATED South Jersey resident Joseph (Joey Electric) Servidio, 60, a reputed soldier in the Philadelphia crime family, was sentenced last Thursday to 15 years in Federal prison for pushing crystal methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl-laced pills. Joseph (Joey Electric) Servidio. He was arrested in March 2018 with two South Jersey associates of the Philadelphia mob family: Carl Chianese and Michael Gallicchio.  In June 2019, in Camden, NJ, Federal court, Servidio copped to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, including more than 200 grams of fentanyl and heroin, and about 300 grams of crystal meth. The FBI described this case as the  dismantling of a drug pipeline running nearly the length of the Garden State Parkway. Initially the FBI indicated that elements of the Boston Mafia also were involved in this case. Among the charges outlined in the indictment: Servidio and Chianese plotted the revenge killing of a drug-dealing associate because the associate, identifie...

Its a truism that wiseguys can win cases without fixing the jury. Phil Narducci (Source: Gangster Report ) Having savvy lawyers always helps, but when the defendant's accusers have dirtier laundry than the defendant, then that defendant has a good shot. Typically, when it's a former wiseguy testifying, he has his own colorful criminal history, and the particulars tend to obstruct whatever comes out of his mouth on the witness stand. If he's suspected of committing worse crimes than the defendant, defense attorneys will have a field day highlighting that in great detail for each and every juror. But if the accuser is perceived to be even worse than the guy on trial, jurors will probably be hard-pressed to convict, especially if the defendant is facing decades in prison. On that note, Phil Narducci's attorneys seem to have hit the jackpot. ( Narducci was arrested in Feburary.) They say that their client's chief accuser (a man they previ...

South Jersey resident Joseph Servidio is a made member of the Philadelphia Cosa Nostra, according to law enforcement authorities. As reported in March, 2018, following a two-year probe, the FBI arrested a soldier and two associates of the Philadelphia mob in South Jersey on drug-related charges. The FBI describes the case as a dismantling of a drug pipeline running nearly the length of the Garden State Parkway. The men, all of whom have drug convictions, were indicted and arrested on March 14, 2018, for selling drugs across the state. The case also involved confidential sources--one, CS-1 in the indictment, is "a made member of the Philadelphia LCN" who's been giving the FBI information since 2015; he's also "personally familiar with numerous associates and members" of the Philadelphia mob -- and undercover agents. Joseph Servidio, 59, of Upper Township, New Jersey, was identified as a soldier in the Philadelphia Cosa Nostra by FBI Special Agent...