Cosa Nostra News

Thirteen individuals, including a father and son alleged to be associates of the "defunct" Pittsburgh Cosa Nostra , were arrested last week for participating in an illegal gambling ring. Rodney Ianelli. Robert (Bobby I) Iannelli, 88, of Wexford, and Rodney (Rusty) Iannelli, 58, of Pittsburgh, were charged by a grand jury with running an illegal bookmaking and lottery business that brought in tens of thousands of dollars weekly, the  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. Robert Iannelli has multiple convictions for gambling charges by both state and Federal investigators going back to 1969. His son, Rodney Iannelli, was arrested in 2000 for involvement in a Fayette County sports betting and illegal lottery ring connected to one of Pittsburgh's "last made mobsters," Thomas “Sonny” Ciancutti. This latest case began when the state attorney general’s office and state police launched a probe in March 2015 that discovered the Iannellis were operating ...

"Nick the Blade" had "absolutely no redeeming qualities" one FBI agent said of him. A Pittsburgh mobster who wasn't even two years out of prison, where he'd served a near-three-decade stretch, dropped dead of a heart attack while enjoying his usual glass of Pinot Grigio. Eugene "Nick the Blade" Gesuale, 73, was at Past Times Restaurant and Bar, "when he suddenly fell over" this past Thursday night, bar manager David Ruiz told The Daytona Beach Journal Online . Ruiz was quoted saying yesterday afternoon: "He was on his cellphone and it looked as if he was having a seizure. I called 9-1-1." ( Hear the 9-1-1 call , which runs five minutes.)

John LaRocca Did the Mafia commit the assassination of JFK ? If it did, which mobsters were involved? Pennsylvania's Trib Live noted an incident which for a time drew the spotlight on two little-known New Kensington gangsters: Gabriel “Kelly” Mannarino and his brother Sam — both of whom were part of the one-time rich and powerful Pittsburgh mob family of John LaRocca, who held power for some thirty years. The family has since nearly disappeared due to aggressive law enforcement tactics. Both LaRocca and Mannarino were partners with Tampa mob boss Santo Trafficante in owning the Sans Souci hotel and gambling casino in Havana, Cuba.