Cosa Nostra News

Vincent (Vinny TV) Badalamenti, a former acting boss of the Bonanno crime family, was preferable to Joe C and Porky, one government witness said in testimony yesterday at the rackeering trial of Joe Cammarano and John (Porky) Zancocchio in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. One witness liked it better when Vinny TV was acting boss. The witness recorded audiotape in his pizzeria, which apparently the Joe C regime was jostling to take from him at the time. Still, the witness said that he tried to get along with them, and had even patronized Porky's restaurant, Bella Donna, where made members of the Bonanno crime family congregated on Fridays. "Like at happy hour," Judge Alvin Hellerstein interjected, evoking laughter even from members of the jury. The trial is wrapping up quickly: the government said it might finish presenting its case today, March 6. On Monday, former associate Stephen Sabella testified that Zanco...

UPDATE ADDED The Bonanno racketeering trial kicked off this week in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York before Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein (who is asking some great questions). Joseph “Joe C” Cammarano Jr. allegedly has good hair.....  On trial are accused acting Bonanno boss/official underboss Joseph (Joe C) Cammarano Jr., 59, and alleged consiglieri John (Porky) Zancocchio, 61. To win an acquittal, the two must get past the testimony of not only two mob turncoats who defense attorneys are reportedly planning to discredit for being "too cozy" with the NYPD and FBI, but legitimate business owners and others. The two top bananas of the Bonanno crime family face charges related to extortion and racketeering conspiracy. Former Bonanno capo Peter (Pug) Lovaglio and associate Steven Sabella are slated to testify against the two alleged gangsters. Also slated to testify are owners and employees of a demolition company, a constructio...

Ken Murdock once played a pivotal role in mob politics in Hamilton, a tough town on Ontario's Great Lakes waterfront. Mob hit man Ken Murdock, who was paroled two years ago. He was sentenced to "life" for killing mob boss Johnny "Pops" Papalia and was a suspect in the killings of two close Papalia associates on the orders of his longtime employers, the Musitano crime family , one of three key crime families in the Hamilton region. The other two were the Luppinos and Papalias .

The United States Attorney for New York's Southern District, Preet Bharara, the most powerful prosecutor in the country, was fired by the Trump administration after he refused to resign on Friday. Bharara  tweeted the news  on Saturday, March 11th: The Trump administration, in one fell swoop, wiped out all remaining Obama administration prosecutors at the Justice Department. A total of 46 holdover United States attorneys, including Bharara, was asked to resign immediately.   Gone... just... like... that....

Salvatore Delligatti  Members and associates of the Genovese crime family have been arrested and face an eight-count racketeering indictment that includes murder conspiracy, attempted murder, extortion conspiracy, illegal gambling and firearm charges, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said. The FBI, Nassau County Police and NYPD conducted a multi-year probe (with some alleged crimes dating back to 2008) that resulted in the case against 18 people, 17 of whom are currently in jail following the “coordinated take-down,” according to officials. Those charged include alleged Genovese soldiers Robert DeBello (aka “Old Man,” “Bobby” and “Grandpa”), 74, of Whitestone, and Steven Pastore, 56, of Staten Island, and associates Ryan Ellis (“Joseph Princi,” “Baldy,” “Lazy Eye” and “Zeus”) , 34, of Bayside, and Salvatore Delligatti (“Jay” and “Fat Sal”) , 40, of Oakland Gardens.