Cosa Nostra News

In 1995, when their paths crossed inside Manhattan’s Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC), and after trading insults, Greg Scarpa Junior nearly beat Luchese boss Vittorio (Vic) Amuso to death. The NYPD linked Greg Scarpa Junior to 24 gangland hits. Former Assistant US Attorney John Kroger highlights the violent encounter in his memoir  Convictions: A Prosecutor's Battles Against Mafia Killers, Drug Kingpins, and Enron Thieves . Aside from passing reference to the incident on Gang Land News, it seems the Feds successfully downplayed what happened, with  Jerry Capeci reporting that in September 1998 that, "Scarpa (Jr.) has been kept away from other mobsters ever since he punched out Lucchese boss Vittorio (Vic) Amuso three years ago. Amuso had made some disparaging remarks about his father's FBI informer status." (We’re referring to references found via Google Search regarding the assault. Someone in a comment says the assault was widely covered, presumably in 1995 wh...

Earlier this year, Linda Scarpa, daughter of Colombo mobster Greg Scarpa, appeared on Crime Watch Daily , a true-crime show about which we have written in the past , partly to promote her recent memoir. Cosa Nostra News contributor Nick Christophers described Linda Scarpa's book, The Mafia Hit Man's Daughter , as one of the "few books (that) have truly captured mob life" accurately. (See the story here .) Gregory Scarpa, known as "The Grim Reaper," was one of the most violent mobsters ever to strut through New York City's boroughs -- and the fact that he was a longtime high-echelon FBI informant only made him more dangerous. As noted in January of this year , a federal judge years ago had voiced his belief that Scarpa's former FBI agent handler Lindley DeVecchio was indeed guilty of passing on key intelligence to Scarpa, who then put it to use to murder mob rivals.

Greg Scarpa Jr., left, Senior, right.... A long-time friend of Cosa Nostra News telephoned the facility today and recorded the discussion, emailing the MPEG to yours truly. Apparently, her feminine voice worked its magic on him and within seconds he gave her what we needed and couldn't get -- recorded confirmation. Greg Scarpa Junior is "transitioning, yeah," the man on the phone finally admits after she asks what an RRM is. Specifically, she'd said "I thought it was a place for people getting out soon, who were...." And he said it (and you will soon hear it) -- "Transitioning, yeah."

Grim Reaper/informer Scarpa shows off the fashion of the day. Gregory Scarpa, Sr. (May 8, 1928 – June 4, 1994) was a fiercely loyal capo in the Colombo crime family with cojones the size of coconuts -- something this family is known for producing, probably because of all the inter-family wars following the early '60s insurrection by the Gallo brothers against old man Profaci, original boss of the Colombo family, which actually carried Profaci's name at the time. Known as "The Grim Reaper," for decades, especially from the1970s through early 1990s, Scarpa was Colombo boss Carmine Persico's chief enforcer, doling out the proverbial dirt nap to whoever defied the administration before dying of AIDS, contracted from a crew member during a blood transfusion.