Cosa Nostra News

Frank Gangi—a former Bonanno associate who, thanks to best-selling author Philip Carlo, earned lifetime infamy for his stint as sidekick to one of the most notorious Cosa Notra killers of the 20th century, Tommy Karate—has died, we've belatedly learned..... Frank Gangi  Jimmy Calandra announced Frank's demise in one of his Bath Avenue Story podcast s, saying he had gotten the word from some of Gangi’s relatives after mentioning Frank in an earlier podcast. (We were initially tipped off by the last person you would think of when hearing  Frank Gangi's name. Well, actually, the first—someone who has been in prison for more than 30 years now.) Back in April 1990 (then-Gambino boss John Gotti et al would be arrested in December of that year), Gangi confessed to being a member of a mob-linked crew under Bonanno soldier Thomas (Tommy Karate) Pitera and committing a host of horrible crimes, including selling about 50 kilograms of cocaine from between 1987 and January 1989 and pa...

Jim Cooley (and BIG MF Matt Freeman) together host  The Last Round , a major sports podcast that features interviews with fighters, athletes, wrestlers and more. It garners nearly a half-million monthly listeners. Jim also is a former MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) fighter. So Jim can kick serious ass, in other words. In fact , he kicks ass in this interview by being remarkably candid and honest.  He graciously and generously provided heartfelt answers to every question I asked. Thanks, man.... Jim Cooley hosts a sports podcast; he debuted another, called The Life, about the mob. Jim recently started another show, called The Life, about the Mafia. Up to 30,000 folks listen in on each episode. And he counts guys like Carmine Persico and Thomas (Tommy Karate) Pitera as his personal friends. (Jim hooked us up, too. Some may recall my shout out .) In fact, Pitera, as you'll read, told Jim: "I trust you with my life." And what's really interesting about The Li...

"I'm not afraid of anyone. Only God."    --Israeli crime boss Ze'ev Rosenstein yesterday. Amid heavy security, the bosses of two of the most powerful crime families in Israel met in Tel Aviv District Court yesterday in what was slated to be witness testimony. Rosenstein Incarcerated Israeli crime boss Ze'ev Rosenstein, who is serving a 12-year prison sentence for ecstasy distribution, was there to testify against Yitzhak Abergil, who allegedly attempted to murder Rosenstein "multiple times." Abergil is on trial for murder and global drug smuggling. Rosenstein took the stand Sunday morning and, in what's been termed a stunning twist, he abruptly refused to answer the prosecutor.

On August 11, 1996, the seemingly impossible happened at the high-security U.S. Penitentiary in Allenwood, Pennsylvania. Tommy Pitera, right, with Bonanno boss Spero. An inmate was "serious[ly] assaulted," yet an incident report suggests there was little physical evidence in terms of wounds. Some witnesses said they could see no wounds. The inmate himself, who appeared "nervous," denied that he'd been assaulted. Nevertheless, he'd been beaten repeatedly in the face with a metal object that was never found. Imprisoned Bonanno crime family member Thomas "Tommy Karate" Pitera was sanctioned by prison officials for committing the assault. If not for the testimony of several Confidential Informants (all of whom feared for their lives, according to documents), prison officials never would've nabbed Pitera for the assault. Excerpts from high-level security Discipline Hearing Officer Report (DHO) number 430571 dated August 29, 1996, are inclu...

"I was in New York for two years. People knew I was back in Brooklyn. I even ran into people I knew. Frank Gangi "I saw an old girlfriend on Staten Island I hadn't seen in 30 years. "People knew I was back in New York. "I didn't go up to mob guys but I saw a lot of guys who were connected to them." The speaker is Frank Gangi, former partner of Thomas "Tommy Karate" Pitera. He's talking about a period during the past decade when he returned to his old stomping grounds from the wilds of Witness Protection. Gangi noted the surprise and befuddlement he feels regarding how a secret society he once killed to belong to has evolved to the extent it has. He refers to the many former mobsters who openly post on places like Facebook, noting his surprise that even high-profile former gangsters regularly update their social media accounts. No, the mob aint what it used to be. Pitera, first arrested. "The guys in the ...

Tommy Pitera, decades in prison. Tommy "Karate" Pitera was unique in the annals of the American Mafia, or Cosa Nostra. He is suspected by law enforcement of committing as many as 60 murders. His nickname is derived from his love of martial arts, including karate. He also had more in common with a serial killer than a mobster in terms of how he killed and dismembered his victims, and kept "trophies." In one case, supposedly he kept the ears of one victim. When threatening someone for whatever reason, Pitera would supposedly throw the ears down on the table and tell his trembling target to: "Talk to him." But in one of those bizarre quirks of fate, Tommy was not blessed with a deep masculine voice. He didn't sound like the big, bad killer he was. Rather, he sounded more like Mickey Mouse .

Gotti, left, Gravano, back in the good old days of "La Cosa Nostra." John Gotti and Salvatore "Sammy Bull" Gravano drove into Bath Beach in Brooklyn to visit Tommy "Karate" Pitera. At a diner, the trio -- the Gambino boss and underboss, and a soldier in the Bonanno crime family -- discussed a mob hit. (Why they'd enjoy a meal in a diner in the midst of so many delectable Italian restaurants, this writer doesn't know. This writer does have a strong notion what the agenda was, however. Read on, please...)  The Bath Ave. Crew noticed the three men seated at a table in the eatery and "showed their respect" with a bottle of bubbly."

Joey Calco Publishers Marketplace  reports: "The Joey Calco Story (former Bonanno hitman) by Richard Cagan (out May 2014)." Cagan is a published author of several books, including one mob book, Mafia Cop: The Two Families of Michael Palermo; Saints Only Live in Heaven . I've never read it or him. Looks like former Bath Avenue Crew member Joey Calco wants to tell his story. It was supposed to have been released already -- only, where is it? As many of you -- especially former and current residents of  Bath Beach -- no doubt recall, Calco — a turncoat with two murder convictions under his belt — had reinvented himself in the witness protection program as Joseph Milano, the owner of Goomba’s Pizza in Florida . But that version of life imploded on him back in 2009, when he made that infamous videotaped leap over the counter seen 'round the world after two customers had the balls to complain and then demand their money back because Joey screwed u...

The researchers never heard of Tommy Karate Pitera, no doubt. DiscoverMagazine.com  asked:  Are The Mafia Psychopaths? And the survey says: Mafiosi showed lower psychopathic traits than other criminals. (They obviously never heard of  Tommy Karate Pitera , or even  this guy , both of whom kept souvenirs, I might add... (I know, but we could spend hours listing every psycho in the American Mafia...))

Guy in the middle had no idea what the future held when this photograph was snapped. Philip Carlo (April 18, 1949 – November 8, 2010) wrote best-selling novels and non-fiction, focusing mainly on sociopaths, pedophiles and psychopaths. A popular, beloved writer and New York figure, he also was known for letting the occasional fact stray in his non-fiction, which spans the range from mobsters, including Thomas "Tommy Karate" Pitera , to serial killer Richard "The Night Stalker" Ramirez -- with Richard "The Ice Man" Kuklinksi falling somewhere in between. I just finished reading Carlo's final book, "The Killer Within"; he in fact died a few weeks after completing it, of the horrifying illness ALS -- better known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. Turns out, of all his subjects it was Tommy Karate who was weighing on his mind the most heavily toward the end of his life.

Thomas (Tommy Karate) Pitera, made member of the Bonanno crime family, in his most recent effort to get out of prison, sought to use DNA evidence to shift blame for several murders on a former partner in crime. Moment of Truth: Tommy Karate, nose busted, comprehending  his career's end. Pitera's appeal was crushed (just like his nose when the DEA arrested him) by a dead judge, who while alive penned the legal documents that validated the denial. As Forbes reported: "A federal court of appeals yesterday denied a criminal defendant’s Motion To Compel Post-Conviction Relief in the form of DNA testing of six items related to the crimes at issue. "The defendant/appellant, Thomas Pitera, alleges that genetic testing of those items would exonerate him by showing that the guilty party was in fact Frank Gangi, whom the court determined to be his accomplice. In United States v. Pitera (2d Cir. Apr. 3, 2012), the Second Circuit determined after very careful a...