Cosa Nostra News

This has been quite a news-filled period for the New York Mafia. We were counting on writing an entirely different slate of stories, but then the barrage of busts, sentencing hearings and what not interrupted. This cafe actually is linked to a mobster and a notorious gangland hit. (See story here ) That trio of mob-linked bank burglars was busted. Law enforcement hinted strongly that the arrests were only the beginning, and that there would be more to come. (And they were correct, just not the way we thought.) A few days later and Philadelphia mob boss Joseph "Skinny Joey" Merlino and more than 40 made members and associates of four of New York's Five Families were arrested in a massive Cosa Nostra takedown. The federal indictment alleges the existence of a unique criminal operation dubbed the "East Coast Syndicate" in the indictment. (On the same day, we were all shocked to learn about the other, unrelated bust of a small drug ring in Queens.)

The nearly three-month-long enterprise corruption trial of Nicholas "Nicky Mouth" Santora and three other Bonanno mobsters in Manhattan's State Supreme Court ended in a mistrial. So ordered Supreme Court Justice Mark Dwyer -- after one juror needed to be replaced and a second declared he couldn't continue. After eight days debating the case (and three years since the defendants were arrested) jurors couldn't reach a verdict regarding gambling, prescription drugs and loansharking charges. The alleged crimes supposedly occurred between March 2010 and February 2012. Joan Vollero, a spokeswoman for the Manhattan district attorney’s office, said there will be a retrial. The New York Times quoted her saying: “The inability of one juror to continue deliberating is not a reflection on the overall strength of the case.”

From Left, Vito Badamo, Anthony Santoro, Ernest Aiello, Nicholas Santora. REVISED: On the heels of longtime Bonanno mobster Vinny Asaro's stunning acquittal in Brooklyn last November , the Manhattan D.A.'s  prosecutors this past week rolled out the long-brewing enterprise corruption trial of Bonanno capo Nicholas “Nicky Mouth” Santora and three crew members in Manhattan Supreme Court. And it seems that Joseph "Big Joey" Massino is not the prosecution's star witness.  The former Bonanno family's official boss faced eight murder charges, not seven as was  originally reported. Nicky Santora, has held a leadership role since the 1970s. Who else would have the institutional knowledge to finally pin enough on Nicky Mouth to possibly put him away for the rest of his life (and also faced seven murder charges)? (The turncoats testifying in this trial haven't been clearly identified in press reports, for reasons unknown to me.) Massino doesn't s...

Santoro arrested in 2013 for enterprise corruption. Nicholas “Nicky Mouth” Santora turned down a plea deal for 7-to-21 years in prison Wednesday in exchange for copping to a top count of enterprise corruption. The offer shaves about a year off the minimum term he’d face if convicted at trial on that charge. Prosecutors also offered Anthony “Skinny” Santoro 9-to-18 years behind bars, the longest term after Santora, which his lawyer said he also wouldn’t accept, noting: “It’s ridiculous, it was a non-violent gambling offense." Santora and eight associates were busted last August for a variety of mob rackets.

More details were recently released from the criminal complaint filed against the Bonanno crew indicted on Wednesday . The Bonannos have sold more than 300,000 Viagra and Cialis pills, with prices ranging from $5 to $20 per pill, according to the criminal complaint filed Wednesday when nine Bonannos were indicted with enterprise corruption -- the state's version of RICO.