Cosa Nostra News

Vince Isoldi The Godfather of Pittsburgh will begin its run in the next week or two and the popularity of the little stories I have written about the guy continues to both astonish and baffle me... One of A&E's four new reality series , “Godfather of Pittsburgh,” focuses on Vince Isoldi, an Italian-American who owns nightclubs and restaurants in the Steel City, "where he has made friends and enemies along the way." Eight one-hour episodes are slated to premiere. Some natives of Pittsburgh seem to be taking issue with the show for various reasons. We had a little chat with one in particular, who wants to remain anonymous.

“Vinny had a glass jaw but he’d fight at the drop of a dime. He’d get his ass kicked, but he didn’t give a fuck...    "Vinny was also a stone-cold killer, so  believe you me, whoever did the kicking was not long for this earth.”

Joseph Anthony Colombo Jr. Joseph A. Colombo Junior, affectionately known as "Pop," died on October 29, 2014 at his home in Newburgh, New York. He was 67. He's survived by his wife, Diane, and kids Dina, Denise, and Joe. He died following a long battle with Neurological Lyme Disease, according to one news report . Joe Junior was among Joseph Colombo Senior's five children, which also includes sons Christopher, Anthony and Vincent. Visitation will be held from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. on Monday, November 3rd at Brooks Funeral Home, 481 Gidney Ave., Newburgh. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated by Rev. William Scafidi at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, November 4th at St. Mary's Church, Newburgh. Burial will follow in Calvary Cemetery, New Windsor. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made in Joseph's name to Hospice of Orange and Sullivan Counties, 800 Stony Brook Ct., Newburgh, NY 12550 or to Lyme Research Alliance, 20...

"Jerry" Bruno, Gambino associate Earlier this week, an indictment was unsealed charging Gennaro “Jerry” Bruno, 41, an associate of the Gambino crime family under Joseph “JoJo” Corozzo, with racketeering and racketeering conspiracy, including predicate acts of murder, narcotics trafficking, extortion and obstruction of justice. The murder of Martin Bosshart in 2002 garnered widespread media coverage. Bosshart himself was a notorious thug who was alleged to be involved in several murders and himself could be likened to a one-man crime wave. Bruno was arrested on Tuesday in Las Vegas, where his initial appearance for removal proceedings to the Eastern District of New York commenced. “Gennaro Bruno started his criminal career at a young age as a member of a street gang where he earned his criminal credentials. He then graduated to become an associate in the Gambino crime family, where he proved himself to be both an earner for the family and capable of murder,” stated ...

Capo Charles Tuzzo We republished a story about the Genovese crime family from a year ago--and on the same goddamn day the Feds busted a crew headed by one of three key capos mentioned in the re-post. The Genovese crime family, the most powerful Mafia group in America saw a major bust earlier this week that centered on an 80-year-old capo and his New Jersey-based crew, which earned more than $12 million from various rackets, including loansharking, unlicensed check cashing, gambling and a money laundering operation that included drug trafficking proceeds. A large portion of the revenue had been funneled to the New York-based bosses of the crime family, none of whom are part of this indictment . New Jersey law enforcement authorities and the Waterfront Commission named longtime family caporegime Charles "Chuckie" Tuzzo, a resident of Bayside, Queens, as the boss of a 10-member crew that included one soldier who lived near Newark and oversaw the crew's operation...

A real, live Godfather? The Godfather of Pittsburgh seems to be garnering interest among some readers. One of A&E's four new reality series , “Godfather of Pittsburgh,” focuses on Vince Isoldi, an Italian-American who owns nightclubs and restaurants in the Steel City, where he has made friends and enemies, along the way. Eight one-hour episodes, are slated to premiere around now. Here’s A&E’s Godfather of Pittsburgh announcement: Pittsburgh is a town ruled by Vince Isoldi, a first-generation Italian American, who has built an empire of nightclubs and restaurants all in hopes of supporting his family. But getting to the top means making a lot of enemies and some of them are kin. While Vince is one of the most revered – and feared – men in the city, all bets are off when he comes home. Between his wife and sons, and his six brothers and sisters, the entire family relies on Vince for jobs, houses and everything in between. The “Godfather of Pittsburgh” takes a fascin...

Writer Philip Carlo is on the right. This transcript and a new page I posted  tonight about the "Ice Man" Richard Kuklinski convey what I've always believed. Richard Kuklinski was full of shit.  And, I have begun doubting my previous thinking about author Philip Carlo. There's a difference between making a mistake and concocting what you should know is false information. Carlo seemed to be working with a damaged filter. I'll leave it there. Enjoy this transcript and the new landing page, Last Word on Kuklinski .  CNN.com - Transcripts : "Aired June 26, 2006 - 21:00   ET JOHN ROBERTS, GUEST HOST: Tonight, exclusive, inside the chilling double life of a convicted killer who claimed to be a brutal Mafia hit man with more than 200 victims. Now in their first ever interview his own family, who he terrorized but didn't know about his deadly secret life until he was arrested next on LARRY KING LIVE. And good evening, I'm John Roberts sitting in f...

  Albert Gallo under arrest. "Yeah, I left it noisy. That way it scares any pain-in-the-ass innocent bystanders away." In August 1972 the mob committed one of its worst blunders ever when innocent businessmen were fired on in cold blood at the Neapolitan Noodle restaurant at 320 East 79th Street in Manhattan. " The Godfather " was still playing in New York theaters five months after its release. On Friday, Aug. 11, 1972, a hit man from Las Vegas walked into the Noodle during the dinner hour rush. Mistaking four businessmen at the crowded bar for Colombo family acting boss "Little Allie" Persico and three Colombo wiseguys, the shooter opened fire with two long-barreled pistols, killing two of the businessmen — kosher beef wholesalers from Westchester County and Long Island — and wounding their companions. The men were old friends celebrating a daughter's wedding engagement. They arrived at the Noodle at the exact wrong time, as the P...

God the Father , slated for release on October 31, the day Michael Franzese became a "made man," does not shy away from the real world Franzese once inhabited. But a scene of Christ's Crucifixion, plus stock footage of mobsters, helped tip the scales at the MPAA, which gave the film an R rating. "I spent over 20 years on the street, every day in violation of both God's laws and the laws of man," said Franzese. "And the powers that be have a problem not only with Mob reality being seen, but also with Biblical history?  You see worse images and stories on the 6 o'clock news! The entertainment business can't afford to be out of touch with real world problems our youth are experiencing, from gangs to drugs and violence.  Anyone over 13 needs the opportunity to see this film." "Its real world stuff (the Mob scene footage) that is around us all the time," says Franzese.  "It's not the gratuitous violence most movies in...

With little fanfare -- and no media coverage that we could find -- Genovese acting boss Daniel Leo is back on the streets, having been released from prison on Jan. 25, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons . The Genovese crime family is deemed to be the most powerful criminal group in America -- and now, according to sources, free on the streets are its acting boss, street boss, underboss, consigliere -- and supposedly the capos who run a trio of the family's most powerful crews. Daniel Leo, Genovese acting boss  "The Genovese crime family is still the best organized, and has the deepest bench," the chief of investigations for the Manhattan district attorney has said. "They continue to take part in traditional organized crime activities of gambling, loansharking and labor racketeering in New York and New Jersey." "The Genovese family is the most secretive, criminally diverse, and powerful family in the country," an FBI agent added, ...