Cosa Nostra News

Frank Costello was known for his concern about education. First revise "You will earn more if you go to college," a universal American adage proclaims. It now seems to hold true for more types of people than most of you would likely expect. Specifically, some British and American academics include Mafia members in that category. A recent research paper titled Returns to education in criminal organizations: Did going to college help Michael Corleone? was issued by University of Essex and University of California at Merced researchers who parsed 1940 United States Census data and FBI information to compare more than 700 mobsters with non-affiliated Italian-American men from the same locals. Among their key findings: Mafiosi tend to have less college but ultimately wind up worth more than non-connected college-graduates (at least from the 1930s to the 1960s, which is the time period the research focused on. Also, the initial report (see below) reveals the FBN , no...

Click image to purchase. The following article is drawn from the newly published book Badge 387: The Story of Jim Simone by Robert Sberna (See Rob's blog at  www.robertsberna.com ). In general, mob guys don’t take on civilians as partners in crime.  Ordinary citizens can’t be trusted to keep quiet. When it comes to police interrogations, they are untested entities. They are likely to fold under pressure by expert interviewers. And when civilians do get into bed with the Mafia, it’s likely they will be taken for their money. After all, who are they going to complain to? Not the police. In a convoluted murder case from the 1980s, Lola Toney learned the hard way that crime should be left to the experts. Toney became entangled with a Cleveland mobster when her mother-in-law, Dimple Podborny, asked for help in killing her wealthy husband, Henry.

Merlino was released on bail following "East Coast LCN Enterprise" indictment. Who would dare write a critical word about Jerry Capeci ? The longtime, distinguished Gangland News scribe "made his bones"sneaking into Carlo Gambino 's funeral, the only reporter able to cop such an inside view of the secret society, and, it could be said, he's been off and running ever since, quickly building up a network of sources and providing unprecedented insight into the American Mafia . The   “East Coast LCN Enterprise”   case -- the fictional name was  created as a handle for an assortment of mobsters allegedly working together on an opportunistic basis -- landed with a colossal thud this past Aug. 4. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York  unveiled the indictment, which depicts a seemingly immense, sprawling collaboration involving four of New York's Five Families: the Gambino, Genovese, Luchese, and Bonannos -- and Philadel...

Does the Mafia learn from its mistakes? Whether it does or doesn't, it appears it is greed that wins in the end. New York's greed once destroyed the Philadelphia Cosa Nostra. But based on court testimony, the New York Mafia in fact was so greedy, it appeared willing to commit a very similar move against Philadelphia in the late 1990s by wiping out Joseph "Uncle Joe" Ligambi, probably the best boss to arise in Philadelphia since Angelo Bruno. Nevertheless he was slated for death along with his underboss and consiglieri... Uncle Joe, who New York wanted dead.... The March 1980 murder of mob boss Angelo Bruno shattered what had been for two decades a peacefully run, highly profitable criminal syndicate based in South Philadelphia. The crime family had operations in the City of Brotherly Love's metropolitan areas, as well as in the Delaware Valley, Southeastern Pennsylvania, and in New Jersey, especially South Jersey. Bruno's consigliere, Antonio ...