Cosa Nostra News

By Andrew Machin " It was said that wherever they passed, grass no longer grew ." -- Paolo Iannò, government witness, former Capo Locale of Gallico (North of Reggio Calabria), about the Mancusos, the blood family at the top of the Locale of Limbadi (Tyrrhenian side), Jun. 2018. Rocco Aquino This article, divided into parts for convenience, will list the clues that lead us to believe that, between 2014 and 2015, a clash entirely internal to the ‘Ndrangheta took place in Woodbridge, a community in Vaughan (Greater Toronto Area). The chain of violence it has generated is believed to consist of at least two murderous acts (for a total of three killed) and one arson. It was probably the result of frictions and contrasts that lasted for years between two Locali belonging to the Crimine of Toronto and having two different mother-Locali in Calabria (Siderno and Marina di Gioiosa Ionica). However, the hostilities broke out at a precise historical moment, with the occurrence of certain...

The nephew of the alleged boss of the (possibly resurging) Buffalo Cosa Nostra family was arrested this week and indicted for bribing a former DEA agent to help stymie law enforcement. The indictment also references “sex trafficking” and efforts to distribute 1,000 kilograms of marijuana and cocaine on the streets of Western New York.  Katrina Nigro with then-husband Peter G. Gerace Jr., owner of Pharaoh's Gentlemen's Club. Photo  provided to Buffalo News by Ms. Nigro . Peter G. Gerace Jr., 53, owner of the Buffalo-based Pharaoh’s Gentleman’s Club, was arrested in Broward County , Florida, late Sunday night and charged with conspiracy to distribute drugs and commit sex trafficking and for bribing a public official. In U.S. District Court in Fort Lauderdale at a hearing on Monday, he pleaded not guilty. The indictment, which was unsealed Monday, is the latest in an investigation into organized crime in Buffalo. Several individuals have already been arrested in the probe, includ...

In testimony at the 1992 trial, Salvatore (Sammy the Bull) Gravano details how he and John Gotti sat in a car and from a block away watched as Paul Castellano and Tommy Bilotti were shot to death in front of Sparks Steakhouse.  From left: Jackie D'Amico, Joe "The German" Watts, John Gotti, and Sammy the Bull. Gravano said that, on the evening of December 16, 1985, he and Gotti drove to East 46th Street and parked within sight of Spark's Steakhouse after deploying an eight-man hit team (four primary shooters and four backup shooters). Castellano and driver Thomas Bilotti actually pulled up next to Gotti's car at a light, but did not notice Gotti and Gravano. Bilotti then parked in front of the restaurant. And the gunmen ran over to the Lincoln. When it was done (at around 5:26 p.m.), the gunmen disappeared into the crowd, and Gotti and Gravano slowly drove past the scene. "I looked at Tommy on the floor," Gravano said. "I told Johnny they were gone....

This story touches on a topic somewhat tangential to Italian-American organized crime, but, hey, man does not live on bread alone. (In other words, expand your horizons, whydontcha?)... We will post the next part of the Gravano Testimony Series shortly.... T hings are not going too well in Hong Kong these days. The former British colony, long admired as a bustling free-market city-state, is facing the wrath of China. Agitations against the imposition of Chinese law have triggered fierce protests and police crackdowns.   Broken Tooth Koi   But it was not just the police who were beating up students and democratic protestors in the city. Mobs of masked men in t-shirts were seen rampaging with relative impunity. They were identified as members of the infamous 14K triad – a major organized crime group based in Hong Kong. Why would a criminal group involved in everything from drug trafficking to prostitution and smuggling support China, a country known for executing criminals who ...