Cosa Nostra News

EXPANDED Monday was the first day of the White Plains trial of three Luchese wiseguys, including two bosses, and an associate, who are accused of racketeering conspiracy, the 2013 Michael Meldish murder in the Bronx, and other charges related to New York-based organized crime. Meldish murder scene in 2013 On trial are alleged Luchese underboss Steven Crea Sr., soldier Christopher Londonio (and the alleged wheelman in the key charge, the Meldish hit), associate Terrence Caldwell (allegedly the actual shooter in the hit) and former acting boss Matthew (Matty) Madonna. Prosecutors rushed out of the gate alleging that Madonna ordered the Meldish hit because Meldish, allegedly a Luchese associate (and former Madonna pal), had failed to repay a $100,000 loan and that he also told Madonna to "fck off." Prosecutor Celia Cohen told jurors that Madonna and Crea ordered the murder of the former notorious Purple Gang leader. “Not repaying a boss is a dangerous game,” said C...

When Bronx-based Luchese associate Michael Meldish was shot to death in front of his home on November 15, 2013, at the age of 62, he was suspected of running a protection racket in the Edenwald area of the north Bronx. Meldish's boots were still outside the door to his apartment days after he was killed. As per early reports, initial law enforcement suspicion was centered on that racket as a possible cause of the shooting. Meldish, however, was known to have had a steady supply of enemies going back decades. He'd been arrested five times in the 1970s on various charges including assault and weapons possession, and he had other convictions throughout the 1980s and 1990s. He was suspected of committing as many as 10 murders as well. Meldish lived on 2nd Avenue near 111th Street in East Harlem. According to neighbors, he lived alone, was occasionally visited by a son and grandson, and was considered affable by many who knew him in the neighborhood. One neighbor claimed...

EXPANDED SIGNIFICANTLY The shooting of Enzo (The Baker) Stagno of Whitestone, Queens, was always one of the more bizarre twists in the ongoing story of the gangland-style killing of Luchese associate Michael Meldish. Now, we finally seem to have enough information to piece this big puzzle together. We also know more about why Bonanno boss Michael (Nose) Mancuso was initially named as a suspect in the Meldish murder. Gangland hit victim Michael Meldish. The Stagno attempted hit occurred on May 29, 2013, at around 6 p.m., as he was seated in his 2009 GMC Yukon, parked at East 111th Street and First Avenue. Stagno was chatting on his cellphone when he suddenly heard BANG! The window beside him shattered and a bullet punched into his chest, grazing him. Stagno felt a “pinch” and dived into the backseat -- when the next shot was fired.

Michael Meldish, 62, was a Luchese associate who once ran the Purple Gang, a violent crew based in Harlem and the Bronx. He was shot in the head in 2013 while he sat behind the wheel of his car. One bullet had been fired into the right side of his head at close range as if the shooter were seated in the front passenger seat. And he likely was sitting beside Meldish as a getaway car tailed them. (Ironically, the front passenger seat is usually referred to as the "death seat" in mob parlance.) Surveillance video allegedly caught gunmen Terence Caldwell. Police found Luchese associate Meldish within a very short timeframe following the shooting. He was bleeding from both ears, and his body was still warm when police arrived on the scene, summoned by a 911 call from a neighbor.

Suspects were never in short supply regarding the Michael Meldish murder . The former Purple Gang boss was offed in November 2013 in what's described as a classic gangland hit tableau. Michael Meldish, former Purple Gang leader, may have died for pissing off a high-ranking Luchese Mafioso. His body, expensively attired, ensconced in a camel-colored leather jacket, was slumped over in the driver's seat, his head back, his mouth agape. “Michael was a stone-cold killer,” Joseph Coffey, former commanding officer of the NYPD’s organized crime homicide task force, told the New York Daily News.

Former acting Luchese boss Matthew (Matty) Madonna, 84; soldier Christopher Londonio, 45; and associate Terrence Caldwell, 61, were sentenced to life in prison on Monday, July 27, following their 2019 jury conviction for the Bronx murder of Michael Meldish, among other crimes. Cops examine car in which Michael Meldish was killed in the Bronx in 2013. Audrey Strauss, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced the sentences, which were imposed by U.S. District Judge Cathy Seibel, as per  a media release . Steven L. Crea, the Underboss of the Luchese Family, who also faces a life sentence, will be sentenced at a later date. According to Gang Land News, he will be sentenced next week . As per Gang Land the reason for the delay is that, at the time of the hearing, which was conducted remotely due to COVID-19 precautions, "no court appearance slots were available for inmates at the Metropolitan Detention Center," where Crea is b...

Steven L. Crea, the underboss of the Luchese Family, was sentenced to life in prison for the 2013 murder of Michael Meldish. Stevie Wonder Boy during 1980s arrest. The sentenced was announced last Thursday by Audrey Strauss, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. She also ordered that Crea pay a $400,000 fine and forfeit $1 million. At the end of this story is a chart with details on all the defendants involved in the case. A jury convicted Crea and three co-defendants on November 15, 2019 following a six-week trial before U.S. District Judge Cathy Seibel, who also imposed the sentence. Strauss said: “ Steven L. Crea – the underboss of the Luchese Family – is the last of a dozen made men arrested in 2017 to be sentenced for his crimes. For his role in the 2013 murder of Michael Meldish and other crimes, Crea will now spend the rest of his life behind bars. Thanks to the outstanding investigative work of the FBI and NYPD, we continue our commitme...