Cosa Nostra News

Updated Brooklyn prosecutors have abandoned efforts to pin 82-year-old wiseguy Vincent “Vinny” Asaro to the alleged planned execution of a federal agent. And Vinny Asaro pre-Lufthansa... That said, prosecutors still want the Bonanno mobster to rot in jail for as long as a judge will allow, which could be 15 years. As for Asaro, he’s been seeking to get out on bail for alleged health-related issues.  Prosecutors had said, under the circumstances, he should never be released. Also, they noted, he can get adequate health care in jail. (Incidentally, the Feds raised allegations about Asaro’s “death threats” a few days after Asaro made his pitch for bail. The timing is interesting, is all…) Prosecutors made the new concession in a letter to the judge this past Monday. Still, prosecutors charge, Asaro deserves a long sentence given his "lifelong allegiance to a dangerous criminal organization and his participation in a litany of crimes." Note : Gang Land News ...

 "Down here it’s called franchising. Where I come from, it’s called racketeering." -- Louis DiVita, author of A Wiser Guy It's a book that reads like a whos-who of the New York/New Jersey/Philadelphia crime families . Louis and his family crossed paths with a lot of figures you've read about, including Willie Moretti, Albert Anastasia, Charles "Lucky" Luciano and Vito Genovese. Benedetto Angelo, who was partnered with Joseph DiCarlo. His forebears wound up in New Jersey's Mafia landscape but first played a decades-long role in upstate New York where they were closely allied with mobsters such as Stefano Magaddino and Joseph DiCarlo. The Palmeri brothers both backed their countryman Salvatore Maranzano when the New York Mafia split into factions and used murder to finally end an ongoing feud as to who was going to be who. Afterward, the modern-day Mafia was created. Louis's grandfather, Paolo Palmeri, was a high-ranking mobster ...

During Christmas, more visitors head to the Vatican, which requires the addition of extra security. In fact throughout Europe, law enforcement is on heightened alert this holiday season. Antonio Nicaso It was around this time last year that in Germany a terrorist rammed a truck into pedestrians at a Berlin holiday market, killing 12. In recent years, Paris, Brussels, Barcelona, and Nice also have been attacked by terrorists. The Vatican, however, was targeted specifically this year based on a chillingly specific threat: ISIS has called out for  "lone-wolf" terrorists to do their part to spill "Christmas blood' at the Vatican." NPR Special correspondent Christopher Livesay recently reported on what Italy learned about deterring terrorism from years of tracking the Mafia.  "Italy has remained remarkably unscathed," NPR noted. Has Italy learned a few tricks as the birthplace of the world's foremost organized crime groups? ...

Five alleged members of the Genovese crime family's Springfield crew were arrested on Aug 4, 2016 as part of the " East Coast LCN Enterprise" case that alleges wide-ranging Mafia-related activity in New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Florida ( and New Jersey ). From the five arrested only Richard Valentini is going to trial, as of now. Arrested were Ralph Santaniello, Giovanni (Johnny Cal) Calabrese, Gerald Daniele, Francesco (Frank aka Sammy Shark) Depergola, and Richard Valentini. In the time since, Santaniello, Calabrese, and Depergola have copped out in this case, while Depergola issued an intent to plead guilty.  As of November 28, only Valenti faces trial in this case, which the Feds describe as a Mafia extortion case. Valenti's attorney Jared Olanoff, however, is filing a "flurry of motions" to get a change of venue before the jury trial commences on Dec. 11 as scheduled, as Stephanie Barry reported on November 27 on ...