Netflix To Offer Three-Part Docuseries Mob War: Philadelphia Versus The Mafia

PhillyDaily.com, where my Crime Beat column appears each week, reports that Netflix has announced that they will offer a three-part docuseries called Mob War: Philadelphia vs. The Mafia. 

Netflix To Offer Three-Part Docuseries Mob War: Philadelphia versus The Mafia - Philly Daily

The docuseries portrays the internecine mob war in Philadelphia in the early 1990s between the South Philadelphia “Young Turks,” reportedly led by Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino, and John Stanfa, the Sicilian-born boss of the Philadelphia Cosa Nostra Organized Crime Family.

The young mobsters, the sons and nephews of the previous generation’s Cosa Nostra mobsters under then-Philadelphia mob boss Nicodemo “Little Nicky” Scarfo, were South Philly “corner boys” who bristled under the strict leadership of a Sicilian boss to whom they felt no loyalty.

“The docuseries traces the turbulent saga of Philly’s mob, beginning with the power vacuum left by Scarfo’s 1986 arrest. John Stanfa, handpicked by New York’s Five Families to restore order and return business to the shadows, soon found his old-school grip threatened by a new breed of mobsters,” Netflix stated. “Led by Joey Merlino, these flashy, fearless upstarts had little respect for tradition and everything to prove. Their rebellion ignited a vicious war of shifting loyalties and deadly vendettas, tearing the City of Brotherly Love apart — and drawing the scrutiny of national media and the FBI. 

“The series features firsthand accounts from former mob associates, law enforcement officials, prosecutors, and journalists who witnessed the war unfold. Through chilling wiretap recordings, surveillance footage, and reenactments, Mob War charts the FBI’s pursuit and eventual takedowns of Scarfo, Stanfa, and finally Merlino — though, as noted in the series, Joey Merlino denies being involved in violence or ever being a member of the Mafia.

“Mob War: Philadelphia vs. The Mafia unpacks a Shakespearean saga of shifting allegiances, family betrayal, and deadly vendettas in a true-crime story that changed Philadelphia and the American mob forever.”

 Mob War: Philadelphia vs. The Mafia premieres on October 22nd. 

The Netflix trailer of Mob War: Philadelphia vs. The Mafia can be viewed via the link below: 

Mob War: Philadelphia vs. The Mafia | Official Trailer | Netflix