My Philly Daily Crime Beat Column: A Look Back At Philadelphia’s 1993-95 Mob War

Philly Daily ran my Crime Beat column on the 1993-1995 mob war in Philadelphia.

You can read the column via the link below or the text below:

A look back at Philadelphia’s 1993-95 mob war - Philly Daily

Last month’s Netflix docuseries Mob War: Philadelphia vs the Mafia portrayed the internecine Cosa Nostra 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.

At the time I covered the gang war as a crime reporter and columnist for the South Philadelphia weekly newspapers. 

I spoke to several mob guys on both sides, some of whom I’ve known since childhood. They told me what was happening, but I could not use their names as it would surely lead to them being murdered. (I was later able to interview Philadelphia Cosa Nostra underboss Philip Leonetti and Philadelphia Cosa Nostra boss Ralph Natale after they became cooperating government witnesses).

 

I also knew and interviewed many of the people who were featured in the Netflix docuseries.

One of the principal people featured in the Netflix docuseries was Charlotte Lang (seen in the above photo on the left and I on the right), the former FBI organized crime squad leader in Philadelphia. She was my quest when I was an on-air host and producer of Inside Government, a public affairs radio program that aired on WPEN AM and WMGK FM on Sunday mornings in the Philadelphia area, 

Lang, who then looked more like a blonde mid-western schoolteacher than a racket-busting fed, noted that the Philadelphia Cosa Nostra members were not as sophisticated as the New York City mobsters she previously investigated during the famous Rudy Gulliani-led Cosa Nostra “Five Families Commission” case.

 

“The South Philly gangsters deal in traditional Cosa Nostra money-making crimes, such as loan sharking, illegal gambling, extortion and drug trafficking, but they are not involved with the type of high-level corruption and complicated criminal schemes that we see New York gangsters engaged in,” Lang said.

George Anastasia (seen in the above photo), the author and former crime reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer, also appeared prominently in the Netflix documentary. 

I’ve interviewed George Anastasia several times over the years, and I’ve reviewed his fine books about organized crime for the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Washington Times. 

I first encountered him back in 1998 when I went to hear him speak about his then just published book, The Goodfella Tapes: The True Story of How the FBI Recorded a Mob War and Brought Down a Mafia Don.

The book is about how the FBI secretly recorded the mobsters during an internecine mob war, and brought down the local crime boss, John Stanfa.

George Anastasia made an appearance at Borders bookstore in Center City Philadelphia. He read passages from his book and fielded questions from the crowd of about 30 people.

Like his two previous outstanding books on the Philly mob, Blood and Honor and Mobfather, South Philadelphia is featured so prominently in The Goodfella Tapes that it’s practically a character.

“The Philadelphia mob is probably the most dysfunctional crime family in America,” I recall Anastasia saying. “It’s kind of The Simpsons of the underworld.”

How it got that way, he said, is what the book is all about.

Anastasia talked about the 1993-1995 mob war in and around South Philadelphia, noting that one failed hit man used the wrong size shells in a shotgun (which was right out of Jimmy Breslin’s great comic novel The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight) and how another mob guy called off a hit because he had to report to his parole officer.

Anastasia explained that one side was old world Sicilian and the other side was born and bred South Philadelphians, the offspring of the previous mob leadership.

And the Feds got it all down on tape.

A minor gambling investigation led to the bugging of a law office in New Jersey, where the mob guys met secretly (and they thought safely) to discuss mob gossip, philosophy and tactics. Over the course of two years, the FBI recorded 2,000 conversations.

“Goodfellas don’t sue goodfellas," one mob philosopher advised a mob associate and potential litigant as the FBI listened in. "Goodfellas kill goodfellas.”

The book offers a good number of other insightful comments as well.

Anastasia said he became interested in organized crime having been born in South Philly and the fact that his grandfather came from Sicily. “I was fascinated because it’s the dark side of the Italian American experience,” Anastasia said.

He began covering crime when he was assigned by the Philadelphia Inquirer to cover Atlantic City at the time of the gambling referendum in 1976. There was much talk about keeping the mob out, but as Anastasia noted, they were already there. He later covered more and more mob-related stories.

As I’m half-Italian and grew up and still live in South Philly’s “Little Italy,” I asked him how he responded to criticism from Italians that his extensive coverage of the “dark side” as he put it, offered a negative image of Italians, the vast majority of whom were not criminals.

“These guys are taking the positive values of the Italian American experience; honor, family and loyalty and bastardizing them for their own end. I think you should shine a light on that,” he said.

On the other hand, Anastasia said he took great pride in the positive contributions that Italians have made to America and to the world.

The docuseries is still streaming on Netflix, and I recommend that anyone interested in Cosa Nostra organized crime history watch it. 

Paul Davis’s Crime Beat column appears here weekly. He can be reached at pauldavisoncrime.com. 

How Mobsters’ Own Words Brought Down Philly’s Mafia − A Veteran Crime Reporter Has The Story Behind The End Of The ‘Mob War’

 As Netflix will premiere their three-part documentary series on the Philadelphia mob war in the 1990s, Mob War: Philadelphia vs. The Mafia, tomorrow, veteran organized crime reporter George Anastasia, who was a consultant on the documentary, offers a piece on the mob war for The Conversation.com.  

The bloody mob war that is the focus of the new Netflix series “Mob War: Philadelphia vs. The Mafia,” which premieres Oct. 22, 2025, is full of the murder and mayhem, treachery and deceit that have been the hallmarks of the nation’s Cosa Nostra family conflicts.

What was different in Philadelphia was that the FBI had it all wired for sound.

Electronic surveillance has been a major tool in the government’s highly successful war against the Mafia nationwide, but nowhere has its impact been felt more dramatically than in Philadelphia.

As a reporter for The Philadelphia Inquirer, I covered this mob war in real time from 1994 through 2000. Now I teach a course at Rowan University on the history of organized crime, using the war as a case study, and I was a consultant on the Netflix series.

The war pitted one faction of the Philadelphia mob, headed by Sicilian-born John Stanfa, against a rival faction led by Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino. The issues were control of all illegal operations in the underworld – gambling, loan-sharking, drug-dealing and extortion. Money was the bottom line, but there also was a cultural and generational divide that had Stanfa and, for the most part, his group of older wiseguys facing off against Merlino and his crew of young South Philadelphia-born mobsters.

But only after indictments were handed down and evidence was introduced at trials did the extent of the electronic surveillance operation become known.

Mobsters, speaking in unguarded moments and unaware that the feds were listening, buried themselves.

So here was mob boss Stanfa discussing with an associate plans to lure Merlino and two of his two lieutenants to a meeting where they would be killed:

“See, you no gotta give a chance,” the Sicilian-born Stanfa said in his halting English. “Bam, bam … Over here is best, behind the ear.”

Or here was Salvatore Profaci, a New York mobster brought in to quietly settle a dispute that had gone public after mob lawyer Salvatore Avena filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against his mobbed-up business partner in a trash-hauling business.

“Goodfellas don’t sue goodfellas,” Profaci said in a line that couldn’t have been written any better by “The Godfather” author Mario Puzo or delivered more effectively by the award-winning actor Robert De Niro. “Goodfellas kill goodfellas.”

You can read the rest of the piece and watch the documentary trailer via the below link:

How mobsters’ own words brought down Philly’s mafia − a veteran crime reporter has the story behind the end of the ‘Mob War’ 

Mobster Podcasts

Broad + Liberty published my piece on mob-related podcasts last year.

You can read the piece via the below link or the below text.

Paul Davis: Mobsters with podcasts (broadandliberty.com)

I recall an old joke about mobsters caught on an FBI wiretap talking about a contract. The FBI agents leaned in with anticipation to better hear what they hoped would be incriminating evidence on the tape recorder. But sadly, they realized that the mobsters were talking about book contracts, not murder contracts.

That 25-year-old joke came from an era in which a good number of former organized crime figures were publishing their memoirs. So much for Cosa Nostra (“Our thing” in Italian) being a secret criminal society.

As I noted in my old Philadelphia Weekly Crime Beat column, organized crime stories have long interested the general public, from Jimmy Cagney mob movies from the 1930s to “The Godfather,” Goodfellas,” and the more recent “The Irishman,” which featured stories about real-life South Philly gangsters.

Bad guys are not as admirable as good guys, but in many cases, bad guys are more interesting. Mob stories offer larger than life characters, drama, black humor, violence, greed and betrayal. 

Now one can more readily hear tales of Cosa Nostra, mob wars, murder, corruption and spells in prison on numerous podcasts featured on the Internet. 

I’ve interviewed several of the popular podcasters, some of them before they became podcasters. I’m not sure who was the first mob podcaster, but former New York Colombo Cosa Nostra crime family Captain-turned Christian public speaker and author Michael Franzese has become one to the more popular ones.

Franzese walked away from the mob life after a term in prison where he became a Christian, and on his podcast, Franzese talks about his time in “the life” and how he came to Jesus as his savior. He tells his viewers how Cosa Nostra is an evil and destructive life.

I interviewed Michael Franzese in 2022 for the Washington Times. I asked him why he walked away from Cosa Nostra life. 

“I didn’t want this kind of life for my family,” Franzese replied. “I saw how destructive it was in my own personal life and to others involved, and I saw the tide changing dramatically in the 1980s. I was a major target and I had been indicted seven times. I knew it was just a matter of time before I go down, and when I do it will be forever.”

Son of the notorious former underboss of the Colombo crime family, John “Sonny” Franzese, a feared and respected mobster, Michael Franzese grew up in the criminal life. He later became a made member and a successful criminal, earning millions of dollars with various criminal scams, such as cheating the government out of gasoline taxes. In addition to traditional Cosa Nostra criminal activity, Franzese was also active in legitimate businesses, such as auto dealerships, construction and the entertainment industry. 

After fighting the federal government’s many indictments against him, he pleaded guilty to racketeering charges and was sentenced to ten years in federal prison. 

While in prison, Franzese became a devout Christian and announced that he was walking away from Cosa Nostra. He credits his wife Camille and his mother-in-law, as well as a prison guard who gave him a Bible when he was in solitary, with his religious conversion. 

Michael Franzese is the only high-ranking member of a major crime family to walk away from the mob without being in the witness protection program. Although the Colombo family initially put out a contract on his life, he lives openly for the most part, giving speeches about mob life and Christianity. 

On his podcast, he also offers his insight and experiences with the mob and street life, and he advises others to avoid it. 

Another popular former mobster with a podcast is Salvator “Sammy the Bull” Gravano, the former Gambino Cosa Nostra crime family underboss. Indicted with Gambino boss John Gotti, 

Gravano became a cooperating government witness against Gotti and others. Gravano admitted to committing nineteen murders and other crimes and after testifying, he entered the witness protection program. He was later sent to prison for a drug conspiracy in Arizona.

On his podcast, Gravano is unrepentant and speaks proudly of his criminal past. With a gravelly voice straight out of Hollywood central casting, he entertains his viewers with inside stories of mob life, crimes and other criminal personalities.

Actors, journalists and former law enforcement officers also have podcasts. 

One popular podcast on the web is offered by actor and writer Chazz Palminteri. 

Palminteri had his one-man stage show A Bronx Tale made into a popular film that was directed by Robert De Niro in 1993. De Niro portrayed Palminteri’s father, a bus driver, and Palminteri portrayed Sonny, a neighborhood mob boss.

I interviewed Chazz Palminteri for the Philadelphia Inquirer in 2016 when his one-man show was appearing in Atlantic City. I mentioned to Palminteri that A Bronx Tale was considered one of the three most realistic mob movies, along with Donnie Brasco and Goodfellas. 

Palminteri replied that A Bronx Tale was more of a family movie than a crime movie.

“It’s really about a father and son, the workingman,” Palminteri said. “My father would say, ‘He thinks he’s a tough guy; I’m the tough guy. Let him get up in the morning and work for a living.’”

On his podcast, Chazz Palminteri talks about the stage show, movie and Broadway musical A Bronx Tale. He also talks about growing up with mobsters and offers inside stories about the world of entertainment. He also talks about what he calls “neighborhood logic.”

Legendary FBI undercover agent Joseph Pistone, aka “Donnie Brasco,” infiltrated the New York Bonanno crime family for six years and was responsible for putting numerous mob guys in prison. 

He too has a podcast called Deep Cover – The Real Donnie Brasco. Pistone discusses his past and tells mob stories along with his friend, Philadelphia native and actor/writer/producer Leo Rossi.

I’ve spoken to Joe Pistone several times over the years, beginning with my interview with him in 2004 for the Philadelphia Inquirer. I later interviewed him about his podcast for my Philadelphia Weekly column in 2021. 

Pistone said he mentioned to Leo Rossi that everybody had a podcast and suggested they do something together.

“The podcast is about criminal activity, organized crime in the U.S. and foreign countries, and every so often we’ll have on a guest that is associated with law enforcement or a former gangster,” Pistone said. “We also offer a lot of insight into the TV, movie and literary industries.”

I did a follow-up column with Leo Rossi. Rossi, who hails from Northeast Philly, is exuberant and fast-talking and he contrasts with the more reticent Pistone. 

“Joe made a living out of keeping his mouth shut, and he doesn’t give it up too easy, so a trust factor came in as we started,” Rossi said. “Joe got looser, and we have laughs, and I think we hit on some pretty big topics.” 

Another popular crime podcast is Mob Talk Sitdown. Former Philadelphia Inquirer crime reporter and author George Anastasia and former Fox 29 reporter Dave Schratwieser use their extensive reporting and their historical knowledge about organized crime to tell inside stories about mobsters in Philadelphia, New Jersey, and around the country.   

More recently, another local podcast debuted on the Internet. Reputed Philadelphia Cosa Nostra crime family boss Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino is offering a podcast called The Skinny with Joey Merlino and Lil Snuff.

Although not used often these days, “the skinny” is a phrase that means to be informed of true inside information, so the title of the podcast is a clever play on Merlino’s nickname.

On the podcast, Merlino handicaps sport betting and tells stories about his life on the streets of South Philly, his time in prison and his criminal trials. He also talks about his disdain for cooperating government witnesses, whom he called “rats.” 

So, if after watching The Godfather, Goodfellas, A Bronx Tale, Donnie Brasco and other mob movies, you haven’t got enough of mob stories, you can always surf the Internet and listen to the popular mob-related podcasts.

Paul Davis, a Philadelphia writer and frequent contributor to Broad + Liberty, also contributes to Counterterrorism magazine and writes the “On Crime” column for the Washington Times. He can be reached at pauldavisoncrime.com

Mobster Podcasts

 Broad + Liberty published my piece on mob-related podcasts today.

You can read the piece via the below link or the below text.

Paul Davis: Mobsters with podcasts (broadandliberty.com)

I recall an old joke about mobsters caught on an FBI wiretap talking about a contract. The FBI agents leaned in with anticipation to better hear what they hoped would be incriminating evidence on the tape recorder. But sadly, they realized that the mobsters were talking about book contracts, not murder contracts.

That 25-year-old joke came from an era in which a good number of former organized crime figures were publishing their memoirs. So much for Cosa Nostra (“Our thing” in Italian) being a secret criminal society.

As I noted in my old Philadelphia Weekly Crime Beat column, organized crime stories have long interested the general public, from Jimmy Cagney mob movies from the 1930s to “The Godfather,” Goodfellas,” and the more recent “The Irishman,” which featured stories about real-life South Philly gangsters.

Bad guys are not as admirable as good guys, but in many cases, bad guys are more interesting. Mob stories offer larger than life characters, drama, black humor, violence, greed and betrayal. 

Now one can more readily hear tales of Cosa Nostra, mob wars, murder, corruption and spells in prison on numerous podcasts featured on the Internet. 

I’ve interviewed several of the popular podcasters, some of them before they became podcasters. I’m not sure who was the first mob podcaster, but former New York Colombo Cosa Nostra crime family Captain-turned Christian public speaker and author Michael Franzese has become one to the more popular ones.

Franzese walked away from the mob life after a term in prison where he became a Christian, and on his podcast, Franzese talks about his time in “the life” and how he came to Jesus as his savior. He tells his viewers how Cosa Nostra is an evil and destructive life.

I interviewed Michael Franzese in 2022 for the Washington Times. I asked him why he walked away from Cosa Nostra life. 

“I didn’t want this kind of life for my family,” Franzese replied. “I saw how destructive it was in my own personal life and to others involved, and I saw the tide changing dramatically in the 1980s. I was a major target and I had been indicted seven times. I knew it was just a matter of time before I go down, and when I do it will be forever.”

Son of the notorious former underboss of the Colombo crime family, John “Sonny” Franzese, a feared and respected mobster, Michael Franzese grew up in the criminal life. He later became a made member and a successful criminal, earning millions of dollars with various criminal scams, such as cheating the government out of gasoline taxes. In addition to traditional Cosa Nostra criminal activity, Franzese was also active in legitimate businesses, such as auto dealerships, construction and the entertainment industry. 

After fighting the federal government’s many indictments against him, he pleaded guilty to racketeering charges and was sentenced to ten years in federal prison. 

While in prison, Franzese became a devout Christian and announced that he was walking away from Cosa Nostra. He credits his wife Camille and his mother-in-law, as well as a prison guard who gave him a Bible when he was in solitary, with his religious conversion. 

Michael Franzese is the only high-ranking member of a major crime family to walk away from the mob without being in the witness protection program. Although the Colombo family initially put out a contract on his life, he lives openly for the most part, giving speeches about mob life and Christianity. 

On his podcast, he also offers his insight and experiences with the mob and street life, and he advises others to avoid it. 

Another popular former mobster with a podcast is Salvator “Sammy the Bull” Gravano, the former Gambino Cosa Nostra crime family underboss. Indicted with Gambino boss John Gotti, 

Gravano became a cooperating government witness against Gotti and others. Gravano admitted to committing nineteen murders and other crimes and after testifying, he entered the witness protection program. He was later sent to prison for a drug conspiracy in Arizona.

On his podcast, Gravano is unrepentant and speaks proudly of his criminal past. With a gravelly voice straight out of Hollywood central casting, he entertains his viewers with inside stories of mob life, crimes and other criminal personalities.

Actors, journalists and former law enforcement officers also have podcasts. 

One popular podcast on the web is offered by actor and writer Chazz Palminteri. 

Palminteri had his one-man stage show A Bronx Tale made into a popular film that was directed by Robert De Niro in 1993. De Niro portrayed Palminteri’s father, a bus driver, and Palminteri portrayed Sonny, a neighborhood mob boss.

I interviewed Chazz Palminteri for the Philadelphia Inquirer in 2016 when his one-man show was appearing in Atlantic City. I mentioned to Palminteri that A Bronx Tale was considered one of the three most realistic mob movies, along with Donnie Brasco and Goodfellas. 

Palminteri replied that A Bronx Tale was more of a family movie than a crime movie.

“It’s really about a father and son, the workingman,” Palminteri said. “My father would say, ‘He thinks he’s a tough guy; I’m the tough guy. Let him get up in the morning and work for a living.’”

On his podcast, Chazz Palminteri talks about the stage show, movie and Broadway musical A Bronx Tale. He also talks about growing up with mobsters and offers inside stories about the world of entertainment. He also talks about what he calls “neighborhood logic.”

Legendary FBI undercover agent Joseph Pistone, aka “Donnie Brasco,” infiltrated the New York Bonanno crime family for six years and was responsible for putting numerous mob guys in prison. 

He too has a podcast called Deep Cover – The Real Donnie Brasco. Pistone discusses his past and tells mob stories along with his friend, Philadelphia native and actor/writer/producer Leo Rossi.

I’ve spoken to Joe Pistone several times over the years, beginning with my interview with him in 2004 for the Philadelphia Inquirer. I later interviewed him about his podcast for my Philadelphia Weekly column in 2021. 

Pistone said he mentioned to Leo Rossi that everybody had a podcast and suggested they do something together.

“The podcast is about criminal activity, organized crime in the U.S. and foreign countries, and every so often we’ll have on a guest that is associated with law enforcement or a former gangster,” Pistone said. “We also offer a lot of insight into the TV, movie and literary industries.”

I did a follow-up column with Leo Rossi. Rossi, who hails from Northeast Philly, is exuberant and fast-talking and he contrasts with the more reticent Pistone. 

“Joe made a living out of keeping his mouth shut, and he doesn’t give it up too easy, so a trust factor came in as we started,” Rossi said. “Joe got looser, and we have laughs, and I think we hit on some pretty big topics.” 

Another popular crime podcast is Mob Talk Sitdown. Former Philadelphia Inquirer crime reporter and author George Anastasia and former Fox 29 reporter Dave Schratwieser use their extensive reporting and their historical knowledge about organized crime to tell inside stories about mobsters in Philadelphia, New Jersey, and around the country.   

More recently, another local podcast debuted on the Internet. Reputed Philadelphia Cosa Nostra crime family boss Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino is offering a podcast called The Skinny with Joey Merlino and Lil Snuff.

Although not used often these days, “the skinny” is a phrase that means to be informed of true inside information, so the title of the podcast is a clever play on Merlino’s nickname.

On the podcast, Merlino handicaps sport betting and tells stories about his life on the streets of South Philly, his time in prison and his criminal trials. He also talks about his disdain for cooperating government witnesses, whom he called “rats.” 

So, if after watching The Godfather, Goodfellas, A Bronx Tale, Donnie Brasco and other mob movies, you haven’t got enough of mob stories, you can always surf the Internet and listen to the popular mob-related podcasts.

Paul Davis, a Philadelphia writer and frequent contributor to Broad + Liberty, also contributes to Counterterrorism magazine and writes the “On Crime” column for the Washington Times. He can be reached at pauldavisoncrime.com

Mob Talk 37: Former FBI Agent Disputes 'The Irishman,' An Open Letter To The Mob From A Former Mobster, And Other Organized Crime News

Veteran organized crime reporters George Anastasia and Dave Schratwieser offer their take on the Martin Scorsese film The Irishman and whether the film offers an aucurate version of the murder of Jimmy Hoffa in their Mob Talk 37.

They offer the view of a former FBI agent who shadowed alleged Jimmy Hoffa triggerman Frank Sheeran for year. They also discuss the open letter to the Mob from a former Genovese associate turned cooperator who now thinks the Mob is attempting to murder him. 

And they discuss a young associate of reputed Philadelphia Cosa Nostra boss Joey Merlino, who is taking some heat with a superseding indictment. 

You can watch Mob Talk 37 via the below link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1yef_jZVZA 

Mob Talk 26 Video: Organized Crime Reporters Discuss South Philly, South Jersey And New York Organized Crime

Veteran organized crime reporters George Anastasia and Dave Stratwieser discuss reputed Philly mob boss Joey Merlino in prison, a Philadelphia FBI RICO investigation, a South Jersey drug investigation, and other organized crime cases.

You can watch the video via the below link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D63zaxy7HAA

Mob Talk 20: Reputed Philly Cosa Nostra Mob Boss Joey Merlino Dined With Actor Robert De Niro And Other Mob News

Veteran organized crime reporters George Anastasia and Dave Schratwieser offer another video of them discussing Cosa Nostra organized crime in Philadelphia and South Jersey.

The hot summer sun may be shining on the Philadelphia Mob, but there's a cloud hanging overhead and now there's talk about a Mobster and a Movie star.

All this and more in the latest edition of Mob Talk Sit Down.

Three years worth of wiretap conversations made by one of their own has the Wiseguys on edge.  Not officially identified on paper by the feds, the made guy's audio and video recordings could spell trouble for heavy hitters in the Philly Mob in the coming months. 

So why was Mob Boss Joey Merlino dining and meeting with actor Robert De Niro in New York City?

Mob experts George Anastasia and Dave Schratwieser have the inside track on that and a whole lot more this week...

You can watch the video via the below link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQv5ZEYyNdA&t=400s

Mob Talk 19: Who's Who In The Philly Mob

Veteran organized crime reporters George Anastasia and Dave Schratwieser offer their take on who’s who in the Philadelphia Cosa Nostra organized crime family in Mob Talk 19.

You can watch the video via the below link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwss_O8gvT0 

Mob Talk 11: A Look Back At A South Philly Mob Hit And Talk Of The Upcoming Racketeering Trial Of Reputed Philly Mob Boss Joey Merlino

Veteran organized crime reporters George Anastasia and Dave Schratwieser look back at a South Philly mob hit on the 5th Anniversary of the the Gino DiPietro murder that sent Mob Soldier Anthony Nicodemo to prison 

They also discuss indicted Philadelphia Mob Boss Joey Merlino as the Feds line up their witnesses for his upcoming trial in January.

You can watch the video via the below link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-A3LgiJ6Cg 

Mob Talk: Why Joey Merlino Is Gambling With His Future By Going To Trial

The online publication PhillyVoice offers the latest Mob Talk Sitdown video (although both organized crime reporters are in fact standing) video.

In the latest episode of Mob Talk Sitdown, veteran journalists George Anastasia and Dave Schratwieser share new details on key government witness John "Junior" Rubeo and the case against Joey Merlino, who is gambling with his future by going to trial. Accusations are flying about Rubeo, who wore a wire against the flamboyant Philly Mob boss for months, and the recordings he made.

You can watch the video via the below link:

http://www.phillyvoice.com/mob-talk-why-joey-merlino-gambling-with-future-going-trial/ 

Alleged Philly Mob Boss And His Co-Defendant Get OK To Attend Wedding Festivities — But At Separate Times

Larry McShane at the New York Daily News offers a piece on how co-defendants in a federal racketeering case can each attend a wedding.

Love will keep a Florida bride and groom together — and a federal judge will keep two of their wedding guests apart.

Reputed Philadelphia Mafia boss Joseph (Skinny Joey) Merlino and his racketeering co-defendant Anthony Cirillo were approved to attend the Sunday nuptials in Florida — just not at the same time.

Mobster Merlino is standing as best man for groom Michael Caudo, and leaving the event once the couple declares “I do.” Cirillo was ordered to skip the wedding and appear only at the subsequent reception.

Both were admonished to do so without discussing the bridesmaids’ dresses, the choice of entrees or any other topic.

“Defendant Merlino shall attend only the wedding ceremony on (Sunday) and not the reception,” wrote Manhattan Federal Court Judge Richard Sullivan in his Thursday ruling.

“Defendants Merlino and Cirillo shall not speak to each other or otherwise communicate with each other.”

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/alleged-mob-boss-co-defendant-barred-contact-wedding-article-1.3118692 

No Reservations At Ristorante Merlino's

Veteran organized crime reporter and author George Anastasia offers a piece at Bigtrial.net (with permission from Gangland News) on the closing of the Florida restaurant run by Joey Merlino, the reputed boss of the Philadelphia Cosa Nosa organized crime family.

If you picked up a snazzy Merlino's wineglass on your last trip to Boca, don't throw it away. It may soon be a collector's item. It looks like Joey Merlino is out of the restaurant business.

Reports from Boca Raton, where his posh, eponymous nightspot was located, indicate that the restaurant is closed and the property is for sale. In June, Skinny Joey denied a Miami Herald report that Merlino's had gone belly up. He insisted that his joint was shutting down for the summer season and would reopen in the fall. 

Who knows? That may have been the plan. But that was before the racketeering indictment that snared him and 45 co-defendants for being part of what federal prosecutors have dubbed an East Coast LCN Enterprise. 


You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.bigtrial.net/2016/11/reprinted-with-permission-from-gangland.html

Note: George Anastasia mentions former mobster Ron Previte in the piece. You can read my Philadelphia Inquirer review of his book on Previte and Merlino, The Last Gangster, via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2013/08/my-philadelphia-inquirer-review-of_7773.html

Sources Name Informant Who Recorded Reputed Philadelphia Mob Boss Joey Merlino In Federal Racketeering Case

Dave Schratwieser at Fox 29 in Philadelphia offers a piece and video clip on the identity of the federal informant who recorded Joey Merlino, the reputed Philadelphia Cosa Nostra organized crime boss, and others. Merlino and 45 others were indicted on racketeering charges.

Schratwieser interviewed veteran organized crime reporter Jerry Capeci, whose website, Gangland.com, named the informant.

You can read the piece and watch the video via the below link:

http://www.fox29.com/news/196227683-story

You can also read an earlier post on the federal case against Merlino and others via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2016/08/manhattan-us-attorney-charges-46.html

Feds Fight Bail For Joey Merlino, Allege Tapes Show He Was 'Leader' Of Mob Family

Veteran organized crime crime reporter George Anastasia offers a piece at PhillyVoice.com on the bail hearing for alleged Philadelphia organized crime boss Joseph Merlino.

It looks like a tale of the tapes in the feds’ latest battle with mob boss Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino.

Federal authorities, in arguing that Merlino should not be released on bail, have pointed to “explicit recordings in which Merlino discussed the crimes he was committing and exhibited his role as a leader” of the mob family.

A bail hearing for Merlino, originally scheduled for Tuesday, has been moved to Friday after Merlino’s Florida attorney David L. Roth asked for an extension.

Edwin Jacobs Jr., who is Merlino’s principal attorney and is working with Roth, said from his Atlantic City office this afternoon that they wanted more time to prepare their argument that Merlino should be granted bail.

Jacobs said it was “difficult to assess” the case against his client because the racketeering indictment unsealed last week “is not fact-specific.”

“All the allegations are broad and general in nature,” he said, adding that Merlino is charged with gambling and health care fraud but is not linked to any acts of violence.

Those arguments are expected to be part of a bail motion that Jacobs and Roth plan to file before Friday’s hearing. Merlino, 54, has been held in the Palm Beach county jail since his arrest Thursday morning.

He was one of 46 mob members and associates arrested Thursday after authorities in New York unsealed a four-count, 32-page racketeering indictment.

Merlino is charged with being one of the leaders of what authorities are calling an “East Coast LCN (La Cosa Nostra) Enterprise.” Members of the Genovese, Gambino, Luchese and Bonanno crime families were also named.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.phillyvoice.com/feds-fight-bail-joey-merlino-allege-tapes-show-he-was-leader-mob-family/

Former South Philly Mob Boss Joey Merlino Packs Them In At Federal Hearing

Veteran organized crime reporter and author George Anastasia is covering Joey Merlino's federal proceedings for Bigtrial.net.

Joey Merlino can still draw a crowd.

The one-time South Philadelphia celebrity mobster had a nearly packed courtroom for his probation violation hearing this morning. Friends, family members, law enforcement officials and more than a dozen members of the media showed up for a 90-minute proceeding that revolved around mundane technical issues and that offered all the drama of a first-year law school seminar.

The proceeding before U.S. District Court Judge R. Barclay Surrick ended without any resolution. But Merlino, 52, attracted a swarm of television cameramen and newspaper photographers as he exited the building at Sixth and Market Streets.

"The Mummers Parade," Merlino said cryptically as reporters shouted questions at him and a small entourage that made its way toward Seventh Street and a parking garage. Merlino was scheduled to return to Florida later today.
In an earlier interview with Bigtrial.net, Merlino said that one of the few things he missed since relocating to Florida three years ago was the New Year's Day parade.

Whether he has to return to Philadelphia for another hearing will depend on how Surrick rules on what amounted to conflicting legal arguments posed by defense attorney Edwin Jacobs Jr. and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Troyer.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.bigtrial.net/2014/10/merlino-packs-them-in-at-federal-hearing.html#more