Philadelphia Mob History Lesson: Former Hit Man Peter "Pete the Crumb' Caprio Testifies At Philly Organized Crime Trial

John P. Martin at the Philadelphia Inquirer reports on the Philadelphia organized crime trial.

A rear courtroom door opened and a slight man shuffled to the witness stand, clad in a black V-neck sweater over a white collared shirt and patterned tie.
 

Now 83, he looked too frail to lift a baseball bat, much less crush it against another man's skull, as he said he once would.

"Wow," a defense lawyer blurted out. "He got old," someone else whispered. A dozen years have passed since Pete "The Crumb" Caprio became a turncoat against his associates in the Philadelphia mob. At least three times since, federal prosecutors have trotted out Caprio, a once-feared captain, to tell juries about his life, exploits, crimes, and similar details about others.  The Crumb was back again Monday, called to deliver a history lesson for jurors at the racketeering trial of reputed mob boss Joseph "Uncle Joe" Ligambi and six underlings.

You can read the rest of the story vai the below link:

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20121119_Now_83__former_hitman_testifies_at_Philly_mob_trial.html

Philly Mob Boss Wanted DJ Jerry Blavet Whacked

John P. Martin at the Philadelphia Inquirer reports on the ongoing organized crime trial in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia's reputed mob boss Joseph "Uncle Joe" Ligambi vowed in 2009 to kill radio celebrity and restaurant owner Jerry Blavat, a mob turncoat testified today.
 

Ligambi was livid over a July 2009 Philadelphia Magazine article on the local mob and believed Blavat was the source of the story, Louis "Bent Finger Lou" Monacello told a federal court jury.
"He was ranting and raving, 'That [expletive] Jerry Blavat, he set this up ... Jerry Blavat, I'm gonna kill this [expletive],' " Monacello said, recounting his September 2009 conversation with Ligambi.
There were no signs that the threat against Blavat, a Philadelphia radio icon and owner of Memories, a Margate, N.J. restaurant frequented by wiseguys, extended beyond words.

Still, Monacello said, "If I were Jerry Blavat, I'd be nervous."

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

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20121113_Wiseguy__Mob_boss_wanted_DJ_Jerry_Blavat_whacked.html

You can also read the Philadelphia Magazine article in question via the below link:

http://www.phillymag.com/articles/what-ever-happened-to-the-south-philly-mob/