Before There Was A Tony Soprano, There Was Richie The Boot, Sam The Plumber And Vinny Ocean. Jersey's Real-Life Sopranos

Ted Sherman at NJ.com offers a piece on New Jersey mobsters.

David Chase, who brought to life the fictional tale of a New Jersey crime family in “The Sopranos,” has a new story to tell. 

Said to be a prequel to his HBO series of mob boss Tony Soprano, “The Many Saints of Newark," is set in the 1960s, during the Newark riots. It is right around the time there was a real godfather by the name of Ruggerio “Richie the Boot” Boiardo, who many believe inspired “The Sopranos.”

He was no saint. 

Back in the 1960s and 70s, Boiardo was a ruthless and feared mob boss operating out of Newark. He had his hands in everything from gambling and loansharking to politics and labor unions, and had his hooks into the administration of Democratic Mayor Hugh J. Addonizio, who would be ultimately taken down in a major federal corruption investigation.

An associate of the Genovese crime family, the Boot was believed he was the model for the character Don Vito Corleone in Mario Puzo's book The Godfather. 

But there are obvious nods to the Boiardo’s life that show up in the world of Tony Soprano.

Boiardo lived on an estate in suburban Livingston in a custom-build mansion that Life magazine once described as “'Transylvania traditional.” Tony lived in suburban North Caldwell, where he ambled down the long driveway in the morning to get The Star-Ledger. 

The Boot’s top enforcer was a lieutenant known Big Pussy. His son, Anthony, was referred to as Tony Boy. Tony’s guy was Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero.

But Boiardo may not have been the only Jersey guy to spark the characters created by Chase. There are those who believe Vincent “Vinny Ocean” Palermo was the prototype for Tony Soprano.

In fact, New Jersey has a long history of being married to the mob. 

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

https://www.nj.com/expo/news/g66l-2019/02/2c3248019b4776/before-there-was-a-tony-soprano-there-was-richie-the-boot-sam-the-plumber-and-vinny-ocean-jerseys-reallife-sopranos.html

You can also read my Washington Times review of Garden State Gangland via the below link:

www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2018/03/garden-state-gangland-rise-of-mob-in.html 

A Little Night Music: Brian Culbertson's 'On My Mind'

For a little night music, you can listen to the smooth jazz sound of Brian Culbertson's piano as he plays On My Mind live via the below link:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCw-vcq2n4k

Anchors Aweigh!: On This Day In 1970 I Enlisted In The U.S. Navy

I enlisted in the U.S. Navy on this day in 1970.

I was a 17-year-old South Philly high school dropout when I raised my hand and swore to uphold the Constitution of the United States and defend America against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

It was the beginning of a grand adventure that took me to the Navy Training Center (Boot Camp) in Great Lakes, Illinois, and on to the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk, where we sailed to Southeast Asia and "Yankee Station" off the coast of Vietnam. I later served on a Navy tugboat, the USS Saugus, at the American nuclear submarine base at Holy Loch, Scotland.

I traveled all across America and I visited the Philippines, Japan, Hong Kong, Scotland, England, Ireland, Wales, Italy, France, Germany, Canada, Mexico and other countries.

February 9, 1970 was also the beginning of a 37-year-stint in the Defense Department, as my Navy service counted towards my civilian government career.

Jack Riley, Former DEA Official, Says Sean Penn Belongs In Jail For Meeting With Drug Lord El Chapo

Reed Tuck at the New York Post offers a piece on Jack Riley seen in the below photo), a former DEA official, who states that actor Sean Penn should be in jail for meeting with Joaguin "El Chapo" Guzman (seen together in the above photo), the notorious drug lord now on trial in New York.

As you read this, the world’s most notorious drug dealer, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, is sitting uncomfortably in a 136-square-foot jail cell in lower Manhattan’s Metropolitan Correctional Center.

But he nearly escaped justice. And it’s all Sean Penn’s fault.

Chapo had run the infamous Sinaloa cartel since the 1980s and was responsible for much of the cocaine, marijuana, meth and heroin flowing into the United States. Both American and Mexican law enforcement had attempted to arrest him, but he proved almost supernaturally slippery. He escaped from Mexican lockups twice and was a fugitive for decades, rarely sleeping in the same place twice.

On Oct. 2, 2015, Mexican marines were finally closing in on the drug lord. They had tracked him to a rugged hilltop compound in La Tuna. Just as the order was about to be given to move in, two people inexplicably arrived: Sean Penn and Kate del Castillo, a Mexican soap opera actress who had praised Chapo online. The two were there ostensibly to speak to Guzman about making a film of his life, but Penn later published an infamously softball interview with the kingpin in Rolling Stone. 

Fearing the actors would be caught in the crossfire, commanders ordered the marines to stand down. The military waited for the celebrities to leave and, instead of going in on foot, chose to attack by helicopter. They lost the element of surprise, and El Chapo escaped again.

“Oh, my God! If I could get my hands on Sean Penn!” Jack Riley, the former No. 2 at the US Drug Enforcement Agency, tells The Post. “The people he put at risk because of that stunt. He should be in jail.”

Riley pushed to have Penn and del Castillo prosecuted for obstruction, but his boss at the DEA and officials at the Department of Justice declined to pursue the case, citing Penn’s protection because he was acting as a journalist. 

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

https://nypost.com/2019/02/06/dea-bigwig-who-hunted-el-chapo-sean-penn-should-be-in-jail/  

Spanish Police Nab Camorra Members After Notorious Crime Family Stole Drugs From Rival Traffickers

Barnini Chakraborty at FoxNews.com offers a piece on the takedown of Camorra members, Naples’ organized crime group, in Spain. 

Several members of a violent branch of Italy's notorious Camorra crime family have been arrested after stealing drugs from rival traffickers in Spain and selling the contraband on the streets, authorities said.

Fourteen members of the "Marranella" clan were arrested and another seven are being investigated for the brazen theft and brutal attacks on rival gangs on Spain's southern Costa del Sol.

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

https://www.foxnews.com/world/spanish-police-nab-camorra-members-after-notorious-crime-family-stole-drugs-from-rival-traffickers 

FBI And Slavery And Human Trafficking Prevention

The FBI released the below information:

Late one night in April 2016, Antonio Hawkins noticed a crying teenage girl walking down the street in Houston, Texas. She was a runaway from out of state with nowhere to go, and he told her he would help her.

Instead, Hawkins brought the girl to Tennessee, where he spent two weeks trafficking the 15-year-old for sex in the Memphis area. He brutally beat her to keep her in line and stole all of her earnings. Hawkins was also trafficking three other women at that time, using violence and threats to control them as well.

“He recruited girls and women who were down on their luck,” said Special Agent Jaime Corman, who investigated this case out of the FBI’s Memphis Field Office. “He told his victims he would take care of them, but he violently kept them in check and controlled every aspect of their lives.”

Instead of trafficking the young women online, as many pimps do today, he had them walking an area of Memphis known for prostitution. A Memphis police officer found her there and notified the FBI, who was able to assist her and help find and stop her trafficker.

While agents investigated the case, specialists from the FBI’s Victim Services Division helped the girl find resources to rebuild her life. Since then, she has found an apartment and a job, and she overcame her fear of Hawkins to testify against him at his trial.

“These guys target the most vulnerable—runaways, foster kids, kids who come from difficult circumstances,” Corman said. “They commit crimes against these girls, making them sell their bodies. We want to show these young women that there’s something else out there for them, and they don’t have to continue down this path.”

Last July, Hawkins was convicted of five sex trafficking charges, and in November, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Corman said the FBI works closely with local law enforcement to stop traffickers and help victims. Local police are often the first to interact with the victims, while the FBI brings national resources to these cases, which often span multiple states and jurisdictions. In this case, after being contacted by a local officer, the FBI helped not only track down the pimp but also manage the complexity of bringing in victims from other parts of the country to participate in his trial.

“Local law enforcement are the people who come in contact with these victims, and we count on them to recognize human trafficking and call us,” Corman said.

Although January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, the FBI and its partners work to end human trafficking all year long. The FBI’s approach is a victim-centered one, working to get pimps off the streets and help the victims move forward with their lives. In addition to the investigative work, the Bureau’s Victim Services Division works with hundreds of victims of human trafficking each year—notifying them about the status of their offenders’ cases and connecting them with resources to unify them with their families, find jobs, find housing, obtain drug treatment if necessary, and more.

“Human trafficking occurs in every area of the country and occurs in many forms, from forced labor to sexual exploitation, including the sexual exploitation of children,” said FBI Criminal Investigative Division Section Chief Michael Driscoll. “The FBI operates Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Task Forces throughout the country to aggressively investigate the perpetrators and also provides resources to assist the victims of these crimes.”

Mob Talk 27 Video: South Philly Extortion and Loan Sharking Case

Veteran organized crime reporters George Anastasia and Dave Schratwieser discuss the federal extortion and loan sharking case against convicted Scarfo mob soldier Philip Narducci and reputed mob associate James Gallo.

You can watch the video via the below link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7STnBqae9As