THE BLACK HAND FORUM

Didn’t see that coming

[quote=TommyGambino post_id=286034 time=1730986687 user_id=726]
[quote=OcSleeper post_id=285748 time=1730338348 user_id=6887]
Metelsky has stated they believe Pat Musitano was inducted in Buffalo after the murder of Papalia.
[/quote]

So the Musitano and Luppino familes are/were actually all Buffalo members? Who was killing them off?
[/quote]
It seems that way.

We learned from the Jabril Abdalla court case that the killers of Angelo Musitano were in contact with Daniel Ranieri and Jospeh Iavarone prior and after the murder took place. I can't recall any credible theories or suspects for Cece Luppino's murder.

[quote=NickleCity post_id=285998 time=1730941731 user_id=5614]
Opening statements in the Gerace trial were today.
[/quote]
Anthony Gerace is testifying against his brother?
https://x.com/DanielTelvock/status/1854884354431820140?t=f7JG1kpiiF5iksI2ZqmIFg&s=19

[quote=OcSleeper post_id=285748 time=1730338348 user_id=6887]
Metelsky has stated they believe Pat Musitano was inducted in Buffalo after the murder of Papalia.
[/quote]

So the Musitano and Luppino familes are/were actually all Buffalo members? Who was killing them off?

Opening statements in the Gerace trial were today. Here is some of the news coverage:

WKBW: https://www.wkbw.com/news/local-news/trial-begins-against-cheektowaga-strip-club-owner-peter-gerace-jr

The Buffalo News: https://buffalonews.com/news/local/crime-courts/trial-opens-as-key-question-hangs-over-gerace-were-the-strip-club-dancers-coerced/article_9eee7738-9c44-11ef-96b8-b354c977c8f7.html#tracking-source=home-top-story

WGRZ: https://www.wgrz.com/video/news/local/as-seen-on-tv/opening-statement-in-trail-against-gerace/71-0ccc425e-2ab3-41d3-909a-1a7e0acf801c

Metelsky has stated they believe Pat Musitano was inducted in Buffalo after the murder of Papalia.

[quote=Laughmatics post_id=285711 time=1730263834 user_id=6532]
Question, were the Musitanos Buffalo members or were they an independent clan?
[/quote]

I don’t think we have a definitive answer on that but I believe it’s more than likely they were members of the Todaro family.

Question, were the Musitanos Buffalo members or were they an independent clan?

Ralph Criminisi passed away this past Sunday.

https://www.friscolanti.com/obituary/ralph-criminisi?fh_id=16442

Marty Mazzara comes up in Serio's testimony. He is Michael Masecchia's wife's cousin whom Masecchia introduced to Serio to Mazzara in Vegas to help him get into the debt collection business. It appears her cousin served time in a public corruptions scheme that involved bribing tribal officials of the Chippewa Cree Tribe. See: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mt/pr/las-vegas-businessmen-sentenced-prison-montana-public-corruption-case
[img]https://theblackhand.club/forum/ext/dmzx/imageupload/files/6ffd10b5e0db0a1a19687b525ddb2215.png[/img]

Bongiovanni trials give glimpse into federal case against strip club owner Gerace
From the Complete coverage: The case of Peter Gerace Jr. series

Patrick Lakamp

Prosecutors said the aura of Mafia connections could be seen as stronger in Gerace’s case than Bongiovanni’s.

“Because here we also have a sex-trafficking conspiracy charged that alleges force, fraud and coercion,” Tripi said. “And Gerace’s family reputation, true or not, is highly relevant to his ability to exert control and influence over the employees and dancers at Pharaoh’s who engage in commercial sex acts. There’s going to be testimony that he’s made reference and alluded to his being in the Mafia.”

Even if untrue, “if that’s what he’s putting out there, fear sounds a lot like coercion,” Tripi said.

Foti, the defense lawyer, countered that “the jury’s going to be looking at the person at the defense counsel table saying we’re hearing from multiple sources that he’s apparently a member of the Mafia, and there is no way that doesn’t have an impact on him.”

Vilardo said he will not allow testimony alleging Gerace is involved in Italian organized crime, but will allow testimony about what Gerace has said himself about any connections and Bongiovanni’s understanding of it.

For the whole article see: https://buffalonews.com/news/local/crime-courts/peter-gerace-jr-pharaohs-strip-club-federal-trial/article_113f5d8e-9231-11ef-965f-2be230a1f52c.html#tracking-source=home-top-story

[quote=OcSleeper post_id=285513 time=1729786639 user_id=6887]
Parts 1-3 (of 4) on how clothing donation bins in the GTA are tied to organized crime and the ongoing tuff war for the market between Italians and Albanians OC groups.

You donated clothing to needy Canadians. So how did it end up in Africa?
https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/you-donated-clothing-to-needy-canadians-so-how-did-it-end-up-in-africa-1.7081050

How a clothes donation bin company passed itself off as a charity, while donated items were put up for sale
https://www.ctvnews.ca/mobile/canada/how-a-clothes-donation-bin-company-passed-itself-off-as-a-charity-while-donated-items-were-put-up-for-sale-1.7082893

Heists, arson and a baseball bat brawl: police allege organized crime fought over clothing donation bins
https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/heists-arson-and-a-baseball-bat-brawl-police-allege-organized-crime-fought-over-clothing-donation-bins-1.7084399
[/quote]
Part 4

Threats, slashed tires: How cities are trying to rein in clothing donation bin chaos
https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/threats-slashed-tires-how-cities-are-trying-to-rein-in-clothing-donation-bin-chaos-1.7086614

From these court documents it is apparent that Mario Vacanti was a big part of the Serio Drug Organization. Serio was approached by Masecchia in the fall of 2007 to move the product of his grow operation. Johnny Cats died in 2009... So I assume Masecchia made that intro shortly after the fall of 2007. Serio goes on to tell us that Masecchia told him about Bongiovanni's protection
I find it interesting that all this took place in 2007 when earlier that year in April Monty Masimmi was murdered by Mario Vacanti's brother Sam. You will recall the comment in the now defunct Topix Forum that I keep bringing up:

[quote]Buffalo, NY is and always will be one of the most corrupt cities in America because there are too many people in high places who have family ties to drug trafficking, gambling, and murder, that goes back to at least 3 generations of Italian mobsters who's close knit relatives have managed to reach every position of power available in Buffalo: Mayor, Police Chief and District Attorney not to mention countless Judges. I'm not going to mention any names but this is going to have to be dismantled on a federal level. These people run the city with no fear of prosecution. Their nephews, uncles and cousins run around North Buffalo, Kenmore and the West Side of Buffalo dealing major cocaine and heroin, but they always seem to escape the yearly FBI round ups.... 
[/quote]

The things we've learned in the Bongiovanni trial certainly seem to point to the corruption to which this Topix poster refers. I should mention it is clear from Serio's testimony that Mesecchia's grow operations go back to the early 2000's when a government agency found the crop on his propert in Morgan Hollow... So he grew on other people's property that he knew until 2015 when he began growing on Morgan Hollow again. It is clear Serio knew of Masecchia given the fact that he and his brother Tom were heavily involved in indoor grow and trafficking in the early 2000's

In 2008 time frame Masecchia made Serio aware that he had Joe Bongiovanni was helping him and that is when Serio allegedly started paying Bongi 2000/mo. It wasn't until Serio started trucking CA Marijuana from NV and UT that he started to allegedly pay $4000/mo.

It is so interesting that Bongiovanni's from Vegas signed Monty's funeral guestbook... Court documents reveal that Lou Salva alleged Bongiovanni told him about Bongiovanni's "Uncle Carl??" in NV who Salve believe Bongiovanni thought was a made man.

Here we have Masecchia helping Serio get started in the debt collection business by introducing him to his wife's cousin Marty Mazzara in Vegas. We learn later that it didn't work out with Marty, but he did end up in the biz with paper and that they used his collections businesses to clean money. You will recall the Buffalo News reported that the collections business in Buffalo is heavily connected to IOC

[img]https://theblackhand.club/forum/ext/dmzx/imageupload/files/7e6b28efad89acb23f61aef0d10aa716.png[/img]

This has already been reported but this is Serio's testimony where he talks about asking Masecchia about how to be made: [img]https://theblackhand.club/forum/ext/dmzx/imageupload/files/5f43c1fca4da9efbc9f2daa89d6c7415.png[/img]