by newera_212 » Thu Jan 04, 2024 6:49 am
I don't know much about Philly either and could be way off base here, but I don't think it would have mattered. Made, not made, made by Stanfa, made by Natale or some other stooge, it seemed like Merlino and his guys weren't going to get in line behind anyone but themselves or maybe someone they respected and knew their whole lives. The way I always saw it is that Merlino basically made himself a boss. Finding someone who could plausibly induct Merlino and his guys wouldn't have been hard. They were just going to do what they wanted and hit back if anyone tried to stop them. Merlino was giving people problems as early as when Scarfo Sr. got sentenced - so (I could be wrong) it seems to be that it wasn't something 100% personal against Stanfa, but something against the system and old guard in general.
Not sure if the 'commission' was even technically together during this time since the NY families were all going through their own problems, but it's apparent that none of them were all that vested in what was happening with Philly. I know some family "backed" Stanfa (I think the Gambinos and the Sicilian Gambinos?) but what did that really do? Contrast that with like a decade or so earlier, the Genovese had a big say-so in what was happening in Philly. Even though they engineered a lot of those problems and it was all a ruse, they did ostensibly hold someone accountable for killing a boss, and helped get successors appointed.
I wonder how it would have all shaped out if the NY families didn't have so much going on themselves and took active stances on what was happening in Philly. Would Merlino and his guys listened or cared? I know much later on, some Philly guys like Mazzone traveled to NY to meet the Colombo acting administration in Brooklyn, so I can only assume the Merlino regime was recognized by the Colombos at the very least
I don't know much about Philly either and could be way off base here, but I don't think it would have mattered. Made, not made, made by Stanfa, made by Natale or some other stooge, it seemed like Merlino and his guys weren't going to get in line behind anyone but themselves or maybe someone they respected and knew their whole lives. The way I always saw it is that Merlino basically made himself a boss. Finding someone who could plausibly induct Merlino and his guys wouldn't have been hard. They were just going to do what they wanted and hit back if anyone tried to stop them. Merlino was giving people problems as early as when Scarfo Sr. got sentenced - so (I could be wrong) it seems to be that it wasn't something 100% personal against Stanfa, but something against the system and old guard in general.
Not sure if the 'commission' was even technically together during this time since the NY families were all going through their own problems, but it's apparent that none of them were all that vested in what was happening with Philly. I know some family "backed" Stanfa (I think the Gambinos and the Sicilian Gambinos?) but what did that really do? Contrast that with like a decade or so earlier, the Genovese had a big say-so in what was happening in Philly. Even though they engineered a lot of those problems and it was all a ruse, they did ostensibly hold someone accountable for killing a boss, and helped get successors appointed.
I wonder how it would have all shaped out if the NY families didn't have so much going on themselves and took active stances on what was happening in Philly. Would Merlino and his guys listened or cared? I know much later on, some Philly guys like Mazzone traveled to NY to meet the Colombo acting administration in Brooklyn, so I can only assume the Merlino regime was recognized by the Colombos at the very least