THE BLACK HAND FORUM

[quote=Adam post_id=48532 time=1489014123 user_id=5231]
Pretty sure Bongivanni got made by Stanfa. But he doesn't pop up in any trials or articles dealing with Stanfa. I didn't know he associated with Riccobene.
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Yeah, he helped run the Riccobene brothers' gambling operations (in partnership with other Philly members/associates -- this was years before the breakaway) and Harry was picked up on wiretaps telling Bongiovanni that Angelo Bruno was not a capable boss, how he (Riccobene) chose not to be boss, and implied he had participated in the Castellammarese war. He at least got the time period right (1931) in this conversation, whereas when he told Celeste Morello and the FBI about Sabella recruiting Philly members I believe he said 1927 or something.

Pretty eccentric guy... being a made member and committing murders from the time you're a teenager and doing massive prison stretches will do that to someone I guess.

Pretty sure Bongivanni got made by Stanfa. But he doesn't pop up in any trials or articles dealing with Stanfa. I didn't know he associated with Riccobene.

[quote=Adam post_id=48516 time=1488996010 user_id=5231]
The info on Denittis is interesting. With Maritnes, Pagano, Esposito and Colletti all working with Riccobene and then working with Stanfa I wonder if any of the other people around Riccobene ended up in the Stanfa organization? We know not Mario(sorry gallows humor).
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DeNittis must have turned away from the Riccobones during or after the war when he started working with Scarfo/Leonetti, while the other guys were on the fringes.

Joe Bongiovanni was also under Riccobene in the 1970s and was hit in the early 80s RICO case. He got out in 1985, not sure how he stood with Stanfa.

DeLuca, Pedulla, Sonny Riccobene, Robert Riccobene,and Tamburino were all off the streets one way or another, so I'm not sure who else from Riccobene's crew might have been around or how many total guys he had under him in the 1970s and 80s.

And I accidentally left out Richard Bocchino. Felix's brother. They listed him as a subordinate to his brother, but I have no idea if he ended up working with Stanfa.

The info on Denittis is interesting. With Maritnes, Pagano, Esposito and Colletti all working with Riccobene and then working with Stanfa I wonder if any of the other people around Riccobene ended up in the Stanfa organization? We know not Mario(sorry gallows humor).

Great thread- I've got to imagine that Philip Ligambi stuck around Merlino once there was the "split" since Uncle Joe is his brother who has always been right with Chucky and Joey Merlino.

Tyrone Denittis is still around actually and still associates with the guys in power. To what extent I don't know, but he's still involved with the music business. There was an article in the early 2000's about him and Ligambi being caught meeting by OC Task Force. His offices were Harry Riccobene's HQ's in the 70s and he's always been tied in with the fam.

Anthony DiSalvo was a major loan shark in the Philly area and I think he's just fine kicking up to whomever is in power to save the trouble. He was the one that Leonetti had to step in for with Leonard Pellulo with regards to collecting a big loan. I think he has since passed away, but if not he's pretty old and probably out of the game.

Leonard Mercer was the business man/financial guy for Scarfo who did a lot of the early AC real estate deals for Scarfo. I want to say he got caught in case with Philip Disney McFillin and since then I haven't been able to find anything that he's been involved with.

Gary Tavella has been involved since the 70s and his been around for awhile... Big into the gambling and numbers. He was originally with the Grande's and Joe Punge's crew later and actually was part of that first roundup with the Scarfo guys before the Feds came in with the major RICO. His candy store was where Salvy was shot (when he was tight with the Grande's who shot Salvy). He got very involved with the Stanfa crew as we all know and got caught up in all of that BS and served time for the latter part of the 90s and came out in early 2000s. I've always been curious about Gary Tavella because he's been involved for so long and clearly was looking to get made up until the Stanfa era. I've got to imagine he's still active but just very low key as another conviction would mean serious time, or he's just being smart and low key. I always wondered if he is in fact active how he fits in with the current family being that Merlino and those guys are in power and at one point he was out trying to kill for Stanfa. If there is a beef then he's one of the only Stanfa guys that's been able to stick around South Philly as he and his family still live there. I also have been wondering if he's one of the guys in Joe Punge's crew being that he was with the Grande's and Joe Punge in the 80s before they all got pinched.

Anyways, just trying to fill in some of the holes from what people have already posted above. I'll post again if I think of or find anything else on any of the other guys not mentioned yet.

Geater with the Heater!! Jerry Blavat, if I remember reading correctly, Scarfo Sr., was fairly adamant for the guy not to be involved. Seemed to genuinely like the guy, but he was popular back in the day.

Wonder why Ralph Pungitore never got made considering he had been proposed, his closeness to Joey Chang and how much Stanfa was hurting for new members?


Also what is with the Chickie nickname in Philly (Ciancaglini, Narducci and Warrington)? What does it even mean?


Pogo

[quote=Adam post_id=48415 time=1488827710 user_id=5231]
So I was reading through the 1990 Pennsylvania Crime Commission report again, and I was intrigued by the list of major associates of the Philly family that were not incarcerated at the time in 1990. I was trying to figure out if most of them ended up being absorbed into the Stanfa organization or if they retired or went their own way. But they listed 27 people as a sample. Here are the ones they listed:

Joseph Altimari
Gerald Blavat
Russell Conti
Harry D'Ascenzo
Tyrone DeNittis
Anthony DiSalvo
Joseph Dolpies
Michael Forte
Alexander Hartzell
Gary Iaconelli
Salvatore LaRussa
Philip Ligambi
Bernard Malseed
Richard Mastro
Francis McFadden
Leonard Mercer Jr.
Louis Morelli
Vincent Pagano
Johnny Palumbo
Arthur Pelullo
Leonard Pelullo
Peter Pelullo
Ralph Pungitore
Anthony Rossano
Gaetano Scafidi Jr.
William Stearn
Gar Tavella
Charles Warrington

Now of those only Altimari, Forte, Pagano, Scafidi and Tavella ended up getting indicted/connected to Stanfa in the 1990s. So does anyone know if any of the others ended up as part of the Stanfa organization?
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These guys were semi-legitimate associates:
Gerald Blavat = Jerry Blavat, who has a history of being close to whoever the leadership is in Philly from Angelo Bruno up to Ligambi and Merlino, but now that you mention it I'm not sure if Stanfa and his guys hung out with Blavat. Blavat's father Louis had been a well-known Jewish gangster in his day but Jerry was never a criminal associate, just a local celebrity who did favors for these guys.

Tyrone DeNittis had been close to both Bruno and Scarfo but had a falling out with Scarfo and was chased out of AC as described in Blood and Honor. He was back involved when Natale took over but not sure about the Stanfa years.

Salvatore LaRussa = Sam the Barber, restaurant owner closely associated with Scarfo. He died in the mid-90s. I would guess he wasn't involved with Stanfa.

Criminal associates:
The Pelullo brothers are the brothers of Salvatore Pelullo who was involved with Scarfo Jr.'s last case. Side note, but they are also the nephews of old time members Frank and Leonard Nicoletti. I believe they stayed loyal to the Scarfos.

Ralph Pungitore was proposed for membership at the time everything fell apart and his father had stepped up to help with the transition but seems to have butted heads with Stanfa. His close friend Joe Ciancaglini Jr. became the underboss but Ralph was never made and I'm under the impression he helped quietly looked after his brothers' interests during the Stanfa years.

Charles "Chickie" Warrington was a major non-Italian associate who was a big target in the early 80s RICO case that targeted Bruno, Testa, Ciancaglini, Narducci, etc. Served a good chunk of time and no indication he got back involved.

I'd be curious what a lot of them were up to during the Stanfa years. Some of them had some serious history with the family despite not being made... Harry D'Ascenzo was one of Frank Sindone's top associates but was a former cop which I guess prevented him from moving up further.

So I was reading through the 1990 Pennsylvania Crime Commission report again, and I was intrigued by the list of major associates of the Philly family that were not incarcerated at the time in 1990. I was trying to figure out if most of them ended up being absorbed into the Stanfa organization or if they retired or went their own way. But they listed 27 people as a sample. Here are the ones they listed:

Joseph Altimari
Gerald Blavat
Russell Conti
Harry D'Ascenzo
Tyrone DeNittis
Anthony DiSalvo
Joseph Dolpies
Michael Forte
Alexander Hartzell
Gary Iaconelli
Salvatore LaRussa
Philip Ligambi
Bernard Malseed
Richard Mastro
Francis McFadden
Leonard Mercer Jr.
Louis Morelli
Vincent Pagano
Johnny Palumbo
Arthur Pelullo
Leonard Pelullo
Peter Pelullo
Ralph Pungitore
Anthony Rossano
Gaetano Scafidi Jr.
William Stearn
Gar Tavella
Charles Warrington

Now of those only Altimari, Forte, Pagano, Scafidi and Tavella ended up getting indicted/connected to Stanfa in the 1990s. So does anyone know if any of the others ended up as part of the Stanfa organization?