THE BLACK HAND FORUM

chin_gigante wrote: ↑Sun Feb 17, 2019 11:53 am Having looked at the White Pages it seems like all of the Scarfo guys are currently living in Philadelphia apart from Joey Grande, Phil Narducci and Tory Scafidi. Grande's address is listed as Blackwood, Narducci is at Mullica Hill and Scafidi is in Coconut Creek, FL. That seems to be pretty much all we have on Scafidi since his release

CatStevens9 wrote: ↑Sat Nov 17, 2018 9:53 pm Is this prior to him getting shot at that resturant? To my understanding he was chased out of philadelphia by the merlino gang and his dad was able to get amuso to let him join the luchesses

chin_gigante wrote: ↑Sat Nov 17, 2018 9:35 pm

CatStevens9 wrote: ↑Sat Nov 17, 2018 7:48 pm Wasn't Scarfo persona non grata by the early 90s? I wasn't aware there was a Scarfo loyalist faction at any point aside from his son and the piccolos.

Amuso and, by extension, the Luchese family still supported Scarfo during his incarceration, which led to the beef between Philadelphia and Scarfo Jr as he was trying to recruit guys to take over the family. Joe Punge was insinuating that Joe Grande was considering joining Scarfo Jr.

CatStevens9 wrote: ↑Sat Nov 17, 2018 7:48 pm Wasn't Scarfo persona non grata by the early 90s? I wasn't aware there was a Scarfo loyalist faction at any point aside from his son and the piccolos.

chin_gigante wrote: ↑Sat Nov 17, 2018 12:16 am

CatStevens9 wrote: ↑Fri Nov 16, 2018 8:51 pm What was with Pungitore wanting Grande clipped?

Pungitore reached out to Ligambi to complain that Grande was still loyal to Scarfo and not the new administration, recommending that they kill him. Licata intervened on Grande's behalf, saying that he admired how he came back to Philadelphia not knowing whether he would be killed or not.
As for the motive, this is from Leonetti's book:

'Joey Grande is 52 now. His father was a made guy under Ange and, like the Narduccis, he knows the rules of La Cosa Nostra and all of the moves, but he’s a troublemaker. I remember him coming to me one time and whispering stuff to me in front of Joe Punge, to make it look like we were talking about him, which we weren’t. Joe Punge picked up on it right away and said to me afterwards, “I got a hard-on for this kid. You have no idea all the bullshit him and his brother are doing.” […] My uncle told me that if I got out, he wanted me to kill three people: his wife Mimi, and then the two Grande brothers, Joey and Wayne.'

Caramandi also mentions there being bad blood between Pungitore and Joe Grande leading up to the big crackdown in the late 1980s.

B. wrote: ↑Sat Nov 17, 2018 5:54 pm In one of the old indictments, it also referenced a conversation from those same mid-1980s tapes of Pungitore talking to an associate about how he was looking to "build an army" (those words specifically) and either had or was looking to have 100 guys around him. I was pretty surprised by it when I read it, as a lot of the common knowledge is that he took a step back after the Testa murder. That conversation and his supervising meth dealing, etc. paint a different picture from the one we usually read about. Not that it says anything about him today, but combined with him allegedly trying to have Joe Grande murdered for staying loyal to Scarfo in the early 2010s, I have a hard time seeing him as completely "inactive".

Keep in mind too Frank Sindone was recorded talking to Chucky Merlino in the late 1970s about wanting to retire and leave Philadelphia, then he made a move to kill the boss just a few years later.

Pete wrote: ↑Sat Nov 17, 2018 1:38 am

chin_gigante wrote: ↑Sat Nov 17, 2018 12:23 am

Pete wrote: ↑Fri Nov 16, 2018 10:19 pm Has there been any real intel that Phil Narducci is still involved? Based on interviews and his high profile with the restaurant it seems like maybe he’s happy to be taking a back seat. Of course it could all be bullshit but realistically after doing that much time it wouldn’t surprise me if Phil said he was going legit he’s married now and has legit interests and is very public with this restaurant. I just haven’t seen anything solid but street talk saying he’s still a player. I’m not expert on philly so I could be very wrong and If so somebody fill me in. Joey punge as well was on tapes back in the 80’s talking about going legit is there any real info he’s still a player?

Based on what's out there in terms of evidence and the things Narducci has been seen to be involved in, everything seems legitimate so far. It seems at least he's acting on his own if he is even doing anything illegal. I think most of the rumours about him come from Leonetti's speculation about him. Going by him naming the restaurant Chick's and having a picture of his father up on the wall, it seems reasonable to speculate that he wouldn't want to associate with Joe Punge. It would be pretty humiliating for it to come out that almost immediately after your father was murdered you knowingly went to work for his killers. But that's the whole thing about the Narducci situation; it all seems to be speculative based on his reputation thirty years ago.

On one of the mob talks there was talk of a wiretap from the 80’s with Joe Punge who said he wanted to make his money legit in real estate. After all that time in the can I wouldn’t be surprised if Joe Punge and Narducci were legit. Again could be wrong but haven’t seen anything definitive showing these guys are still involved. I agree Narducci has a big rep but that doesn’t mean he’s active. Maybe someone else can chime in

chin_gigante wrote: ↑Sat Nov 17, 2018 6:15 am It seems there's more evidence for tensions among the Scarfo-era guys themselves (Joe Punge and Joe Grande; possibly also between Joe Punge and Phil Narducci) than between the generations. Speculation of a divide I think in part comes from the older guys staying away. But keep in mind, they just finished 20 to 30 year sentences and were out on supervised release. The minute Faffy clears his probation he's seen hanging around the younger guys. People forget that Faffy at one point was protecting Joey from the Riccobene guys during the war with Scarfo.
And when it comes to the generational divide, the younger Scarfo guys are about the same age as the 'young Turks'. Merlino, Phil Narducci and Tore Scafidi are all 56.
I'm curious to find out more on Scafidi because he's mentioned least of all in my research. He's certainly young enough to still be active. Balancing act between whether he wants to avoid going back to jail or make up for the missed time he spent behind bars not making any money.

chin_gigante wrote: ↑Fri Nov 16, 2018 7:45 pm I’ve put together everything I’ve found on the activities on the Scarfo guys who have been released since 2000:

Anthony Pungitore Jr is listed as an active member on the 2009 chart made by Philadelphia PD
Nicholas Milano was reported as inactive during the 2000s, having been put on the shelf upon his release; more recently, mob watchers have spotted him driving a BMW and hanging out at Jesters NYB in South Philadelphia
Ralph Staino died of natural causes October 2015
83-year-old Charles Iannece, father of Merlino-soldier Vincent and associate Charles Jr, has been rumoured to be inactive and retired since his release
In Mafia Prince, Philip Leonetti identifies Salvatore Scafidi and Joseph Pungitore as both living in Florida upon their release from federal custody
Frank Narducci Jr was observed by Philadelphia PD attending the 2009 Christmas party at the Saloon; Narducci returned to federal custody in June 2015 and was released in October 2017
The Licata detention memo says that in 2010 Joseph Pungitore tried to convince the administration to have Joseph Grande killed; Licata intervened on Grande’s behalf and voiced his admiration for him
Joseph Pungitore was identified as a supposed ‘faction leader’ in the Dave Schratwieser investigation for Fox29 a couple of years ago; the report emphasises Pungitore’s success in the real estate business and identifies Phillip Narducci as another supposed ‘faction leader’
Phillip Narducci opened his restaurant, Chick’s (named after Frank ‘Chickie’ Narducci Sr), in South Philadelphia, and has been photographed taking part in bodybuilding and fishing
Mafia Prince mentioned Phillip Narducci as an especially ambitious figure to keep an eye on; Ed Scarpo reported in 2015 that Narducci was the new acting boss; George Anastasia placed Narducci on a three-man panel overseeing the family; Burnstein reported that one of Narducci’s guys was among the five proposed members inducted in 2015, however it is unclear whether this was a reference to rumoured member Joseph Baldino, who is related to Narducci but is actually with John Ciancaglini
Scott Burnstein has identified Joseph Ciancaglini Sr as being promoted to underboss following his release from prison; George Anastasia has identified Ciancaglini as serving as a dual-consigliere along with Joseph Ligambi; Ciancaglini has been recorded by the Mob Talk Sitdown camera crew hanging out with his son John at a lottery stand
Having cleared his supervised release, Francis Iannarella has been spotted by Mob Talk Sitdown associating and attending meetings with high-ranking members including Joseph Merlino and Michael Lancellotti; internet rumours have circulated suggesting that Iannarella is being considered for a promotion to either caporegime or even consigliere

The Pungitore brothers, Ciancaglini, Grande, Iannarella and Frank Narducci have all at times been associated with the ‘Merlino guys’, with Ciancaglini, Grande, Iannece and Staino fathers or uncles of younger members, undermining reports of tension between the generations.

chin_gigante wrote: ↑Sat Nov 17, 2018 12:23 am

Pete wrote: ↑Fri Nov 16, 2018 10:19 pm Has there been any real intel that Phil Narducci is still involved? Based on interviews and his high profile with the restaurant it seems like maybe he’s happy to be taking a back seat. Of course it could all be bullshit but realistically after doing that much time it wouldn’t surprise me if Phil said he was going legit he’s married now and has legit interests and is very public with this restaurant. I just haven’t seen anything solid but street talk saying he’s still a player. I’m not expert on philly so I could be very wrong and If so somebody fill me in. Joey punge as well was on tapes back in the 80’s talking about going legit is there any real info he’s still a player?

Based on what's out there in terms of evidence and the things Narducci has been seen to be involved in, everything seems legitimate so far. It seems at least he's acting on his own if he is even doing anything illegal. I think most of the rumours about him come from Leonetti's speculation about him. Going by him naming the restaurant Chick's and having a picture of his father up on the wall, it seems reasonable to speculate that he wouldn't want to associate with Joe Punge. It would be pretty humiliating for it to come out that almost immediately after your father was murdered you knowingly went to work for his killers. But that's the whole thing about the Narducci situation; it all seems to be speculative based on his reputation thirty years ago.

Pete wrote: ↑Fri Nov 16, 2018 10:19 pm Has there been any real intel that Phil Narducci is still involved? Based on interviews and his high profile with the restaurant it seems like maybe he’s happy to be taking a back seat. Of course it could all be bullshit but realistically after doing that much time it wouldn’t surprise me if Phil said he was going legit he’s married now and has legit interests and is very public with this restaurant. I just haven’t seen anything solid but street talk saying he’s still a player. I’m not expert on philly so I could be very wrong and If so somebody fill me in. Joey punge as well was on tapes back in the 80’s talking about going legit is there any real info he’s still a player?

CatStevens9 wrote: ↑Fri Nov 16, 2018 8:51 pm What was with Pungitore wanting Grande clipped?