by SILENT PARTNERZ » Mon Nov 26, 2018 10:01 am
Today, on this fourth Thursday in November, Gang Land — like much of America — will join family members in a traditional turkey dinner complete with most of the usual trimmings to celebrate Thanksgiving Day.
But Thanksgiving Day of 2018 is also a watershed milestone day for Gang Land. After 22 years, the board of directors has decreed that from this day forward, Thanksgiving Day is an official Gang Land holiday. That is, we're taking the day off, not publishing a fresh new column. We'll still publish our regular column when Christmas, the Fourth of July — as it does next year — and any other holiday falls on a Thursday, but not Thanksgiving.
We'll be back at you next week with three new stories about life and death, loyalty and betrayal, greed and honor — what we have called "real stuff about organized crime" since 1996. But whether you've reading this early — or after a nap, following too much food and/or drink and football — we've still got plenty of stuff for you to squeeze into the day and enjoy.
Donald TrumpWe've got a few Thanksgiving-related Gang Land columns we've done over the years. And with help from our friends at the Smoking Gun website, we've got not one, but two classic FBI tape recordings in which the late Genovese family soldier Federico (Fritzy) Giovanelli mentions The Donald — yeah that one — while moaning and groaning about his Thanksgiving Day.
You can't hear them any longer on WMOB.com; the Smoking Gun's sister station that used to house them is shuttered. But we've got them for you on Gang Land, courtesy of Smoking Gun guru Bill Bastone. And even if you've heard them before, we guarantee they'll put a few smiles on your face if they don't have you chuckling out loud.
Judge Tells Junior Gotti And Jury: Be Thankful
Judge P. Kevin CastelOur first look back though is the 2009 Thanksgiving Day message that the judge in Gotti IV gave the jury, who'd declared themselves deadlocked twice in 10 days of talks and would rather have heard him say "mistrial." Instead he invoked the Pilgrims, the three-day turkey day feast they had, and told the jurors to take five days off before coming back to decide the fate of John A. (Junior) Gotti.
And after stating that he didn't "want to be too much of a cornball," Manhattan Federal Judge P. Kevin Castel urged Gotti, who was spending his second turkey-day holiday behind bars, and his family members, to reflect on the true meaning of Thanksgiving.
John A. GottiIn 2007, over the objections of a federal prosecutor, Judge Peter Leisure gave mob capo John Gambino, a cousin of crime family patriarch Carlo Gambino, a Happy Thanksgiving ruling by cutting two years off his post-prison supervised relief because the feds had held him behind bars for 17 months on a defective deportation arrest.
We've also got an item about hero FBI agent Joe Pistone and one of the Bonanno mobsters he met while posing as jewel thief Donnie Brasco — Benjamin (Lefty Guns) Ruggierio, who died on Thanksgiving Day, 1995.
And one about an intriguing Black Friday session that took place in Staten Island the day after Lefty Guns died. It was between Gambino soldier Dominic (Fat Dom) Borghese and two FBI agents. In that meeting, Borghese gave up the goods on his longtime buddy Joseph Watts, tying him to several mob rubouts.
Fritzy's Got The Thanksgiving Day Blues
Meade EspositoLike most married American men, Fritzy Giovanelli usually celebrated Thanksgiving Day with his wife and family members. But not the time his old buddy Meade Esposito, a powerful Democratic Party boss with numerous mob ties, called to wish him a Happy Thanksgiving and he used Fritzy's girlfriend's name when his wife answered the phone.
Rather than go with wife Carol to his mother-in-law's home and have both of them give him agita about that, he stayed home. He explained the whole sorry mess to two buddies who called to wish him a Happy Thanksgiving, according to two 1985 FBI tape recordings.
You'll hear Esposito say "Gail" when Carol picks up the phone and then quickly realize his mistake and correct it. And then hear Fritzy, who completed his last federal prison rap in 2011, tell his tale of woe to mob buddy Angelo D'Acunto. You'll also hear Fritzy recall that Mario Gigante once did the same thing to brother Vincent, the legendary Genovese boss who died behind bars in 2005 while doing time for two racketeering convictions. Mario's faux pas was more difficult, since Chin's wife, and longtime paramour, were both named Olympia.
Turkey DayIn a second conversation, you can hear Fritzy talk about meatballs, mushrooms and mistaken identities as he describes his Thanksgiving Day tale of woe to mob buddy Zookie Esposito — no relation to Meade — and then tell Zookie about his special recipe for stuffed mushrooms with liver pate, scallions and "real good bacon." It's truly a mouthwatering visit with Fritzy Giovanelli.
As always, Gang Land wishes a Happy Thanksgiving to all our readers, no matter where you're reading this, or your current station in life. We extend a special thank you to those who've supported us since we became a paid subscription site in June of 2008. We wouldn't be here without you! Thanks much!
Today, on this fourth Thursday in November, Gang Land — like much of America — will join family members in a traditional turkey dinner complete with most of the usual trimmings to celebrate Thanksgiving Day.
But Thanksgiving Day of 2018 is also a watershed milestone day for Gang Land. After 22 years, the board of directors has decreed that from this day forward, Thanksgiving Day is an official Gang Land holiday. That is, we're taking the day off, not publishing a fresh new column. We'll still publish our regular column when Christmas, the Fourth of July — as it does next year — and any other holiday falls on a Thursday, but not Thanksgiving.
We'll be back at you next week with three new stories about life and death, loyalty and betrayal, greed and honor — what we have called "real stuff about organized crime" since 1996. But whether you've reading this early — or after a nap, following too much food and/or drink and football — we've still got plenty of stuff for you to squeeze into the day and enjoy.
Donald TrumpWe've got a few Thanksgiving-related Gang Land columns we've done over the years. And with help from our friends at the Smoking Gun website, we've got not one, but two classic FBI tape recordings in which the late Genovese family soldier Federico (Fritzy) Giovanelli mentions The Donald — yeah that one — while moaning and groaning about his Thanksgiving Day.
You can't hear them any longer on WMOB.com; the Smoking Gun's sister station that used to house them is shuttered. But we've got them for you on Gang Land, courtesy of Smoking Gun guru Bill Bastone. And even if you've heard them before, we guarantee they'll put a few smiles on your face if they don't have you chuckling out loud.
Judge Tells Junior Gotti And Jury: Be Thankful
Judge P. Kevin CastelOur first look back though is the 2009 Thanksgiving Day message that the judge in Gotti IV gave the jury, who'd declared themselves deadlocked twice in 10 days of talks and would rather have heard him say "mistrial." Instead he invoked the Pilgrims, the three-day turkey day feast they had, and told the jurors to take five days off before coming back to decide the fate of John A. (Junior) Gotti.
And after stating that he didn't "want to be too much of a cornball," Manhattan Federal Judge P. Kevin Castel urged Gotti, who was spending his second turkey-day holiday behind bars, and his family members, to reflect on the true meaning of Thanksgiving.
John A. GottiIn 2007, over the objections of a federal prosecutor, Judge Peter Leisure gave mob capo John Gambino, a cousin of crime family patriarch Carlo Gambino, a Happy Thanksgiving ruling by cutting two years off his post-prison supervised relief because the feds had held him behind bars for 17 months on a defective deportation arrest.
We've also got an item about hero FBI agent Joe Pistone and one of the Bonanno mobsters he met while posing as jewel thief Donnie Brasco — Benjamin (Lefty Guns) Ruggierio, who died on Thanksgiving Day, 1995.
And one about an intriguing Black Friday session that took place in Staten Island the day after Lefty Guns died. It was between Gambino soldier Dominic (Fat Dom) Borghese and two FBI agents. In that meeting, Borghese gave up the goods on his longtime buddy Joseph Watts, tying him to several mob rubouts.
Fritzy's Got The Thanksgiving Day Blues
Meade EspositoLike most married American men, Fritzy Giovanelli usually celebrated Thanksgiving Day with his wife and family members. But not the time his old buddy Meade Esposito, a powerful Democratic Party boss with numerous mob ties, called to wish him a Happy Thanksgiving and he used Fritzy's girlfriend's name when his wife answered the phone.
Rather than go with wife Carol to his mother-in-law's home and have both of them give him agita about that, he stayed home. He explained the whole sorry mess to two buddies who called to wish him a Happy Thanksgiving, according to two 1985 FBI tape recordings.
You'll hear Esposito say "Gail" when Carol picks up the phone and then quickly realize his mistake and correct it. And then hear Fritzy, who completed his last federal prison rap in 2011, tell his tale of woe to mob buddy Angelo D'Acunto. You'll also hear Fritzy recall that Mario Gigante once did the same thing to brother Vincent, the legendary Genovese boss who died behind bars in 2005 while doing time for two racketeering convictions. Mario's faux pas was more difficult, since Chin's wife, and longtime paramour, were both named Olympia.
Turkey DayIn a second conversation, you can hear Fritzy talk about meatballs, mushrooms and mistaken identities as he describes his Thanksgiving Day tale of woe to mob buddy Zookie Esposito — no relation to Meade — and then tell Zookie about his special recipe for stuffed mushrooms with liver pate, scallions and "real good bacon." It's truly a mouthwatering visit with Fritzy Giovanelli.
As always, Gang Land wishes a Happy Thanksgiving to all our readers, no matter where you're reading this, or your current station in life. We extend a special thank you to those who've supported us since we became a paid subscription site in June of 2008. We wouldn't be here without you! Thanks much!