Pennisi said he was instructed by his captain not to meet with Merlino because they didn't recognize him, but the captain went and hung out with Merlino on his own. On another night Pennisi ended up meeting him as well. The Pernas aren't afraid to be seen with him on social media.
Scarfo's death isn't necessarily a factor. Families have refused to recognize a boss even if there's no alternative they recognize instead... they will just outright not recognize anybody. But if the Lucchese admin are the only people who don't recognize him, and their members don't even follow this rule, it doesn't have much weight.
The Lucchese admin wasn't recognizing Mancuso as a boss, so for whatever reason they've been taking a hard line on recognizing other bosses.
chin_gigante wrote: ↑Sun Apr 25, 2021 5:17 pm
FBI Agent William Inzerillo testified at Merlino's trial a few years ago that what they'd learned over the course of the investigation was that the Philadelphia family ultimately answered to the Genovese family. It's the same situation as the DeCavalcante family answering to the Gambinos.
The two families seem to have changed places. Historically the Gambinos represented Philly and the Genovese represented the DeCavalcantes on the Commission, but in the 1980s we first see them change places. I don't know that Philly officially went under the Genovese that early, as the Gambinos were supposedly involved in the Philly leadership changes in the late 1980s, but no question Manna and the Genovese were influencing things when Testa and Scarfo took over.
What's confusing is that Philly went to the Gambino family in 2010 to register their issues with the Lucchese family (and supposedly an unspecified issue with the DeCavalcantes). If Philly was represented by the Genovese family, why would the leadership of the Philly family meet with the Gambino leadership to register an issue they had with other NYC/NJ families?
Things could be more fluid today than they were in the heyday of the Commission and Philly can bounce between the Genovese and Gambinos depending on the situation, like the relationships change depending on who is involved (i.e. Ligambi was closer to the Gambino family or the specific Gambino leaders that attended that meeting, while Merlino is closer to the Genovese family or those specific Genovese leaders). Might be overthinking it, but mob politics are usually very deliberate in how they're handled.
What's interesting too is John Gambino told Stefanelli he couldn't help Ligambi out. We know the former Philly guys under Scarfo Jr. were returned by 2015, so someone in NYC seems to have helped them iron out part of the dispute. Philly didn't just swipe made Lucchese members and re-claim them... someone had to advocate for them and seemingly the Lucchese family had to agree.
Pennisi said he was instructed by his captain not to meet with Merlino because they didn't recognize him, but the captain went and hung out with Merlino on his own. On another night Pennisi ended up meeting him as well. The Pernas aren't afraid to be seen with him on social media.
Scarfo's death isn't necessarily a factor. Families have refused to recognize a boss even if there's no alternative they recognize instead... they will just outright not recognize anybody. But if the Lucchese admin are the only people who don't recognize him, and their members don't even follow this rule, it doesn't have much weight.
The Lucchese admin wasn't recognizing Mancuso as a boss, so for whatever reason they've been taking a hard line on recognizing other bosses.
[quote=chin_gigante post_id=192381 time=1619396234 user_id=5708]
FBI Agent William Inzerillo testified at Merlino's trial a few years ago that what they'd learned over the course of the investigation was that the Philadelphia family ultimately answered to the Genovese family. It's the same situation as the DeCavalcante family answering to the Gambinos.[/quote]
The two families seem to have changed places. Historically the Gambinos represented Philly and the Genovese represented the DeCavalcantes on the Commission, but in the 1980s we first see them change places. I don't know that Philly officially went under the Genovese that early, as the Gambinos were supposedly involved in the Philly leadership changes in the late 1980s, but no question Manna and the Genovese were influencing things when Testa and Scarfo took over.
What's confusing is that Philly went to the Gambino family in 2010 to register their issues with the Lucchese family (and supposedly an unspecified issue with the DeCavalcantes). If Philly was represented by the Genovese family, why would the leadership of the Philly family meet with the Gambino leadership to register an issue they had with other NYC/NJ families?
Things could be more fluid today than they were in the heyday of the Commission and Philly can bounce between the Genovese and Gambinos depending on the situation, like the relationships change depending on who is involved (i.e. Ligambi was closer to the Gambino family or the specific Gambino leaders that attended that meeting, while Merlino is closer to the Genovese family or those specific Genovese leaders). Might be overthinking it, but mob politics are usually very deliberate in how they're handled.
What's interesting too is John Gambino told Stefanelli he couldn't help Ligambi out. We know the former Philly guys under Scarfo Jr. were returned by 2015, so someone in NYC seems to have helped them iron out part of the dispute. Philly didn't just swipe made Lucchese members and re-claim them... someone had to advocate for them and seemingly the Lucchese family had to agree.