Murder of Long John Martorano

[chin_gigante]

It was 4:35 p.m. on 17 January 2002 in South Philadelphia. Raymond “Long John” Martorano was behind the wheel of his Lincoln on Pemberton Street near South Marshall in the traditionally Italian neighbourhood of Bella Vista when he was ambushed. Three shots were fired through the windshield of the car, hitting him in the right arm, chest, and abdomen. Despite his serious injuries, Martorano managed to escape his attackers and drive six blocks towards Pennsylvania Hospital. Witnesses saw his black 2000 Town Car heading west on Spruce Street before passing through a red light at the intersection of South Eighth, jumping the curb, striking a trash can, and finally ramming a fire hydrant. That a 74-year-old man could sustain such injuries and make it so far before crashing was so astonishing that investigators initially suspected that he had been shot on the 700 block of Spruce. However, passers-by did not report hearing any gunshots before the crash, with one witness initially assuming that the driver of the vehicle was either intoxicated or having a heart attack. Upon approaching the car, he noticed Martorano slumped over and blood covering the interior. Residents on Pemberton reported hearing gunshots around 4:30, confirming that Martorano had been shot there before crashing just outside the entrance to the hospital. Based on conflicting reports, at the time he was ambushed Martorano was already on his way to or from the hospital for a cardiologist appointment to check his pacemaker.

Still conscious (though one witness reported that his right arm was hanging off), Martorano told a responding police officer that he did not know who shot him, before having an oxygen mask placed over his face and being rushed to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. The elderly wiseguy underwent five hours of surgery while investigators combed the crime scene for evidence. The Lincoln was towed from the area shortly after 8 p.m., and by the end of the night, Martorano was in a critical but stable condition. Placed in a medically induced coma, he was unable to speak but appeared to be improving and was responding to the presence of family members. However, haemorrhaging became a problem on the early morning of 5 February, and he finally succumbed to his injuries at 7:37 a.m.

Within 24 hours of the shooting, joint FBI-police investigators had managed to put together some pieces of the puzzle and identified three suspects in the case. Despite being a target of law enforcement himself, Martorano was not under surveillance at the time of his ambush and, beyond reports of hearing gunshots, no-one on Pemberton Street had witnessed the shooting. However, the downward trajectory of the bullets indicated that the shooter, or shooters, had opened fire on foot (rather than from another vehicle) and at close range. No spent shell casings were found at the scene, indicating that the assailants had used revolvers. Martorano’s driving habits also came into play. The Lincoln he was driving that afternoon was registered in his wife Evelyn’s name at an address in North Wildwood, New Jersey. In the year leading up to his death, Martorano had moved from Cherry Hill to the 600 block of Fitzwater Street in Philadelphia. However, as the car was registered in New Jersey, he was unable to obtain the permit that would allow him to park on Fitzwater, so he left the vehicle on Pemberton instead. Knowledge of both this and his frequent trips to the hospital could have been used by his killers to plan the hit.

Investigators identified two brothers and a top associate of acting mob boss Joseph Ligambi as the prime suspects in the case. It was believed that the brothers – John and Stephen Casasanto – took part in the murder to prove their loyalty to the local crime family, while Ligambi’s associate was tasked with supervising the hit. John Casasanto was killed a year later and, despite being frequently mentioned as a case law enforcement would like to solve, so far no-one has been charged in connection to the Martorano homicide.

In the aftermath of the hit, speculation centred around the theory that it was motivated by Martorano’s attempts to move in on mob-controlled gambling rackets upon his release from prison. Martorano had been incarcerated since 1982 for federal drug charges and the murder of union leader John McCullough. Pennsylvania Superior Court overturned the murder case in 1992, citing prosecutorial misconduct, and dismissed the case in 1996. Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld the dismissal in November 1999 and, having already served his time for the drug charges, Martorano was released.

During his 17 years behind bars, Long John had fallen out with other mob figures after his lucrative loan sharking operation was taken from him. He was also upset at the perceived lack of support for his son George Martorano, who was serving a life sentence for a first-time non-violent narcotics offence after taking the advice of attorney Robert Simone to plead guilty. Martorano reportedly blamed Simone and then-mob boss Nicodemo Scarfo for his son’s legal problems and may have sought revenge by indirectly setting in motion a series of events that would bring down the Scarfo organisation in the late-1980s.

Whilst being held in the Philadelphia Detention Centre in 1986, Martorano bumped into fellow mob soldier Nicholas Caramandi. Martorano told Caramandi that he had been marked for death by Scarfo. Whether of not Martorano was telling the truth, Caramandi took the information seriously and decided to cooperate with the government. Caramandi’s testimony helped the feds build the racketeering case that sent Scarfo to prison for the rest of his life. Also caught up in the law enforcement crackdown was Joe Ligambi, who spent almost 10 years in prison on a murder case before having his conviction overturned and being acquitted at retrial.

By the time Martorano was released in 1999, a vacuum existed in the Philadelphia crime family that Ligambi was attempting to fill as acting boss. However, his position was precarious, and he had already faced the prospect of a coup from the North Jersey wing of the organisation (Ligambi’s life was saved when the FBI arrested his would-be killers in 2000). Immediately upon his release, it was speculated that Martorano would make a play to take over the mob and he was reportedly told by the incumbent wiseguys to retire and not get back involved. Long John certainly could afford to stay out of their way. A long-time businessman, loan shark and drug dealer, he had been listed by Fortune Magazine in the 1980s as one of the 50 wealthiest mobsters in the country.

Despite his wealth, the septuagenarian gangster ignored this warning and set about attempting to recruit a crew of bookmakers to be loyal to him while reportedly badmouthing the other mob guys. To the media, however, Martorano insisted that he had no intention of returning to crime, and talked about wanting to retire to Sicily, where he was born. He spent some time in Las Vegas visiting one of his daughters and was working to overturn his son’s life sentence. According to George, his father initially tried to get back involved in gambling but found what was left of the Philadelphia mob not to be worth the trouble. Instead, Long John was trying to get involved in the construction business in Sicily. Just a few days before he was shot, Martorano had returned from a vacation to the Mediterranean island and was considering buying a $92,000 home to spend half the year there. George has since publicly stated that these visits to Sicily prompted the spread of rumours that his father was attempting to recruit shooters from abroad to come back and take over the Philadelphia mob by force.

Other sources from the time back up the belief that Martorano was killed for his unwanted return to organised crime. Drug dealer and video poker machine operator turned government witness Steven Carnivale ended up with information about the murder. Carnivale had been assigned to shake down bookmakers and other gamblers in Lower Bucks County with the help of Anthony Gagliardi, an associate of then-captain Gaeton Lucibello. At one point, Carnivale and Gagliardi were instructed to kill a poker machine operator who was refusing to make payments to the mob. The hit never went down, but Carnivale was told that Martorano had been killed for the same reason. Carnivale would also testify that he was once in the presence of a Lucibello associate who bragged about being the getaway driver in the Martorano hit.

On 29 January 2002, while Long John was still comatose, cooperating witness Peter Albo recorded a conversation with his brother-in-law bookmaker Gary Battaglini in which the recent shooting was mentioned. Albo had spent some time in prison with Martorano and asked if he had done anything wrong. Battaglini informed him that, since his release, Long John had “tried moving in on the sports [betting] and everything”. Albo stated his belief that Martorano was stupid but Battaglini corrected him, saying, “He ain’t stupid. Far from it.”

What exactly motivated Raymond Martorano to get back involved is unclear, especially considering his wealth and the lengthy prison sentences he and his son had endured. He also knew the risks of involvement in the mob first-hand, once admitting that he had participated in five murders. According to one associate, Martorano just could not stop being the man he was:

“For him it was more the allure and the power than anything else. Without the ‘respect’ these guys get from being in the mob, they’re nobodies.”

[NJShore4Life]

Ive always said that I find it really hard to believe that Ligambi would put the Casasanto brothers anywhere near something like this.

If I had to bet I would guess either Nicodemo or Canalichio.

I just can’t see the Casasanto brothers being assigned this hit by a guy like Ligambi. If the Casasanto brothers were actually involved in this hit, it wasn’t sanctioned and they did it on their own to get in good graces with Ligambi. That would be the only scenario I see playing out if the Casasanto brothers actually did do this.

[dack2001]

There were other articles at the time that the Gongs were going around town claiming credit for the hit. I would agree with you that they were nowhere near the hit. They took credit or allowed themselves to get the credit to boost their rep.

Another interesting angle on the hit was from George Martorano in a recent podcast or interview who mentioned that it seemed to come off the ground when his father went back to Sicily. The local guys were afraid he was looking for backers or shooters so they struck first. I'm sure if word was out that he was trying to put together bookmakers underneath his wing the guys downtown noticed.

[NJShore4Life]

I don’t even feel Stevie Gongs is that heavily involved at all.

I believe he has some pizza shops in NYC, heard he was really spooked after his brother was killed, think he does a little bookmaking, and I personally saw him out last summer in Atlantic City at bar in Borgata with Nicky Whip. So he hangs with Nicky Whip I know for a fact whose brother went bad, isn’t a good look when you’re hanging out with a guy whose brother went bad.

[NJShore4Life]

https://youtu.be/d81PdbdINlw

Mob Talk episode on the Long John Martorano hit.

[slimshady_007]

The Long John hit was really brazen when u think about it. He got whacked in broad daylight in South Philly. Im guessing there wasn’t any witnesses?

Also, the fact that he was only shot 3 times leads me to believe that there was one shooter. Knowing how a piece of work usually goes, it’s very likely there was a driver and a crash car on the hit as well.

[NJShore4Life]

Another Mob Talk on the 9th anniversary of Long John's hit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlsDGkBbu4Q

[chubby]

Ive always said that I find it really hard to believe that Ligambi would put the Casasanto brothers anywhere near something like this.

If I had to bet I would guess either Nicodemo or Canalichio.

I just can’t see the Casasanto brothers being assigned this hit by a guy like Ligambi. If the Casasanto brothers were actually involved in this hit, it wasn’t sanctioned and they did it on their own to get in good graces with Ligambi. That would be the only scenario I see playing out if the Casasanto brothers actually did do this.

I agree... very hard for me to see ligambi, who was a very sharp guy who seemed to think things out very well put the casasanto’s on this hit, especially when he had way more qualified shooters to pick from, who were also made guys... just seems like a very important hit to give to those associates....

Unless his whole plan was to have gongs hit long john and then dame and nicodemo go silence gongs... if you like at it like that... it’s a pretty smart and cunning move....

[Ivan]

Ive always said that I find it really hard to believe that Ligambi would put the Casasanto brothers anywhere near something like this.

If I had to bet I would guess either Nicodemo or Canalichio.

I just can’t see the Casasanto brothers being assigned this hit by a guy like Ligambi. If the Casasanto brothers were actually involved in this hit, it wasn’t sanctioned and they did it on their own to get in good graces with Ligambi. That would be the only scenario I see playing out if the Casasanto brothers actually did do this.

I agree... very hard for me to see ligambi, who was a very sharp guy who seemed to think things out very well put the casasanto’s on this hit, especially when he had way more qualified shooters to pick from, who were also made guys... just seems like a very important hit to give to those associates....

Unless his whole plan was to have gongs hit long john and then dame and nicodemo go silence gongs... if you like at it like that... it’s a pretty smart and cunning move....

It makes sense when you put it that way but to me Gongs seems like such a ding-dong that it would be very risky to have him involved even as part of an elaborate "use him and then get rid of him" plot.

[Philly d]

What about Anthony Gagliardi? He still active?

[SonnyBlackstein]

Unless his whole plan was to have gongs hit long john and then dame and nicodemo go silence gongs... if you like at it like that... it’s a pretty smart and cunning move....

Good thought process. Interesting point.

[chubby]

Ive always said that I find it really hard to believe that Ligambi would put the Casasanto brothers anywhere near something like this.

If I had to bet I would guess either Nicodemo or Canalichio.

I just can’t see the Casasanto brothers being assigned this hit by a guy like Ligambi. If the Casasanto brothers were actually involved in this hit, it wasn’t sanctioned and they did it on their own to get in good graces with Ligambi. That would be the only scenario I see playing out if the Casasanto brothers actually did do this.

I agree... very hard for me to see ligambi, who was a very sharp guy who seemed to think things out very well put the casasanto’s on this hit, especially when he had way more qualified shooters to pick from, who were also made guys... just seems like a very important hit to give to those associates....

Unless his whole plan was to have gongs hit long john and then dame and nicodemo go silence gongs... if you like at it like that... it’s a pretty smart and cunning move....

It makes sense when you put it that way but to me Gongs seems like such a ding-dong that it would be very risky to have him involved even as part of an elaborate "use him and then get rid of him" plot.

Yeah I agree it still seems like a risky move for someone like ligambi.. but when I was thinking about it that was the only move that would make any sense to have him involved... they probably wanted gongs clipped before he hit long john.. so they probably figured it was a win win.. they get long john hit, which probably totally made gongs have his guard down.. then they sent dame and nicodemo, two trusted soldiers to take care of gongs... I mean if gongs for sure hit long john, and I was in Ligambis position, that’s what I would have done... like I said they got someone they wanted hit and then got him out of the way so he was no longer any sort of liability and couldn’t give up that murder...
I honestly never really put the pieces together til tonight.. but I personally think that’s what went down.

[chubby]

Unless his whole plan was to have gongs hit long john and then dame and nicodemo go silence gongs... if you like at it like that... it’s a pretty smart and cunning move....

Good thought process. Interesting point.

Like I said I never gave it any thought til I read this thread.. but like I said if you’re ligambi it’s a smart move... cause he picked some pretty solid guys to hit gongs..

[chubby]

And what better way to get gongs comfortable and make him feel like he’s in the leaderships good graces then hitting long john.. cause from what I heard gongs was pretty crazy, so it would be smart to make him think he’s in good standing.. then dame and nicodemo give him a visit and leave him dead in his house...

[chin_gigante]

Ligambi, Massimino and Staino also met with John Alite in 2002 and asked him about rumours that Casasanto had been a prison informant. If they'd used him on the Martorano hit and worried about him being an informant it makes sense that he'd get killed