New Pennisi Article

[JohnnyS]

Enzo Stagno is another example he has been shelved since 2013 and was at a family meeting in 2015.

[johnny_scootch]

I'm sure the level of social contact they have with members depends on who they are, who they know, where they live, and how serious their infractions were.

This 100%.

You can bet that if Cammarano, Zancocchio and the Grimaldi's are all still on the shelf they absolutely have contact with made guys in one way or another.

[B.]

It's also temporary in many cases.

- Vitale made it a point to discuss shelving as a temporary measure in his testimony, saying it doesn't even necessarily impact rank.
- Bonanno member Gaspare Maione was shelved then reinstated in the 1960s.
- Philly members Rocco Scafidi and Peter Casella were both shelved in the 1950s and reinstated in the 1960s.
- FL Gambino member Joe Indelicato was shelved and reinstated a couple of years later.
- Various pro-Orena Colombo members appear to have been shelved in the 1990s and were later brought back in.

Probably countless other examples if we dug around.

[Amershire_Ed]

You know what’s funny is that he mentioned one of the reasons he was recruited was because he did almost 20 years in the can, and guys figured “hey if this guy can do almost 20 years, he must be alright” but that’s ultimately part of the reason he cooperated....because he didn’t do another 20.

That’s why I think in this Philly case Grande is the *least* likely to flip. He’s got a lot to prove, he’s 41, and he’s gonna be able to handle the time they give him. The likelier candidates to flip, not just in this Philly case but in the life in general, are guys that have already done substantial time. Guys that know how miserable prison is. Pennisi is the perfect example of this.

[Bklyn21]

And again, he was literally a user on the old site trying to learn about the mob.

Didn't he tell his sister or say he was online on mob sites trying to do his homework on the Mob ? Or it came out in his detention memo

[Bklyn21]

Pennisi really doesn't come off like a gangster - really smart/cunning guy at least how he presents himself. I wish he gave more specifics about how much he was making because he was really lowkey.

I watched that. I think he was a little taken aback when the interviewer said 15k a month was bullshit money. I dont think he was pulling 15k a month, so it kinda fucked him up a little.

Especially coming from someone who didn't struggle, he seemed kinda surprised the guy said that. And frankly, I was too. I guess he was saying if it's not millions, I'm not risking my life for an upper middle class lifestyle. But those guys dont really GET the respect aspect of it.......

I think he had a good point, but it's a matter of perspective too. I'm sure plenty people during this covid shit would take that 15k a month....

I’ll gladly take 15k a month lol

Yea, Same here ! Wtf is wrong with people ? Guy made 180k tax free in a year ! Most people work they're asses off They're whole life and don't get close to 180k a year

[Bklyn21]

I listened to 2 episodes of the podcast he was on that was on YouTube. I can’t remember the name now though.. his mob Career seemed really strange... seems like he wasn’t even motivated to even earn... and now I understand his point of view about how cautious he was.. but it gets to a point where it’s like man if you’re really that concerned about possibly getting caught up with law enforcement, then you just shouldn’t be in the life in the first place... like him saying he split a half sheet and had 2 gamblers under him? Lol wtf??? I don’t know, to me it seemed like it didn’t even want to be made, or commit crime... that’s honestly how it sounds...
quick question that I’m super curious about... when him and all his boys all got knocked the fuck out by Ralph balsamo and his crew at the strip club, they mention that Ralph was with a west side soldier named jamie (i think) and that he was made but was officially on the shelf.... if he was on the shelf then why was Ralph still letting him hang around and participate with his crew??? If you’re shelved I thought you basically are no longer looked at or respected as a member.... so I’m surprised that he would still be hanging around... can anyone answer that for me??? I’m way curious...

Guys usually only get totally shunned in extreme circumstances

[Bklyn21]

Fascinating part about Pennisi meeting up with the 'ndrangheta group and them lining up in age from youngest to oldest.

Says the US mafia doesn't have to recognize Sicilian mafia, but the phrasing implies they have a choice. Says guys from Sicily can be "inducted" into the five families to be recognized. I wonder if he's aware of transfers still going on in the Gambino family, like Felice posted, and Calogero Ganci's 1990s testimony. Pennisi says the Gambino family is bringing guys over from Sicily and inducting them to this day.

Agreed that was really interesting - wonder what the 'ndrangheta in Staten Island would be into in terms of rackets and schemes that the five families don't already have. Drugs?

Being huge drug traffickers/Importers/exporters I could definitely see the Ndrangheta having smuggling routes into the ports of NY/Waterfront where the LCN still holds away . Maybe weapons and drugs , Who knows what else

[Gabagool718]

You know what’s funny is that he mentioned one of the reasons he was recruited was because he did almost 20 years in the can, and guys figured “hey if this guy can do almost 20 years, he must be alright” but that’s ultimately part of the reason he cooperated....because he didn’t do another 20.

That’s why I think in this Philly case Grande is the *least* likely to flip. He’s got a lot to prove, he’s 41, and he’s gonna be able to handle the time they give him. The likelier candidates to flip, not just in this Philly case but in the life in general, are guys that have already done substantial time. Guys that know how miserable prison is. Pennisi is the perfect example of this.

Very good point I’ve always thought the same trust me anybody that has ever done 8-10 joints or more NEVER wants to go back it’s the dudes that do 2-5 years that wear that shit like a badge when they get home and typically reoffend.

[Shellackhead]

You know what’s funny is that he mentioned one of the reasons he was recruited was because he did almost 20 years in the can, and guys figured “hey if this guy can do almost 20 years, he must be alright” but that’s ultimately part of the reason he cooperated....because he didn’t do another 20.

That’s why I think in this Philly case Grande is the *least* likely to flip. He’s got a lot to prove, he’s 41, and he’s gonna be able to handle the time they give him. The likelier candidates to flip, not just in this Philly case but in the life in general, are guys that have already done substantial time. Guys that know how miserable prison is. Pennisi is the perfect example of this.

I’m sure he decided to cooperate was because the family thought he was the one with the wire, not because of a pending indictment. From the way he tells his story, you can tell he was a very lowkey mobster since he wasn’t even identified as a made guy until 2017. He wasn’t wearing a wire, it was 2 other associates they later found out, bad judgement call but the damage was already done. Didn’t his cooperation lead to more clues solved about the Mike Meldish murder?

[mafiastudent]

You know what’s funny is that he mentioned one of the reasons he was recruited was because he did almost 20 years in the can, and guys figured “hey if this guy can do almost 20 years, he must be alright” but that’s ultimately part of the reason he cooperated....because he didn’t do another 20.

That’s why I think in this Philly case Grande is the *least* likely to flip. He’s got a lot to prove, he’s 41, and he’s gonna be able to handle the time they give him. The likelier candidates to flip, not just in this Philly case but in the life in general, are guys that have already done substantial time. Guys that know how miserable prison is. Pennisi is the perfect example of this.

I’m sure he decided to cooperate was because the family thought he was the one with the wire, not because of a pending indictment. From the way he tells his story, you can tell he was a very lowkey mobster since he wasn’t even identified as a made guy until 2017. He wasn’t wearing a wire, it was 2 other associates they later found out, bad judgement call but the damage was already done. Didn’t his cooperation lead to more clues solved about the Mike Meldish murder?

Gangland Article October 24, 2019
https://ganglandnews.com/members/column1178.htm

Wiseguy Witness Tells All About Stevie Crea — Which So Far Isn't Very Much

John PennisiGang Land Exclusive!A brand new, highly touted Mafia informant took the witness stand last week to point a finger directly at longtime family underboss Steven (Stevie Wonder) Crea who is on trial for the November 2013 gangland-style slaying of mob associate Michael Meldish.

But it turns out that turncoat Luchese mobster John Pennisi had zip to say about Crea's role in the murder. In fact he wasn't even asked about it. What he did talk about, at some length, was the time his mob captain ordered him to carry out a much more low-level mob contract: the beating of Crea's son-in-law for his contentious breakup with the underboss's daughter.

Pennisi, the latest Mafia defector in the FBI's arsenal of informers, testified that he was told to give the son-in-law a "hospital beating," i.e. one that was "serious enough to put him in the hospital." But Pennisi never managed to get around to it. There were too many cameras outside the son-in-law's workplaces, he complained to his boss. And there was no easy way to approach his home without being spotted.

The real surprise was that Pennisi, who was inducted into the Luchese family just seven months before the Meldish rubout, not only failed to implicate Crea or his codefendants in the murder of the former leader of the Purple Gang, but that the subject was never raised during his two days on the witness stand in White Plains Federal Court.

Michael MeldishIt was surprising for a couple reasons: For one, you'd think that a wiseguy who'd been made before the hit, and was active for more than four years after it took place, would have heard some scuttlebutt tying Crea or former acting boss Matthew (Matty) Madonna to the slaying.

After all, there's no doubt that when Pennisi walked into FBI headquarters and flipped in October of last year, one of the first things that veteran G-man Theodore Otto and lead prosecutor Hagan Scotten, who have interviewed him dozens of times, would have asked him was to provide everything he knew about the Meldish murder — the centerpiece allegation in the 2017 indictment.

Anything Pennisi overheard would have been fair game for the prosecution. As an inducted member of the crime family who has pleaded guilty to racketeering charges, Pennisi is an admitted co-conspirator of Stevie Wonder and the others in the case. That means that even social club gossip concerning Crea, Madonna and the murder would be admissible evidence as a so-called "co-conspirator statement."

Matthew MadonnaIn addition to the Meldish murder, Crea, 72, Madonna, 83, soldier Christopher Londonio, 45, and the alleged triggerman, Terrence (Ted) Caldwell, 60, are charged with engaging in a slew of other crimes as part of a Luchese crime family racketeering conspiracy from 2000 to 2017. The assault against Crea's ex-son-in-law, while not specifically charged, was allegedly part of the 17-year-long racketeering conspiracy.

It's also surprising that Pennisi did not implicate Crea — or the others — in any other alleged crimes in the seven count indictment. The most glaring omission is the allegation that in 2012 Crea attempted to murder a rival Bonanno associate for dissing him during a brouhaha at a Luchese family social club in the Bronx between members of the two crime families.

Pennisi knew all about that inter-mob dispute. He testified that an angry swarm of armed Bonannos invaded the club — according to court papers, one gangster kept Crea from entering the Luchese social club after they stormed in — to protest Madonna's refusal to recognize jailed mobster Michael (Mikey Nose) Mancuso as the boss of their crime family.

Michael Mancuso"They took it as a sign of disrespect, being that our own boss was also in prison at that time," said Pennisi, referring to Vittorio (Vic) Amuso. "And they decided to confront (us.) They got together, a whole bunch of them, and, came into the club," adding that the confrontation was resolved without any violence taking place.

But, as with the Meldish hit, prosecutor Scotten never posed any follow-up queries about the attempted murder. Perhaps the prosecutor was sandbagging the defense, holding back the info and planned to use it to rebut any defense cross examination about those charges.

The government declined to comment, but it's hard to believe that since Pennisi knew about the dustup at the Coddington Avenue social club with the Bonannos he wouldn't have known there was a retaliatory plot put into place by Crea, if there had been one.

And it's been common knowledge among Luchese mobsters, according to many talks that the FBI taped since 2014, that Meldish was whacked because of some dispute with Madonna, and that while Crea was the family's official underboss, he was the power behind Madonna and the wiseguy who was calling the shots for the family.

Vittorio AmusoPerhaps Pennisi had no information about either allegation. More likely, whatever information the 40-year-old Pennisi has about the two major charges against Crea does not coincide with the government's theory about either allegation.

Regarding the order to beat Crea's former son-in-law, Edward Davidson, Pennisi said his capo, John (Big John) Castellucci gave him Davidson's picture along with his home and work addresses. Big John then constantly pressed him to carry out the assault without saying that the intended victim was the son-in-law of the powerful underboss.

"He said that this guy has to get a hospital beating," said Pennisi. At first, he said, he and fellow "Brooklyn crew" member John (Johnny Sideburns) Cerrella "thought that this had something to do with one of the Long Island crews" and the family had given them the assignment "because, you know, people in Long Island knew them better than they knew us."

But Pennisi said he was stymied for months because Davidson lived on a cul-de-sac where it was difficult for the mobsters to lay in wait without raising suspicion. And after stalking Davidson to the two offices where he worked they noticed surveillance cameras surrounding the area. At the same time Johnny Sideburns finally learned why Pennisi was "getting all this pressure" from Castellucci to get it done.

Terrence Caldwell"This is for Stevie," said Cerrella, a wise old, influential former capo, now 79, adding that "it has something to do with a lawsuit," Pennisi testified.

At one point, Pennisi testified, Big John told him to hold off on the beating. "He said, 'Stay away for a while. The guy's got a court appearance and we don't want him to go to court all banged up.'"

Pennisi testified that sometime later, during a walk-talk in Staten Island, Castellucci told him to forget about the assignment. Here's how Big John told him, he testified.

Castellucci: "Remember that thing that you took over a year to [not] get done?"
Pennisi: "Yeah."
Cactellucci: "Well, my brother Spanky [aka Anthony Castelle] got it done in two days. Not a year, two days."

Edward DavidsonPennisi couldn't put an exact time frame on when Big John gave him that news, but Crea's ex-son-in-law, Edward Davidson, testified that it happened in early 2016, two months after his 17-year marriage to Betty Crea ended in divorce. She kicked him out in June of 2014, a few months after he was fired for stealing $40,000 from a school for disabled kids where he worked.

During what he called "contentious" divorce proceedings, which began in September of 2014 and ended in November of 2015, his father-in-law reimbursed his former employer the money he had stolen, he testified, noting that the money was part of the divorce settlement. He pleaded guilty to embezzling the cash, and served three years probation without incident.

Davidson said he was attacked near his office by a passenger who jumped out of a car and whipped him about a dozen times with "rubber tubing or wiring," and said, "Stop messing with my wife." He escaped serious injury by covering up, and backing out into heavy traffic, after which his attacker, whom he could not describe, jumped back into the car which took off. He did not report the attack to the police.

Under questioning by Crea's lawyer Robert Franklin, Davidson testified that his father-in-law always treated him "like a gentleman," and that he "didn't think at the time" that Crea "had anything to do with" the assault. Asked by Franklin if he agreed that "the fact of the matter is that it could have been anybody that did this to you," Davidson said, "Yes."

[TallGuy19]

Looks like the main reasons Pennisi was made so quickly were

1) the decent stretch of time he did for a violent crime which increased his bonafides

2) Steve Crea lied to the Genovese family in a sit-down and told them Pennisi was already proposed (which he wasn't) to get him out of trouble

3) his eventual sponsor John Castellucci was eager to build up his crew


These plus a couple more instances put a guy who hadn't been hanging around the Lucchese family for longer than a year on the extremely fast track to being made.

Did he have any associates under him or any significant rackets? I can't watch the interview on my phone.

[Amershire_Ed]

Fascinating part about Pennisi meeting up with the 'ndrangheta group and them lining up in age from youngest to oldest.

Says the US mafia doesn't have to recognize Sicilian mafia, but the phrasing implies they have a choice. Says guys from Sicily can be "inducted" into the five families to be recognized. I wonder if he's aware of transfers still going on in the Gambino family, like Felice posted, and Calogero Ganci's 1990s testimony. Pennisi says the Gambino family is bringing guys over from Sicily and inducting them to this day.

I thought it was interesting when he was talking about the strength of the families, he acknowledged the Genovese were top dog but then he said the only thing that he thought made the Gambinos stronger than the Luchesse’s was the Gambino Sicilian faction. He said without that faction, the two families are basically equal. He also talked about Mannino with a great deal of reverence.

[B.]

Scoops Licata gushed over Mannino at the Lo Griglio meet. Gotti and Gravano praised him on the Ravenite tapes as a combo between an Americanized gangster and the Sicilian "zips". DiLeonardo said Mannino is smart and low-key like Frank Cali but also a killer. Now Pennisi speaks highly of him.

For as much trash talk and backbiting as we hear about people, especially from witnesses and FBI tapes, everything that comes out about Mannino shows he carries immense respect in that world, even before he was a member.

Maybe it's me, but I trust witnesses more when they're willing to praise living mafia members. The witnesses who act like everyone in the life is a scumbag are usually trying to prove something. Of course it seems like every witness, good and bad, has his arch-enemy who he blames everything on, often his immediate supervisor. Valachi had Tony Bender, Pennisi has Castellucio.

[CabriniGreen]

Fascinating part about Pennisi meeting up with the 'ndrangheta group and them lining up in age from youngest to oldest.

Says the US mafia doesn't have to recognize Sicilian mafia, but the phrasing implies they have a choice. Says guys from Sicily can be "inducted" into the five families to be recognized. I wonder if he's aware of transfers still going on in the Gambino family, like Felice posted, and Calogero Ganci's 1990s testimony. Pennisi says the Gambino family is bringing guys over from Sicily and inducting them to this day.

I thought it was interesting when he was talking about the strength of the families, he acknowledged the Genovese were top dog but then he said the only thing that he thought made the Gambinos stronger than the Luchesse’s was the Gambino Sicilian faction. He said without that faction, the two families are basically equal. He also talked about Mannino with a great deal of reverence.

There's a reason I've been into them for awhile, and good reasons why I had Mannino as the next one up. I studied felices info, to me it seemed the Manninos rivaled the Gambinos for power inside the clan. They seemed to be itching to take the reigns.

Inzerillo- Spatolas seem to command in Sicily, Gambino- Manninos in NY and Philly..... so to me it seemed natural for Mannino to helm the clan. And if the clan/ faction is in power, that would make him an Admin candidate, almost defacto ....

Take the Persicos, they tapped every relative. Gotti tapped every relative and trusted crew member. Scarfo, nephew, Massino, brother in law. Merlino, all his buddies. If the guy in power has a strong crew, you have to look at that crew hierarchy too, a boss might just put one or more of his guys in.