It's a new morning in America... fresh, vital. The old cynicism is gone. We have faith in our leaders. We're optimistic as to what becomes of it all. It really boils down to our ability to accept. We don't need pessimism. There are no limits.
B. wrote:Yeah, I remember him passing. He was a character.
He's before my time on these forums, but he would've been great here.
Btw, does anyone have a link to those letters?
Here's the Scarfo letter:
"Dear James,
I received your X-Mas card. Thank you. I don't write to people I don't know but your kind words and thoughts made me decide to answer you and thank you. Plus you didn't talk about religion and God and all that kind of stuff. Usually that's what people do. They mean well but I'm not into that kind of stuff. I leave religion to the women and children.
According to Caramandi Scarfo was also on a big health kick while he was Boss. Maybe why he is still kicking.
Pogo
It's a new morning in America... fresh, vital. The old cynicism is gone. We have faith in our leaders. We're optimistic as to what becomes of it all. It really boils down to our ability to accept. We don't need pessimism. There are no limits.
Pogo The Clown wrote:According to Caramandi Scarfo was also on a big health kick while he was Boss. Maybe why he is still kicking.
Reminds me of another great quote by him: "I maintain myself just to see those people suffer some day. That keeps me going."
By the way, if he actually does live to 104 and max out his sentence, I'm throwing a big party and you're all invited. In 2033. Only 18 years to go. Mark your calendars.
Yeah people born before 1935 all seem to only like baseball but they probably hate it to an extent gradually ever since 1947.
And yeah Scarfo is truly one of a kind who stuck to his guns. Not to sound like a fan boy he you have to admire his dedication to his chosen field and accepting his fate. If he does max out Id like see a Leonetti reality show where he reuinites with him.
brianwellbrock wrote:Scarfo is truly one of a kind who stuck to his guns. Not to sound like a fan boy he you have to admire his dedication to his chosen field and accepting his fate.
He's quite a personality and is more interesting to me than any other mobster. Let me put it this way: if you had to write a novel about the mob, would your imagination have been able to come up with a character like him?
Scarfo and the Scarfo era is def one of the most interesting times of the modern mob. New York even judged philly on they're cowboy ways and hits in broad day light on crowded streets.
Yeah a small town mob family that was having bosses popped left and right bloen off their fromt doorsteps to be taking over by a little squirt going to war with a crew run by a even smaller pipsqueek, with a bunch of twenty somethings blowing each other away, you really couldnt write a better script.
brianwellbrock wrote:Scarfo is truly one of a kind who stuck to his guns. Not to sound like a fan boy he you have to admire his dedication to his chosen field and accepting his fate.
He's quite a personality and is more interesting to me than any other mobster. Let me put it this way: if you had to write a novel about the mob, would your imagination have been able to come up with a character like him?
I agree. Despite him being very image conscious and liking to make headlines, the Gotti comparisons people make are off base. Scarfo followed most of the rules of the organization, except when he had Joe Salerno Sr. shot, and he had the respect of most members. A lot of his approach comes from Skinny DiTullio who mentored him. I don't respect the guy, but I have to acknowledge the guy's dedication. Nobody can call him a hypocrite.
If he had never become boss, he would still be a part of Philly lore for his reputation as a "hitman".
brianwellbrock wrote:Scarfo is truly one of a kind who stuck to his guns. Not to sound like a fan boy he you have to admire his dedication to his chosen field and accepting his fate.
He's quite a personality and is more interesting to me than any other mobster. Let me put it this way: if you had to write a novel about the mob, would your imagination have been able to come up with a character like him?
I agree. Despite him being very image conscious and liking to make headlines, the Gotti comparisons people make are off base. Scarfo followed most of the rules of the organization, except when he had Joe Salerno Sr. shot, and he had the respect of most members.
I don't really buy the "evil crazy serial killer" thing, either. I think it was more a matter of that time being a very dangerous era, and Scarfo just happened to be the one guy who was able to handle such an environment better than anyone else. Hence the brutality. He was more "ultra-hardcore Cosa Nostra" than "psycho". Just my opinion.
He reminds me more of the top Genovese guys like Chin and Manna, only less low-key, than he does Gotti.
But he's still one crazy, colorful, scary dude. I've been on a big Scarfo kick for the past few months here and there, and I still keep finding myself thinking "I can't believe this person really existed" when I read about him. You'd think I'd be used to him by now.
He was def able to impress the Genovese guys in the 1970s and he was a Calabrian/"mainlander" like many of them, though it probably didn't mean much. Pretty amazing that both he and Manna are still alive. The stories each of them must have. Both were made back in the 1950s and Manna was under Tommy Eboli, probably Strollo before that.
If Leonetti would do a Q&A, I'd like to ask if he knows how Scarfo first had his falling out with his uncles. I figure the situation with Joe Rugnetta could be on reason, as Rugnetta was married to the Piccolos' aunt and had been like a father figure to them according to an informant. They may not have appreciated Scarfo's disrespect to an elder relative who also happened to be consigliere. On a wiretap in the late 1970s Phil Testa and Scarfo talk about how Rugnetta tried to get Scarfo killed on many occasions but Testa protected Scarfo. Have to wonder if the Piccolos were aware of Rugnetta's plans, assuming he really did want to kill Scarfo.
Through all of that Scarfo managed to make a name on his own and got close to some major players. Not just Skinny DiTullio, but also also the Sicilians like Testa and apparently Bruno.
Scarfo had a falling out with his uncle in 1962. He was upset about the amount of money he was getting over writing numbers for him which was IIRC 200 a week. Their was a meeting with Bruno about this and he ended up getting a job at the 500 club, Bruno was made aware of this at that meeting. Im thinking this may of been the beginning of the fued, I remember in Leonettis book saying how his uncle would tell him that the Piccolos "Would just hold him back".
brianwellbrock wrote:Scarfo had a falling out with his uncle in 1962. He was upset about the amount of money he was getting over writing numbers for him which was IIRC 200 a week. Their was a meeting with Bruno about this and he ended up getting a job at the 500 club, Bruno was made aware of this at that meeting. Im thinking this may of been the beginning of the fued, I remember in Leonettis book saying how his uncle would tell him that the Piccolos "Would just hold him back".
Is all of that in Leonetti's book? I should re-read it as I only read it once when I was on a bender.