Scott article on current state of KC mob

[Wiseguy]

STATE OF THE SYNDICATE: THE KANSAS CITY MAFIA TODAY
Scott Burnstein

The Italian mafia in Kansas City is a small, quiet crime family, probably on its’ last legs with only a few loose remnants of a time when the syndicate operated on a much larger scale and held national prominence decades ago, per exclusive Gangster Report sources. These sources place membership in the K.C. mob at “a dozen people or less” and claim its rackets mostly consist of gambling and loan sharking with a small amount of dabbling in extortion scams, primarily within the sex, drug and strip club industry.

Law enforcement in Kansas City consider “old timers” John (Johnny Joe) Sciortino and Peter (Las Vegas Pete) Simone, the crime family’s boss and underboss, respectively. Both date back to the once-powerful Civella mob and are convicted felons. Simone, 70, has been the K.C. mafia’s No. 2 man since the early 1990s, controlling all the syndicate’s gambling interests. The 72-year old Sciortino, a one-time driver and protégé of his predecessor, Anthony (Tony Ripe) Civella, became don when Tony Ripe passed away of a heart attack in 2006. Johnny Joe had been Civella’s street boss, senior juice-loan specialist and main go-between for the duration of Tony Ripe’s tenure on the throne.

Tony Ripe Civella was the nephew of legendary Midwest Godfather Nick Civella and son of his less-refined sibling and strong arm, Carl (Corky) Civella. His brother-in-law was the Civellas’ top lieutenant, the highly-feared, Carl (Tuffy) DeLuna. Nick and Corky Civella were at the center of the American mafia’s lordship over Las Vegas in the 1960s and 70s, using Tuffy DeLuna as their point man.

The K.C. mob traditionally doesn’t recognize the post of consigliere, but the FBI in Missouri believes Frank DeLuna, Tuffy’s younger brother and a longtime local produce peddler, serves Sciortino in a de-facto consigliere capacity and is his No. 1 advisor. Tuffy DeLuna died of natural causes in 2008.

Other powerful figures in what’s left of the Kansas City mafia include among them, William (Little Willie) Cammisano, Jr. Peter (P.J.) Ribaste and Vince Civella, per sources. Little Willie Cammisano is the son of deceased syndicate don William (Willie the Rat) Cammisano and a suspect in a number of unsolved Kansas City gangland slayings. Ribaste, a strip-club owner and veteran Pete Simone operative, spends portions of the year in Las Vegas. Vince Civella is Tony Ripe’s son. If the term “captain or capo” is thrown around with these three individuals or any others, it’s purely ceremonial and doesn’t denote the fact that they lead a crew of soldiers, according to sources.

Willie the Rat Cammisano was the Civellas’ chief enforcer and hitman before assuming the reins as boss from Nick Civella upon Civella dying of cancer in 1983. According to federal informant files, Willie the Rat dispatched his son on multiple murder assignments, starting in the 1970s when he was Civella’s street boss and into the 1980s when he ascended to don, a role Little Willie allegedly cherished with tremendous pride. The younger Cammisano and Vince Civella were convicted together in a 2010 bookmaking bust.

In terms of a youth factor in the ranks of the modern-day K.C. mob, the local FBI office is said to keep tabs on Joseph (Joe Pete) Simone, the 43-year old son of Las Vegas Pete Simone and a sometime actor and former minor league baseball player. Joe Pete was held in contempt of court in 1991 for refusing to testify in front of a federal grand jury probing bookmaking and mafia activity in Missouri and was convicted of possessing gambling records in 1992. He pitched in the Houston Astros organization and was acquitted of extortion charges in 2001. Currently, Joe Pete is starring in an internet tv show entitled “Kill’em All,” about a fictional gangland war in Kansas City fought between the Italian and Irish mobs.

One source asserts Joe Pete is a “made guy,” and received his button in the syndicate’s last making ceremony which took place in the late 1990s or early 2000s. Another source with intimate knowledge of FBI inquiries into Missouri mob affairs over the past four decades reveals Joe Pete was a “person of interest” in the Harold Ash murder investigation almost 20 years ago.

Ash, a reputed bookie in the Kansas City area, was slain on November 27, 1996, gunned down in front of his suburban home after winning several thousand dollars at a nearby Harrah’s riverboat casino. An FBI document cites an unidentified figure wearing a hooded sweatshirt matching Joe Pete Simone’s description, flanked by two men matching descriptions of mob associates Louis (Cuban Louie) Lerida and Timmy Sears, being seen on casino surveillance following Ash, 64, from the casino to the parking garage. Joe Pete himself denies being a member of the mafia and any criminal wrongdoing since his last conviction.

Johnny Joe Sciortino, said to be “stepping back” lately in his day-to-day duties running the Kansas City mob, and Pete Simone had their names surface in the 1990 murder of federal witness Larry Strada, a suburban K.C. bar owner who was shot dead in his driveway after appearing in front of a grand jury investigating sports gambling in the area. John Mandacina, a K.C. mafia soldier and Irish hood Patrick McGuire were imprisoned for the crime. The pair met with Johnny Joe and Las Vegas Pete at Simone’s Avenue Social Club in the hours prior to Strada’s slaying. Simone was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in Mandacina and McGuire’s first-degree homicide indictment.

Sciortino and syndicate elder statesman Frank DeLuna can often be found nights at Jasper’s, a popular Italian restaurant in Kansas City. The Simones main hangout is Gilhooley’s, a tavern and grill more in a dive-bar design and rumored to be silently owned by Las Vegas Pete.

http://gangsterreport.com/state-of-the- ... fia-today/

[SonnyBlackstein]

I'd laugh if this wasnt so sad.

Kansas apparently, has 12 guys and within that a fully functioning hierarchy. Yup, you read that correctly, an underboss 'insulating' the boss from the 3 'not capos, but powerful members whom have soldiers underneath them.'

Where does it end? When KC gets down to 3 members is one the boss, the other his capo who's crew is the 'soldier'?

And in one sentence we're told of the 'young blood' who we learn in the following sentence is acting in his YouTube video series.

Is this farcical?

If Scott believes what he's written with his knowledge and due dilligence as a 'reporter' then one must seriously question his common sense or suspect that he's firmly aware his article is absurd and he has ulterior motives for publishing.

An absurd lack of common sense or deliberate hype in generating interest in a website.

Either way this is the final straw in myself giving the guy any credibility on any future 'reporting'.

A good defence of this article I'll not hold my breath on.

[Angelo Santino]

At least he didn't call them the City of Fountains Crime Family. Curious what BobbyBats has to say.

[Pogo The Clown]

You nailed it on the head Sonny. The whole piece read like some wiki article on the 'Mafia' by some newby complete with the use of the words 'syndicate',
'Mafia', 'don', etc. If he had simply said that KC is down to 12 members or less still alive and some of them are still criminally active then I wouldn't disagree but he just couldn't help himself and had to overhype and overstructure his subject matter like he always does. Honestly in my vew his info is at the level of an Ernest Volkman or John Davis at this point.


I also got a chuckle out of him saying Joseph Simone is new the young blood but is also a YT actor.


Pogo

[Angelo Santino]

I'm not one for these Scott Pissing Matches. But if someone wants to "go at him" the legit way, just ask who his law enforcement source is.

Law enforcement in Kansas City consider “old timers” John (Johnny Joe) Sciortino and Peter (Las Vegas Pete) Simone, the crime family’s boss and underboss, respectively.

[Angelo Santino]

I'm not one for these Scott Pissing Matches. But if someone wants to "go at him" the legit way, just ask who his law enforcement source is. Shouldn't be too controversial as I see no reason for anonymity.

Law enforcement in Kansas City consider “old timers” John (Johnny Joe) Sciortino and Peter (Las Vegas Pete) Simone, the crime family’s boss and underboss, respectively.

And yes, the catch phrases are annoying but... whadya gonna do?

[Wiseguy]

You nailed it on the head Sonny. The whole piece read like some wiki article on the 'Mafia' by some newby complete with the use of the words 'syndicate',
'Mafia', 'don', etc. If he had simply said that KC is down to 12 members or less still alive and some of them are still criminally active then I wouldn't disagree but he just couldn't help himself and had to overhype and overstructure his subject matter like he always does. Honestly in my vew his info is at the level of an Ernest Volkman or John Davis at this point.


I also got a chuckle out of him saying Joseph Simone is new the young blood but is also a YT actor.


Pogo

It's been his problem all along, starting with Detroit. He tries to dress things up too much and make a family look better off than it is. Some of us have said this for years now.

[brianwellbrock]

Scott gets put on a pedestal because he pleases all the Detroit fanboys and now he is suiting the general fanboys who want to believ the small families are still kicking. But he has to be questioned since he is the only one who writes on this. Kind of like us being told 9/11 was soely done by Bin Laden without a throufh investigation. He is already back tracking on Chicago first it was the Vena indictmenr was coming down before Christmas but now it canalso be early 2016. If by April next year jack doesnt happen than his credibility is shot.

[bobbybats]

STATE OF THE SYNDICATE: THE KANSAS CITY MAFIA TODAY
Scott Burnstein

The Italian mafia in Kansas City is a small, quiet crime family, probably on its’ last legs with only a few loose remnants of a time when the syndicate operated on a much larger scale and held national prominence decades ago, per exclusive Gangster Report sources. These sources place membership in the K.C. mob at “a dozen people or less” and claim its rackets mostly consist of gambling and loan sharking with a small amount of dabbling in extortion scams, primarily within the sex, drug and strip club industry This statement is for the most part true.

Law enforcement in Kansas City consider “old timers” John (Johnny Joe) Sciortino and Peter (Las Vegas Pete) Simone, the crime family’s boss and underboss, although this is more or less a ceremonial naming, they have these titles but are more or less boss and underboss of a crew respectively. Both date back to the once-powerful Civella mob and are convicted felons. Simone, 70, has been the K.C. mafia’s No. 2 man since the early 1990s, controlling all the syndicate’s gambling interests. The 72-year old Sciortino, a one-time driver and protégé of his predecessor, Anthony (Tony Ripe) Civella, became don when Tony Ripe passed away of a heart attack in 2006. Johnny Joe had been Civella’s street boss, senior juice-loan specialist and main go-between for the duration of Tony Ripe’s tenure on the throne. this is absolutely a true statement

Tony Ripe Civella was the nephew of legendary Midwest Godfather Nick Civella and son of his less-refined sibling and strong arm, Carl (Corky) Civella. His brother-in-law was the Civellas’ top lieutenant, the highly-feared, Carl (Tuffy) DeLuna. Nick and Corky Civella were at the center of the American mafia’s lordship over Las Vegas in the 1960s and 70s, using Tuffy DeLuna as their point man.This is an absolutely true statement

The K.C. mob traditionally doesn’t recognize the post of consigliere, but the FBI in Missouri believes Frank DeLuna, At first I did not believe this, but I have heard in the last 3 months that this is true, although I do not know what they would really need advise for as what their doing is at such a small scale, Tuffy’s younger brother and a longtime local produce peddler, serves Sciortino in a de-facto consigliere capacity and is his No. 1 advisor. Tuffy DeLuna died of natural causes in 2008.Until I hear this from some other people I am not going to have a comment on this.

Other powerful figures in what’s left of the Kansas City mafia include among them, William (Little Willie) Cammisano, Jr. TruePeter (P.J.) Ribaste false his involvement is minimal at best and he has sold his interest in both Temptations and Legs his adult clubs. and Vince Civella, this is true per sources. Little Willie Cammisano is the son of deceased syndicate don William (Willie the Rat) Cammisano and a suspect in a number of unsolved Kansas City gangland slayings. Ribaste, a strip-club owner and veteran Pete Simone operative, spends portions of the year in Las Vegas. This is a true statement although Ribaste who used to be close to Jerry Cammisano and was recently busted in an odometer fixing case with former city councilman Frank Rizzo has not been seen much in KC Vince Civella is Tony Ripe’s son. If the term “captain or capo” is thrown around with these three individuals or any others, it’s purely ceremonial and doesn’t denote the fact that they lead a crew of soldiers, according to sources.There are no Capos, there is no real formal structure, just some titles given to some old guys who have put in time and duties to deserve respect
Willie the Rat Cammisano was the Civellas’ chief enforcer and hitman before assuming the reins as boss from Nick Civella upon Civella dying of cancer in 1983. According to federal informant files, Willie the Rat dispatched his son on multiple murder assignments, starting in the 1970s when he was Civella’s street boss and into the 1980s when he ascended to don, a role Little Willie allegedly cherished with tremendous pride. The younger Cammisano and Vince Civella were convicted together in a 2010 bookmaking bust.This is a true statement

In terms of a youth factor in the ranks of the modern-day K.C. mob, the local FBI office is said to keep tabs on Joseph (Joe Pete) Simone, the 43-year old son of Las Vegas Pete Simone and a sometime actor and former minor league baseball player. Joe Pete was held in contempt of court in 1991 for refusing to testify in front of a federal grand jury probing bookmaking and mafia activity in Missouri and was convicted of possessing gambling records in 1992. He pitched in the Houston Astros organization and was acquitted of extortion charges in 2001. Currently, Joe Pete is starring in an internet tv show entitled “Kill’em All,” about a fictional gangland war in Kansas City fought between the Italian and Irish mobs.most of what scott writes here is accurate, although I have never heard that he is made, I know that he was suspected in the murder but was never charged, probably more likely that the DEA is watching him as he is part owner in a couple of clubs were they push X along with Pallazolo and Arnone, Marcus Anone got 5 years in a recent bust, these are some of the wannabees I have spoken of recently

One source asserts Joe Pete is a “made guy,” and received his button in the syndicate’s last making ceremony which took place in the late 1990s or early 2000s.I have never heard this Another source with intimate knowledge of FBI inquiries into Missouri mob affairs over the past four decades reveals Joe Pete was a “person of interest” in the Harold Ash murder investigation almost 20 years ago.This is true

Ash, a reputed bookie in the Kansas City area, was slain on November 27, 1996, gunned down in front of his suburban home after winning several thousand dollars at a nearby Harrah’s riverboat casino. An FBI document cites an unidentified figure wearing a hooded sweatshirt matching Joe Pete Simone’s description, flanked by two men matching descriptions of mob associates Louis (Cuban Louie) Lerida and Timmy Sears, never heard of these guys being seen on casino surveillance following Ash, 64, from the casino to the parking garage. Joe Pete himself denies being a member of the mafia and any criminal wrongdoing since his last conviction.

Johnny Joe Sciortino, said to be “stepping back” lately in his day-to-day duties running the Kansas City mob, and Pete Simone had their names surface in the 1990 murder of federal witness Larry Strada, a suburban K.C. bar owner who was shot dead in his driveway after appearing in front of a grand jury investigating sports gambling in the area. John Mandacina, a K.C. mafia soldier and Irish hood Patrick McGuire were imprisoned for the crime. The pair met with Johnny Joe and Las Vegas Pete at Simone’s Avenue Social Club in the hours prior to Strada’s slaying. Simone was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in Mandacina and McGuire’s first-degree homicide indictment.This is an accurate and true statement
Sciortino and syndicate elder statesman Frank DeLuna can often be found nights at Jasper’s, a popular Italian restaurant in Kansas City. This may be true but I have never seen them there although I have been told that I can find Frank there but I have not seen frank around anywhere in at least 6 months. Jaspers is owned by the son and Nephew of two made guys long dead, Jasper and Lenard Mirabale,The Simones main hangout is Gilhooley’s, a tavern and grill more in a dive-bar design and rumored to be silently owned by Las Vegas Pete Gilhooleys was at one time owned by made guy Charlie "Charlie Mag" Mandacina, who passed away 2 years ago or so in Leavenworth where he was serving a life sentence.

http://gangsterreport.com/state-of-the- ... fia-today/

Most of what scott has written is true but family activity may be more than reality.

[bobbybats]

I forgot to change the font to red but Gilhooleys was owned by made guy Charlie "Charlie Mag" Mandacina who passed away several years ago while serving a life sentence at Leavenworth.

[bobbybats]

I'm not one for these Scott Pissing Matches. But if someone wants to "go at him" the legit way, just ask who his law enforcement source is.

Law enforcement in Kansas City consider “old timers” John (Johnny Joe) Sciortino and Peter (Las Vegas Pete) Simone, the crime family’s boss and underboss, respectively.

I actually know who his LE sources are and they are guys who would know some things. Not saying what he wrote is completely correct.

[bobbybats]

You nailed it on the head Sonny. The whole piece read like some wiki article on the 'Mafia' by some newby complete with the use of the words 'syndicate',
'Mafia', 'don', etc. If he had simply said that KC is down to 12 members or less still aliveI would argue that there are 14 to 16 alive but 4 are in prison (John Mandacina, John Calia, Angelo Porrello and Vince Pischotta, that number could be 5 but Iam not sure if Joe Porello is made) and some are so old they arnt active (Paul Varsalona, Nate Brancato (if made). But lets be upfront here what constitutes active. I would put the really active number below 12, to maybe a handful, the rest could be considered minimally active and some of them are still criminally active then I wouldn't disagree but he just couldn't help himself and had to overhype and overstructure his subject matter like he always does. Honestly in my vew his info is at the level of an Ernest Volkman or John Davis at this point.


I also got a chuckle out of him saying Joseph Simone is new the young blood but is also a YT actor.


Pogo

Joe Pete is a joke, I am just being honest at most he is a dope dealer, whose toughness comes when your drunk in the club and he cheap shots you. Yeah hes connected but without his dad he would already be dead.

[Angelo Santino]

So it sounds like it's not bullshit. Thanks.

[bobbybats]

So it sounds like it's not bullshit. Thanks.

No its not all bullshit, maybe a bit elevated in activity. But Johnny Joe and PJ are referred to as Boss and Underboss, but its really just a token of respect for their years of service.

[Five Felonies]

some of the responses in this thread make it seem like the article in question was promoting the kc family as s still functioning, organized, viable criminal enterprise based off of nothing besides a few key words that people hone in on. i just don't think it's fair or intellectually honest to try and somehow frame this article as proclaiming the family as still involved in anything other than remnants of organized activity at best. "on its last legs", "12 made guys", "3 capos who's titles are ceremonial" all seem far from the narrative that some are implying. the criticisms here are totally overblown!