Gangland:12/10/15

[Dellacroce]

December 10, 2015 This Week in Gang Land
By George Anastasia

'Just A Gambling Case,' Says Angry Luchese Wiseguy

As the state of New Jersey wages a fierce court battle trying to win judicial approval for Atlantic City casinos to make book on sporting events, an outspoken Luchese mobster raised his voice to Gang Land about the downright nasty way the same Garden State has treated him and his friends over their love of gambling.

In an angry phone call that was part rant and part argument for fairness in media coverage, Joseph Perna said neither he nor any of his co-defendants had gotten a fair shake from the state or the media before, during and after they entered guilty pleas in a high profile but slow moving New Jersey racketeering case dubbed "Operation Heat."

"This was just a gambling case, but they tried to make it more," the 45-year-old Luchese wiseguy said about the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice and the sycophantic media that provided screaming headlines for the investigation that began in 2007.

Perna pleaded guilty to a racketeering gambling charge in June. As part of a plea deal, most of the other charges against him and several of his co-defendants were dropped, including an allegation that Perna had aligned with members of the notorious Bloods street gang in a scheme to smuggle cell phones and drugs into a state prison.

That charge was nonsense, said the dark-haired, quick talking North Jersey mobster. And so were the allegations of violence sprinkled throughout a 194-page affidavit filed with arrest warrants back in 2010.

Perna took exception to the state's approach to the investigation, claiming that it was more smoke than fire. "No one got hurt," he said. "This was gambling, Nothing more."

Perna, his father Ralph, 69, a capo who authorities say headed the New Jersey faction of the Luchese organization, and his brother John, 38, along with one-time crime family leader Matthew (Matty) Madonna, 80, Martin Taccetta, 64, and John Mangrella, 72, all pleaded guilty in June.

Madonna was sentenced in September to five years in state prison. Taccetta, who is already serving a life sentence in a racketeering-murder case, and Mangrella each got eight years. The Pernas are scheduled to be sentenced in January.

Madonna celebrated his 80th birthday last month as a New Jersey state prison inmate. Once a member of a three-man committee that ruled the Lucheses, he is now in residence at South Woods State Prison in Bridgeton, NJ. He began serving his time on September 30 and, according to prison records, will be eligible for parole on January 22, 2017.

But the Bronx-based wiseguy may have other problems as he sits in a cell in South Jersey counting down the days to his potential release. As reported in Gang Land last month, Madonna is the target of an ongoing federal investigation into the slaying of Michael Meldish, one-time leader of the Purple Gang, a murderous drug dealing organization that operated in the Bronx and East Harlem in the 1970s and 1980s.

Meldish was found slumped behind the steering wheel of his car parked in front of his Throggs Neck home in the Bronx on Nov. 15, 2013. He had been shot once in the back of the head. Two other Madonna associates are already in custody in connection with the shooting. The murder probe continues with sources telling Gang Land Madonna ordered the hit because Meldish had failed to show the proper respect for the crime family leader.

One other member of that three-man Luchese ruling panel is still on the hook in Operation Heat. Joseph DiNapoli is one of 21 defendants against whom charges are still pending. To date, 10 defendants have pleaded out and three have died of natural causes.

Guilty pleas are expected from most of the remaining defendants, including a third Perna brother, Ralph M., 34, and Nicodemo S. Scarfo, the son of jailed Philadelphia mob boss Nicodemo D. (Little Nicky) Scarfo.

Authorities allege that the New Jersey faction of the Luchese crime family controlled a sports betting operation that generated $2.2 billion in action during a 15-month period beginning in 2007.

The state's case was built around secretly recorded conversations picked up on wiretaps and from a listening device planted to Joe Perna's black Infiniti M35X, one of several high price vehicles forfeited in the case.

In one of the most damaging tapes, recorded in October 2007, Madonna and DiNapoli were being driven back to the Ocean Spa and Resort in Joe Perna's car when they discussed their involvement in the gambling ring and, more important, their roles in the crime family. The mob leaders had just completed an initiation ceremony in Toms River during which both Joe and John Perna were formally "made," authorities said.

On the tape, Madonna and Napoli are heard discussing the turbulent history of the Luchese Family's New Jersey faction, comparing the feuding there to the "Hatfields and the McCoys."

The Taccetta brothers, Martin and Michael, who is currently at a halfway house in Brooklyn finishing out a 23-year state and federal prison stretch for murder and racketeering, were part of one of those warring factions. The Pernas were part of another.

In the conversation, Madonna discussed how the administration put different people in charge, eventually tapping Ralph V. Perna to head the New Jersey operation.

Later in that conversation DiNapoli said he and Madonna were in for "25 percent" of the gambling business. The probe also included surveillance reports in which a New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice investigator detailed meetings at the Golden Eagle Diner in the Bronx during which, the state alleged, the Pernas brought "tribute payments" to Madonna and DiNapoli.

"Throughout this investigation, DiNapoli has been observed meeting with Joseph M. Perna, Ralph V. Perna, Matthew Madonna and several other members and associates of the Luchese Crime Family," state investigator Christopher Donohue wrote in a sworn affidavit that is part of the case. "There have also been multiple intercepted calls over a variety of telephone facility numbers utilized by DiNapoli and the Pernas. These meetings are generally arranged by telephone and occur on a weekly basis. Further, the Pernas have been observed arriving with packages and leaving empty handed."

Several other conversations offered a look inside the organization. The Perna brothers boasted about their involvement in the bookmaking business, discussed mob protocol and belittled Nicodemo S. Scarfo, who was taken down to the rank of soldier and replaced by their father as the crime family's New Jersey capo.

In August 2007, authorities followed Joe Perna to a rest stop on the Garden State Parkway where he met with Nicodemo S. Scarfo, according to the affidavit. It was at that meeting, authorities said, that Scarfo was told he had been "demoted" and replaced by Ralph V. Perna.

While Joe Perna has described this as "just a gambling case," the numbers were significant. Authorities said the sports betting operation, which included the use of the Internet and a wire room in Costa Rica, generated a "torrent of illicit income" that allowed the defendants to live lavishly. Weekly "packages" — the amount a bookmaker generated in bets — often exceeded $100,000, according to court papers. And cash flowed freely up the organizational ladder.

One example, Joe Perna's banking records, subpoenaed by authorities, indicated that he made cash deposits of $329,531 during a two-year period in which he and his wife claimed a total income of $63,836.

All of this comes at a time when New Jersey is desperately seeking approval to legalize sports betting in its struggling Atlantic City casinos. A Third Circuit Court of Appeals has agreed to reconsider an earlier ruling that knocked down the state's plans. Organized crime, meanwhile, continues to cash in on the business.

Editor's Note: George Anastasia is an award-winning Philadelphia-based reporter-author who has written several books about the mob. His latest, Gotti's Rules, based on the life of turncoat Gambino gangster John Alite, prompted John (Junior) Gotti to counter with his own book, Shadow Of My Father.

Scarfo Jr. Gets 30 Years In FirstPlus Scam

Young Nicky Scarfo has more to worry about than whether he will plead out or go to trial in the Morris County Operation Heat case. The mob scion was sentenced to 30 years in prison by a federal judge in Camden this summer after being convicted of racketeering and fraud along with three co-defendants.

The jury found Scarfo, 50, and his top associate, Salvatore Pelullo, guilty of siphoning more than $12 million out of FirstPlus Financial, a Texas mortage company, after taking behind-the-scenes control of the company in 2007.

Like Scarfo, Pelullo got 30 years. Company CEO John Maxwell was sentenced to 10 years and his brother William, private counsel to FirstPlus, got 20. The Maxwells were convicted of aiding Scarfo and Pelullo in the looting of the company.

During the trial, the prosecution contended that Pelullo, a Philadelphia businessman with two prior fraud convictions, used fear, threats of violence and the aura of organized crime to force some officials out of the company and others to go along with the scam.

"Nicodemo Scarfo and his associates tried to take La Cosa Nostra corporate, using traditional strong-arm mob tactics to take over a publicly traded company and loot it like a personal piggy bank," said Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell after Scarfo was sentenced.

"Scarfo and his crew gave new meaning to the term 'corporate takeover,'" added Paul Fishman, the U.S. Attorney for New Jersey whose office spearheaded the FirstPlus probe.

Scarfo's father, Little Nicky, and Luchese boss Vittorio (Vic) Amuso were named as unindicted co-conspirators in the case. Both aging mobsters are serving lengthy prison terms and are likely to die in jail. As a result, the U.S. Attorney's Office in New Jersey opted not to charge them.

But their names were bandied about the courtroom during the trial last year in Camden. Both were in line to share in the bounty from the FirstPlus takeover, authorities alleged. Testimony and evidence also included a letter the elder Scarfo had written to his son in which he warned him about the Pernas and the Taccettas, whom he described as "rats." It was unclear why Scarfo felt that way, although the lengthy delay in the Operation Heat investigation had given rise to speculation that someone was cooperating.

That theory appears to be unfounded.

An underworld source dismissed the elder Scarfo, now 86, as irrelevant. Scarfo, who is slated to be release in 2033, at age 104, "is paranoid," said the source. "He thinks everyone is a rat."

Given the history of the crime family he once headed — per capita the Philadelphia mob probably has more made members who turned government witness than any other organization — Scarfo's paranoia may be well founded.

One Scarfo, however, did catch a break in the FirstPlus case. Lisa Murray-Scarfo, who married Nicky Jr. in 2007 while the FirstPlus heist was in progress, was sentenced to two years probation in October after pleading guilty to falsifying a mortgage application.

The Scarfos, who were married on Valentine's Day in 2007 (it was Junior's second marriage) purchased a $715,000 home in an Atlantic City suburb. Testimony and evidence indicated that a $215,000 cash down payment came from money taken from FirstPlus. The $500,000 mortgage included an application in which Mrs. Scarfo lied about her annual income.

The Scarfo home in Egg Harbor Township, which has since been lost in foreclosure, was just one of the lavish expenses the government alleged that Scarfo and Pelullo paid for with money stolen from the Texas bank. The pair also bought an $850,000 yacht and a corporate jet. Pelullo snagged a $215,000 Bentley automobile and Scarfo bought several pieces of diamond jewelry for his wife.

All of the loot was forfeited.

The Big Philly Question: 'Who's The Big Joe?'

Is it Joseph (Skinny Joey) Merlino, who says he's a restaurateur and happily living in Florida?

How about Joseph (Uncle Joe) Ligambi, who escaped two federal racketeering trials, and is said to be enjoying his retirement?

Or maybe Joseph (Chickie) Ciancaglini, recently released from prison after doing a 25-year bit for racketeering, who says he's enjoying his freedom and is not interested in the old life?

The conventional wisdom in South Philadelphia, ground zero for the Philadelphia crime family for three generations, is that one of the three Joes is the top dog in the organization.

Most say it's Skinny Joey.

No way, Merlino, 53, said in a text message recently after media reports indicated he had come up to Philadelphia to take part in a sitdown designed to iron out a dispute between longtime mob soldier Martin Angelina and one-time capo George Borgesi.

"They love to make up stories," Merlino wrote when asked about the report. "If I talk to people I know my whole life, it's a sitdown. It's crazy."

Merlino said his restaurant — called Merlino's and located in Boca Raton — is doing well. He serves as the host and greeter. Because of his criminal record, he cannot own the business. He also said he visited Philadelphia twice this fall, once to help his daughter move back into school. She is a sophomore at a university outside of Philadelphia. And once to attend a parents' weekend at the school.

Neither trip had anything to do with the crime family, he said.

Not everyone is buying that story, however.

"No matter what you hear, Joey's still in charge," said one source. "You can take that to the bank."

In that scenario, Ligambi, 76, and Ciancaglini, 80, are serving as advisors — dual consiglieres — and Steve Mazzone and Ciancaglini's son, John, are street bosses.

The volatile Borgesi, Ligambi's nephew, is still moving and shaking in Delaware County just outside of Philadelphia where he is believed to have re-established connections with his former sports betting and loansharking partners.

A dispute over those businesses is what caused the bad blood between Borgesi and Angelina, a longtime Merlino confidante.

"If they're smart, they'll just concentrate on making money," said a source, pointing to the football season as the major income generator for the mob.

But another longtime Philadelphia crime family observer said the organization has failed to demonstrate the ability to focus on what's important.

"They've never been especially smart," said the onetime wiseguy.

[Mukremin]

Great read about the Luccheses and Philly. Thanks for sharing

[SonnyBlackstein]

Love to read those transcripts of Madonna and Napoli.

Anyone know if theyre accessible?

[Chucky]

So it looks like Anastasia is backing up some of what Scott has written

[Rocco]

For a longtime mob reporter who has read many indicments he continues to get this wrong

"The mob leaders had just completed an initiation ceremony in Toms River during which both Joe and John Perna were formally "made," authorities said"

This is incorrect. Joe (little joe) Perna (Ralphs son) was made prior to this meeting in 2007. Both Joe(little joe) and his father (Ralph) were actually made around the same time prior to this. Mike Perna's son Joe(Big Joe) was made in 2007 in Toms River w/ his cousin John(Ralphs son). And all these Perna's were made as a sign of respect and favor to Mike Perna who served time in Lewisburg with MAtty Maddona. About 8yrs they were together in Lewisburg and were very tight. Truth be told Ralph Sr should have been made at least 25yrs ago as he has been a longtime player in the NJ Luchese crew since the early 70s or late 60s. It was because of the internal rifts that he wasn't. If Anastasia read the indictment he would see the Little Joe's middle initial is different then Big Joe's middle initial. AND Little Joe was schooling his younger brother John in his car after he was made about the dos and don't of being a made guy. A newly made guy would be schooling another new guy.

They've never been especially smart," said the onetime wiseguy.

Come on George really??

Testimony and evidence also included a letter the elder Scarfo had written to his son in which he warned him about the Pernas and the Taccettas, whom he described as "rats." It was unclear why Scarfo felt that way, although the lengthy delay in the Operation Heat investigation had given rise to speculation that someone was cooperating.

I think also that Scarfo Sr was livid that Nicky Jr was knocked down to soldier. I know everyone wants to say that Amuso still rules the family with an iron fist etc. But lets face it. Nicky Jr was paying Amuso directly for the FirstPlus racket. If Amuso had that much sway NIcky Jr would have stayed Capo....but he didn't. Perna's were put in power because they were more closely aligned with the Families current administration and not Nicky Jr. Also ever wonder why Joey Merlino is seen paling around with Joe (Little Joe) Perna? Seems pretty convenient timing right? Before Joey got out Ligambi was griping about Nicky Jr making headways into South Philly. Just a theory but here it goes: Joey Merlino gets work to Joe Perna about this...Joe get word to his uncle Mikey in the can. Next thing you know Nicky Jr is bumped down to soldier and is trying to get permission to leave the state for FL asap ! lol What do you think about that theory..?

[Rocco]

Love to read those transcripts of Madonna and Napoli.

Anyone know if theyre accessible?

They used to be on here. There are guys on here that save tons of posts. Ask guys like wiseguy or Chris Christie. I am sure they have it saved.

[SonnyBlackstein]

Thanks Rocco.

Who are Mike Perna and son please?
I'm only aware of Ralph and three sons. Assume made? Why isn't he capo instead of Ralph then if Ralph etc were only made due to Mike?

Cheers.

[Pogo The Clown]

Thanks for posting Dellacroce.


Pogo

[B.]

So it looks like Anastasia is backing up some of what Scott has written

Yeah, he mentioned the dueling pianos... errr... dual consiglieres as well.

[Mukremin]

Any other such a thing as dual? For the other families i mean

[Pogo The Clown]

I'm guessing GA is just using Scott's language. I don't think he is really claiming or believes that Philly has two Consiglieri's. An earlier piece by GA has Ligambi as the Consiglieri.


Pogo

[Wiseguy]

Love to read those transcripts of Madonna and Napoli.

Anyone know if theyre accessible?

They used to be on here. There are guys on here that save tons of posts. Ask guys like wiseguy or Chris Christie. I am sure they have it saved.

The original chart can be seen here.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/0 ... mbers.html


The affidavit, which I think you posted, Rocco, used to be in the RD forum. Well, there was a link to it anyway but I think it went dead a long time ago. I could try looking for it but it's probably tough to find. It was very interesting and an in depth look into the bookmaking business.

[Rocco]

Love to read those transcripts of Madonna and Napoli.

Anyone know if theyre accessible?

They used to be on here. There are guys on here that save tons of posts. Ask guys like wiseguy or Chris Christie. I am sure they have it saved.

The original chart can be seen here.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/0 ... mbers.html


The affidavit, which I think you posted, Rocco, used to be in the RD forum. Well, there was a link to it anyway but I think it went dead a long time ago. I could try looking for it but it's probably tough to find. It was very interesting and an in depth look into the bookmaking business.

http://www.nj.gov/oag/newsreleases10/pr20100514a.html

That's the Fed 2010 indictment above however to be able to read the back and forth between Joe Perna on the car ride with Matty and Joe back to Long Branch after the making ceremony you have to find the 2007 NJ STATE Indictment since they were the ones actually doing the initial investigation and indictment. I cant find it anywhere.

2007 NJ indictment...its gone.. was on the right side of the page as a PDF. They removed it when the case was settled probably.
http://www.nj.gov/oag/newsreleases07/pr ... #complaint

[Cheech]

That source is Lenehan. Take it to the bank is what he says as pic all the time. Any one catch it?

[Rocco]

Thanks Rocco.

Who are Mike Perna and son please?
I'm only aware of Ralph and three sons. Assume made? Why isn't he capo instead of Ralph then if Ralph etc were only made due to Mike?

Cheers.

Mike Perna was a soldier who was sentenced to 25yrs along with Mike Taccetta back in the early 90s. Mike Perna just got out. He has a son Joe(Big Joe) who was made in 2007 with his cousin John Perna. MIke Perna and Mike Taccetta are rival faction now since they had a falling out. So it should be interesting when Mike T gets out. When his brother Marty was out . Marty was trying to circumvent Ralph Perna by going to NY behind Ralphs back to no avail.. Word is Mike Perna really runs the show and Ralph was just keeping the seat warm and preventing the Marty Taccetta from trying to seize leadership till his brother Mike got out. It didn't work.