Frank Cali FBI Files Article NY Post

[JoeCamel]

https://nypost.com/2022/09/21/fbi-files ... -to-power/

Haven’t read it yet, heading home from work. If someone doesn’t beat me to it I’ll summarize when home

[Snakes]

Maybe I missed it, but they don't have the files on the site. Some of the notes from the article:

-Listed as a "proposed" member in 1996
-Was involved with John D'Amico and Joe Watts in a calling card scam (basically the same as the one Big Pussy explained to Furio in season 2) that made them "millions."
-The scam ultimately netted 94 million dollars through a shell company via WorldCom (which later ran into problems of its own: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WorldCom_scandal)
-Surveilled at Point After Sports Bar & Grill and Tony's Luncheonette
-Noted in March 1997 as "recently made" (do we already have more info on this?)

[Amershire_Ed]

Thanks for posting.

Yeah it said Cali was the “skipper” of the Park Avenue office where they ran the scheme from.

I’d love to know how Cali cleaned his money. He was clearly an earner from the start.

[Wiseguy]

The mob really had some big money making schemes in the 1990s - the calling card scam, stock pump and dump, phone bill cramming, etc.

[Antiliar]

I uploaded Cali's file to the FBI files section here back in March.

[SonnyBlackstein]

"reportedly rising to the boss in 2015 after the acting don Domenico Cefalu stepped down"

How sure are we Cali was boss? Pennisi cites him as boss. Capeci? I thought Jerry had him as UB.

Was/is there a consensus on his position?

[chin_gigante]

At the end of the article they repeat the claim of Cali taking over as boss in 2015. I'm assuming that is based off prior reporting rather than any revelations in the FOI request (first because I'm sure if it was detailed in the document the author would have written about it more in-depth, second because I can't imagine anything that recent not being completely redacted).

Obviously we have to take into account that Capeci was the first to report that Cali was the boss, which led to every other outlet picking up the story. Then he retracted it a week later and said sources said Peter Gotti was official boss, Cefalu remained acting boss, and Cali the underboss. Then, shortly after Cali's murder, Capeci reported again that he was still the underboss and that Cefalu was either acting or official boss.

Normally I would've said that's the end of it if it wasn't for the video Pennisi recently put up where he stated (and then repeatedly clarified in the comments) that he understood Cali to be the official boss of the family. It's not as easy to dismiss a member source who was active on the street from 2013 to 2018 and knew top Gambino members like Lorenzo Mannino, Pietro Inzerillo, and Giuseppe Gambino.

[SonnyBlackstein]

There was also chatter about John Gambino being in the mix.

[thekiduknow]

I uploaded Cali's file to the FBI files section here back in March.

It looks like they got more than what was posted on the vault. Maybe they'll update it, but sometimes the FBI releases more to requesters than what gets released on the vault.

[Antiliar]

I hope so because what I uploaded was heavily redacted.

[JohnnyS]

At the end of the article they repeat the claim of Cali taking over as boss in 2015. I'm assuming that is based off prior reporting rather than any revelations in the FOI request (first because I'm sure if it was detailed in the document the author would have written about it more in-depth, second because I can't imagine anything that recent not being completely redacted).

Obviously we have to take into account that Capeci was the first to report that Cali was the boss, which led to every other outlet picking up the story. Then he retracted it a week later and said sources said Peter Gotti was official boss, Cefalu remained acting boss, and Cali the underboss. Then, shortly after Cali's murder, Capeci reported again that he was still the underboss and that Cefalu was either acting or official boss.

Normally I would've said that's the end of it if it wasn't for the video Pennisi recently put up where he stated (and then repeatedly clarified in the comments) that he understood Cali to be the official boss of the family. It's not as easy to dismiss a member source who was active on the street from 2013 to 2018 and knew top Gambino members like Lorenzo Mannino, Pietro Inzerillo, and Giuseppe Gambino.

Not only did Capeci report it but its also in the Campos detention memo that Cali was the official underboss prior to his murder. In the sentencing memo Cali is described as a high ranking member iirc.

Pennisi thought Cali was the boss but we have to remember that Pennisi never met Cali or Cefalu. It looks to me that Cali's official rank was underboss but he was viewed as the real power on the streets and it's similar arrangement to what we have now with Mannino. He replaced Cali as underboss but is viewed as the real leader even if he doesnt have the title according to Capeci.

[thekiduknow]

I hope so because what I uploaded was heavily redacted.

What do you mean, there was like 2 Daily News articles in there!

Seriously, I wonder if it'll be worth it try and file another FOIA request for the whole thing, and citing this article to show that more has been released than what is on the vault.

Although I recently tired filing for a preprocessed release and they didn't know what I was talking about so who knows.

[B.]

Wonder if the FBI was aware of his relation to Sal Catalano. One of the Navarra brothers married Catalano's niece and Navarra's cousin Frank Fiordilino was told about the relation by Cali himself when they met socially.

To me that's as big as the Bellomo / Majuri relation.

[Snakes]

I hope so because what I uploaded was heavily redacted.

What do you mean, there was like 2 Daily News articles in there!

Seriously, I wonder if it'll be worth it try and file another FOIA request for the whole thing, and citing this article to show that more has been released than what is on the vault.

Although I recently tired filing for a preprocessed release and they didn't know what I was talking about so who knows.

More than likely, they will send a pre-processed request, although this is typically preceeded by a letter informing you of this. You will then have the option of responding and requesting records not included with the pre-processed release.

[PolackTony]

Wonder if the FBI was aware of his relation to Sal Catalano. One of the Navarra brothers married Catalano's niece and Navarra's cousin Frank Fiordilino was told about the relation by Cali himself when they met socially.

To me that's as big as the Bellomo / Majuri relation.

Would love to know if anything in the heavily redacted files would point to connections to Chicago. As you know, it’s a very real possibility.