Upcoming TMA Philadelphia episode...

[Don_Peppino]

Talk about Bruno's drug dealing, like Long John told to Leonetti "Angelo Bruno was the biggest drug dealer in Philadelphia."

That's operational. Haha just joking.

[Ivan]

oh wait you guys said you aren't doing modern stuff, all right forget I said anything

[PolackTony]

Hopefully not too late to the party, but definitely agree that more on the Calabrian faction earlier days in Philly, and the disconnect between the Siggies and Calabrese.
I’ve always found in fascinating that there are Rugnettas, Caponigros and Scarfos in Australia. I know Calabrian families in other cities would often “phone the cousins” in Australia.

Obviously not saying that last part should be a focus, but I think the early Calabrian element and Mister Joe definitely need more attention.

Just as a note, Tony Bananas Caponigro was not Calabrese. He was born in Chicago to parents from Campagna, Salerno.

[B.]

Back in like 2016 Angelo and I talked about doing a YouTube video about Angelo Bruno. He'll get discussed a lot on any Philly episode we do. Scarfo too.

I'm not against talking about modern stuff on the show when it makes sense. Not current events or breaking news but we could offer observations about the Merlino guys in a way that would hopefully be interesting and relevant to the bigger picture of the mob. They wouldn't be the focus of an episode but they're part of the story.

One of the concerns with modern stuff is that you're talking about living people but the cat is so far out of the bag in many cases I have little personal reservation if it's done in the right context. There's a difference between talking about Joey Merlino's heritage or general observations about his leadership vs. discussing his connection to recent unsolved murders or his wife and kids. On one hand I don't want to sugarcoat who these people are but I also want to talk/write about them objectively in a way that they probably wouldn't disagree with themselves. That means not praising them but not going out of the way to denigrate them either.

So yeah, I'm comfortable referencing modern history and people still living today, it just has to be done with some consideration in mind.

[AustraliaSteve]

Hopefully not too late to the party, but definitely agree that more on the Calabrian faction earlier days in Philly, and the disconnect between the Siggies and Calabrese.
I’ve always found in fascinating that there are Rugnettas, Caponigros and Scarfos in Australia. I know Calabrian families in other cities would often “phone the cousins” in Australia.

Obviously not saying that last part should be a focus, but I think the early Calabrian element and Mister Joe definitely need more attention.

Just as a note, Tony Bananas Caponigro was not Calabrese. He was born in Chicago to parents from Campagna, Salerno.

Actually yeah, I remember you posting this info in another thread. It’s easy to see how the mix up happened. My bad.

[B.]

Everyone thought he was Calabrian including people involved w/ the Philly Family. Fresolone even said he was voted in as consigliere by the Calabrian faction. Side note, but it's interesting too that Patty Martirano hid out in Calabria when he was on the lam.

It's like Leonetti thinking Ciancaglini and Narducci were Sicilian. They came up around the Sicilian faction so I guess the perception is they were "Sicilian".

You see this too with non-ethnic factions. FBI sources called Neil Dellacroce's group the "Manhattan faction" but only some of them were actually from Manhattan. They were still seen as being a product of that group though.

[Don_Peppino]

I know each Family could probably get several shows, but I thonk the Angelo Bruno/Calogero Sinatra connection is important to note as well. It puts context to his rise and underpins the thought of Bruno being a Carlo Gambino puppet and him being Boss was simply on account of that.

[ShotgunTheRifle]

Can't wait to listen. Been waiting for a philly one

[PolackTony]

Hopefully not too late to the party, but definitely agree that more on the Calabrian faction earlier days in Philly, and the disconnect between the Siggies and Calabrese.
I’ve always found in fascinating that there are Rugnettas, Caponigros and Scarfos in Australia. I know Calabrian families in other cities would often “phone the cousins” in Australia.

Obviously not saying that last part should be a focus, but I think the early Calabrian element and Mister Joe definitely need more attention.

Just as a note, Tony Bananas Caponigro was not Calabrese. He was born in Chicago to parents from Campagna, Salerno.

Actually yeah, I remember you posting this info in another thread. It’s easy to see how the mix up happened. My bad.

It’s actually an interesting case (I mean, interesting to me at least), as people assumed that Caponigro was Calabrese as he was said to belong to the “Calabrian faction” of the Philly Family. But, as we’ve seen now from digging into the origins of Philly’s membership in the past, the “Calabrian faction” was not simply an ethnic bloc but a political faction, as it also had members of Napolitan’, Abruzzes’, and Eastern Sicilian origin; just as we’ve seen non-Sicilians who were with the “Sicilian faction”. While the regional origins of this factionalism are obviously very important, that regional/ethnic distinction served as basis to map political dynamics within the Family in ways that don’t correspond in a simple one-to-one fashion with ancestry.

[Angelo Santino]

And cut.

We covered alot- early, Sabella, Avena-Ida, Angelo Bruno, his relatives, Villalba-Trenton, Sicilians and Calabrians, Scarfo, thoughts on Merlino. All of these could really warrant their own focus but this was a good one. Want to get Tony on for a follow up when he has the time.

Probably go up next week.

[InCamelot]

Not sure if its helpful but it would be great to center a discussion on Philly around the aspects which make Philly unique from other families. Their "corporate culture" to quote the podcast's earlier episodes.

[B.]

Not sure if its helpful but it would be great to center a discussion on Philly around the aspects which make Philly unique from other families. Their "corporate culture" to quote the podcast's earlier episodes.

For one their resilience. No Family has been through what they experienced between 1980 and 1999 in terms of internal conflict and FBI prosecution but they bounced back from every blow. Of course they'd have been stronger without all of that but they weathered it and rebuilt even when it didn't seem possible.

Historically, what makes them unique is not just that they had semi-official Sicilian and Calabrian factions but they had a number of prominent Messinese and Abruzzese figures, definitely more than most if not all other Families.

[chin_gigante]

For one their resilience. No Family has been through what they experienced between 1980 and 1999 in terms of internal conflict and FBI prosecution but they bounced back from every blow. Of course they'd have been stronger without all of that but they weathered it and rebuilt even when it didn't seem possible.

That's very true, their entire hierarchy was effectively dismantled by the federal government three times in a row and yet they were able to rebuild. One of the most violent families in terms of size but also in post-1993 murders. They're also tied with the Bonanno family in terms of most members to openly flip, which is remarkable given the Philadelphia family's relative size. The first official boss to flip. Plus so far the only family to have had two induction ceremonies recorded by law enforcement.

[DonPeppino386]

Also, Leonetti will be coming out and doing more YouTube so what better than him?

Where did you hear this?

[Don_Peppino]

I think one of the most unique things about Philly, is the city itself. It might not be that unique for a smaller Family but considering, Philadelphia is a major city, you'd have the impression Philly was stronger (or more important) than say Buffalo or Detroit but Philly has never had a stranglehold over the entire city like New York or Chicago. Probably goes back to that Riccobene quote about them not being that organized early on.