Gangland:2/18/16

[Dellacroce]

February 18, 2016 This Week in Gang Land
By George Anastasia

The Day John Gotti Forgot His Gun

John Gotti showed up for the biggest gunfight of his life without a gun.

And that says all you need to know about the late Dapper Don, the media celebrated boss of the Gambino crime family.

At least that's the take from John Alite and Salvatore (Sammy Bull) Gravano, two former Gotti associates who went the other way. Alite told the story as he stood in front of Sparks Steak House in midtown Manhattan on a cold, crisp afternoon a few weeks ago. The one-time enforcer for the Gotti organization said his information comes from Gravano by way of The Bull's daughter, Karen.

Alite, the principal figure in my book Gotti's Rules, was being interviewed by a reporter for Crime Watch Daily, a syndicated television show. Part of the report will focus on the infamous assassination of Paul (Big Paul) Castellano in front of Sparks back in December 1985.

The hit catapulted Gotti to the top of the crime family. It was literally a hostile takeover. Gravano, Gotti's underboss, became a government witness and testified about the murder in the 1992 trial that ended with Gotti's conviction — and his death behind bars 10 years later.

Castellano and Thomas Billotti, his driver and underboss, were taken out by a team of Gotti hitmen wearing white trenchcoats and black, Russian winter hats. Gravano said he and the Dapper Don watched from half a block away where they sat in a Lincoln Towncar that Gotti was driving.

"At one point, Sammy says to John that if things go bad they might have to get involved," Alite said, recounting details he has learned through Karen Gravano. "Sammy nods toward the gun that he's carrying. And that, he says, is when Gotti tells him he doesn't have a gun."

Gravano didn't react, but internally he was shaking his head in disbelief.

"If things went bad," Alite said, "Gotti was just going to drive away and leave those guys hanging out to dry. That's the kind of boss he was."

The story is just the latest verbal shot Alite has taken at Gotti, part of an ongoing battle of words waged online, in the media and through Gotti's Rules and John A. (Junior) Gotti's self-published memoir Shadow of My Father.

"Gotti never looked out for his own people," Alite said. "Think about it. He ordered the murders of his own guys, but when the guys involved in the Castellano hit were killed, he didn't do a thing. What kind of boss is that? He's supposed to be the father of the family."

Two of the mobsters identified by Gravano and the feds of being involved in the Sparks murder plot were killed in the years that followed. The slayings of Frank DeCicco and Edward Lino were orchestrated by the Genovese and Luchese crime families. Luchese mobsters also murdered a third Gambino soldier with close ties to both Gottis, Bartholemew (Bobby) Borriello. Gotti had committed the underworld's cardinal sin — killing a mob boss without the approval of the other families — and three of his top associates paid the ultimate price.

DeCicco was literally blown apart on April 13, 1986, when a bomb planted under his car was detonated. Another mobster, whom the bomber mistakenly thought was Gotti, was seriously injured in the blast. Lino was killed on November 6, 1990, by two rogue New York City Police detectives in the employ of Luchese underboss Anthony (Gaspipe) Casso. Borriello was gunned down in front of his home on April 13, 1991 (the fifth anniversary of the DeCicco murder).

"We never retaliated for any those murders," said Alite.

Alite shakes his head at the hypocrisy that was the Gotti regime. But he says that's all part of his past. His agreement to testify for the government led to a 10-year prison sentence and his freedom. He's now working a construction business and is involved in motivational speaking. He has been a featured speaker for charitable fundraisers and for anti-bullying campaigns, among other things. Alite's interview with Crime Watch Daily is scheduled to air today. The show is syndicated on over 100 stations nationwide and is seen in New York on WPIX Channell 11 at 2 p.m.

"Look, I know what I was and what I did," says the admitted murderer, drug dealer and extortionist. "I'm not proud of that, but I don't try to sugarcoat it either. There are kids out there who still think that life is glamorous. It's not. If there's a kid on the fence about which way to go, I'm trying to pull him down so he doesn't choose that life."

The Gotti family, on the other hand, continues to promote the myth of the honorable and noble Dapper Don, he says. It's perception over reality.

Alite says he's had discussions with producers in Hollywood and in Europe (Gotti's Rules has been published in Albania and is being shopped in Brazil) about a documentary, a series or a movie about his life. As his old buddy Junior can tell him though, talks with producers are one thing; turning talks into something you can see on a big or little screen is another story.

Junior Gotti has been on track for a Hollywood film starring John Travolta as the Dapper Don for five years now. As gossip columnist Richard Johnson wrote just last week, people in the know are beginning to doubt it will ever be made. Gang Land has no special insight on the subject, but when Johnson asked, Jerry Capeci replied: "I'll believe it when I see it on the big screen, not a minute before."

"It's two sides of the same story," says Alite who was the key government witness in Junior's 2009 racketeering trial. The trial ended with a hung jury. Alite, before, during and after that trial, has been vilified by the Gotti camp as a lowlife liar who has fabricated and overstated his role in the organization.

"They can say what they want," he says. "People who know me and who know them know I'm telling the truth."

Unsolved Murders Still On The Feds' Philadelphia Agenda

It's a Yogi Berra moment in South Philadelphia.

Déjàvu all over again.

Members of both the Nicodemo (Little Nicky) Scarfo and Joseph (Skinny Joey) Merlino factions of the dysfunctional Philadelphia crime family are back on the streets after spending most of the past two decades in jail for racketeering.

The Scarfo crew includes guys like Phil Narducci and Joe Pungitore, shooters from the 1980s who have returned home over the past three years. The Merlino faction is headed by George Borgesi, Stevie Mazzone and John Ciancaglini, all of whom were convicted with Merlino in 2001, the last big mob trial in Philadelphia to end with convictions and substantial prison terms for many wiseguys.

Acting boss Joseph (Uncle Joe) Ligambi's got a foot in each camp. He was a shooter for the Scarfo group, but returned home before most of the other members of that organization when his conviction for the 1985 murder of Frank (Frankie Flowers) D'Alfonso was overturned and his retrial led to his acquittal. Ligambi fell in with the Merlino group in 1999 and took over as boss when Skinny Joey and his top associates were jailed a year later.

Now, everybody's back in town.

As reported by Dave Schratwieser on Fox 29 in Philadelphia last month, federal and state investigators are tracking the activities of the key players. Borgesi and Ligambi appear to be operating out of a new clubhouse across from the Epiphany Roman Catholic Church at 11th and Jackson Streets in the heart of South Philadelphia.

"Makes it easier to get to confession," quipped one longtime underworld observer.

But there really isn't much new to confess.

"They're strictly legit," said one friend of the family.

Borgesi and company are making inroads into the home rehab and mortgage refi businesses. Pungitore is also in the construction business which is booming in certain neighborhoods where gentrification has taken hold.

David Fritchey, the former federal prosecutor who headed the Organized Crime Strike Force in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Philadelphia for many years, said old habits die hard.

It doesn't speak well for their rehabilitation, he said, if wiseguys are back hanging around with former co-defendants. That, said the ex-prosecutor who retired back in July, is a formula for "recidivism."

But defense attorney Edwin Jacobs, who has represented both Merlino and Ligambi, told Fox 29 that there is nothing unusual about friends getting together. As he has argued to juries in the past, Jacobs said authorities are overplaying the associations.

"It's good to have a wide circle of friends," Jacobs said as the TV cameras rolled. "Federal law enforcement authorities look at The Godfather, one and two, as a text book. It's not a text book. It's a screen play."

Some might argue that the movies are actually training films for the next generation of wiseguys, the 20- and 30-something sycophants who now congregate at the new clubhouse. Two or three generations removed from the immigrant experience, these Americanized wannabe mobsters have to have someone show them how to act.

While Jacobs argues that the local mob is a shell of what it once was, federal and state authorities are now focusing on what they believe is the resurgence of the crime family.

"You have to admire their resilience," said one investigator familiar with the history of wanton violence, turncoat testimony and racketeering prosecutions that since the Scarfo era have left more than 30 members dead and that led to significant jail time for at least 30 others.

"They have a long and successful business model" that involves "violence and intimidation," said Fritchey who dismisses the argument that the one-time convicts have paid their debt to society and ought to be left alone. "If they're not doing anything wrong, then they shouldn't be worried about who's watching them."

It may not be the present, but rather the past, that gives Merlino, Ligambi and some of their top associates the most concern.

While investigators are tracking the new business ventures, they also have begun to revisit the cold case files involving the murders of mobsters Ron Turchi in 1999, Raymond (Long John) Martorano in 2002 and John (Johnny Gongs) Casasanto in 2003.

Authorities are also aware that at least five new members were formally initiated into the crime family in October, a move that would appear to run counter to defense attorney arguments at the racketeering trials of Ligambi and Borgesi two years ago. (Both Ligambi and Borgesi beat the charges, but four others were convicted). Among other things, the defense contended that while the defendants might be members of Cosa Nostra, the organization was no longer relevant.

'If that were the case," asked Fritchey, the retired federal prosecutor, "then why are people interested in getting made? You don't see anyone lining up to join the Knights Templar."

Authorities In Two States Double-Team South Philadelphia Autobody Shop Owner; But He Hangs Tough

The saga of Ronnie Galati, the 65-year-old autobody shop owner with a Godfather complex who is currently serving 23 years for his federal murder for hire conviction in New Jersey two years ago, moves to Philadelphia Common Pleas Court in September.

His next indictment charges another murder for hire scheme, along with over 100 counts of insurance fraud. This trial will also include his wife, Victoria, and his son, Ron Jr., as co-defendants. Authorities had hoped that Galati, whose ties to the Philadelphia mob go back more than 20 years, might have been inclined to cooperate to get the charges dropped against his wife and son.

State and federal law enforcement officials believe Galati could shed some light on numerous mob doings, including murders, but Galati, true to the code of The Godfather movies that he loves, has said he has no idea what authorities are talking about.

Instead, Galati is said to be buoyed by neighborhood talk that describes him as "a standup guy."

The District Attorney charged Galati with "crafting bogus accident claims" in a $5 million scam. The case also includes allegations that Galati hired two hitmen to kill the father and son owners of a rival auto body shop business who had testified about him during a grand jury investigation.

The hitmen, Ronald Walker and Alvin Matthews, are cooperating and are expected to take the stand when the case goes to trial on September 7. It will be their second go-round on the witness stand.

Both men testified in the federal trial, telling a jury that Galati hired them to kill the boyfriend of his then estranged daughter Tiffany. The boyfriend, Andrew Tuono, was shot outside his Atlantic City home in November 2013, but survived. Walker and Matthews, who didn't know their way around Tuono's Marina area neighborhood, were arrested within 30 minutes of the shooting.

Within hours they were giving up Galati.

The federal trial was a soap opera with the hitmen, Tiffany Galati and Tuono all taking the stand. Tiffany and Andrew had broken up by then, but that didn't do Ron Galati any good. Reports are that the dark-haired South Philadelphia princess has since reconciled with her family and visits her father in prison.

But Walker and Matthews, along with dozens of other witnesses familiar with the insurance fraud, are set to take the stand for the DA.

Galati, who served 38 months following his conviction in a similar insurance fraud case in 1994, has been described by authorities as a close associate of mob leaders Joseph Ligambi, Joey Merlino and George Borgesi. His prior conviction and his mob connections also surfaced in the insurance fraud case. Authorities want to know how Galati's autobody shop was able to arrange a city contract to repair damaged police cars.

That figures to be an interesting twist when the case goes to trial.

Authorities also believe members of the Merlino crew used Galati's autobody shop to turn a stolen van into a hit mobile during a 1993 war with then mob boss John Stanfa. A van with portholes cut into its side pulled up alongside the Cadillac Stanfa was riding in during rush hour traffic one August morning. Two shooters poked machine pistols out of the port holes and opened fired, strafing the side of the car which was on the Schuylkill Expressway, an eight-lane highway full of early morning commuters.

Stanfa, riding in the front passenger seat, ducked out of the line of fire, but his son Joseph, riding in the back seat, took a bullet to the cheek. He recovered, but the shooting sent the ever volatile Stanfa into a rage and fueled the mob war that left a half dozen gangsters dead and several others wounded.

The feds would like to talk to Galati about that situation with the hope of adding the shooting to a broader racketeering case. The trial is still seven months off, but so far, Galati, who faces another 19 or so years behind bars even if he's acquitted of all charges in the state case, is still hanging tough.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Award-winning reporter/author George Anastasia covers the Philadelphia crime beat for www.bigtrial.net.

[Hailbritain]

Was it not the cassasanto brothers that allegedly whacked martorano ?? I thought one of the reason gongs was clipped was because he wouldn't keep his mouth shut about being involved in the murder , along with the fact he was doing things he shouldn't have been doing with merlinos wife

[willychichi]

Authorities are also aware that at least five new members were formally initiated into the crime family in October

Have these new members been identified yet?

[Chucky]

Was it not the cassasanto brothers that allegedly whacked martorano ?? I thought one of the reason gongs was clipped was because he wouldn't keep his mouth shut about being involved in the murder , along with the fact he was doing things he shouldn't have been doing with merlinos wife

That was a bullshit internet rumor, Steve Cassasanto is pretty much a fringe guy and they'd never have a clown like his brother anywhere something like that.

[TommyGambino]

Yawn.

[SonnyBlackstein]

"If things went bad," Alite said, "Gotti was just going to drive away and leave those guys hanging out to dry. That's the kind of boss he was."

Seriously?

This is a story now? Gotta didn't bring a gun to a hit in which 4 shooters were going to surprise Castellano and Bilotti? Because it 'could've gone bad'?

Paul steps out of the car and BLAM! BLAM! Two to the head.
But, as John Veasey would later claim "I did a Paul Castellano" Paul after taking two to the head, turns round and tackles the gunman, turning his gun on him. The second gunman comes in and this time in a more Tony Soprano like role, Paul slams on the gas and disposes of shooter number two. Remarking later that they were just "a couple of girls from the hood."

Meanwhile 'sadly', Bilotti goes down after catching his pair, one strangely behind each ear, yet manages to draw and shoot the offender in the heart, with a double tap to the head to be sure (you always have to be sure). Yet whilst administering said double tap, shooter number 4 garrots Bilotti with piano wire.
Paul after then entering sparks and making a visit to its kitchen and helping himself to a hatchet and sharpening stone, races over and using his knowledge of various cuts of beef (and who said that tenure as a butcher wouldn't come in handy eh!) disposes of the final gunman (Several superb cuts of meat were mysteriously later added to sparks menu.)

Gravano runs out with his piece, but Paul, easily takes him out. Chortling contemptuously.
Then Paul looks up, and spies John....


If only Gotti had brought his piece.....

[Pogo The Clown]

Thanks for posting this weeks column.


I figured LE would have some forensics on the Turchi hit considering how he was disposed of.


Pogo

[Hailbritain]

Ha ha alites source is karen gravano , what a set of fuckin cocks these lot are , a total embarrassment

[Pogo The Clown]

Authorities are also aware that at least five new members were formally initiated into the crime family in October

Have these new members been identified yet?

Not yet. But we can surmise who some of the likely candidates are like Anthony Borgesi and Vito Malgeri (both previously identified as proposed members). Joseph Baldino maybe another one.


Pogo

[Chucky]

Baldino is one

[AG777]

Thanks for posting Delly! Hope you're doing great!!

I don't know about all of you but I am so friggin sick and tired of Alite and Gotti. When does it end??!! Make it stop!!

Philly article is interesting though.

[SonnyBlackstein]

With the new (Jackson?) Five members how does this leave Philly number wise?

[Pogo The Clown]

With the new (Jackson?) Five members how does this leave Philly number wise?

By my count 53-56 members in total.


Pogo

[SonnyBlackstein]

Why do we not have a Philly chart may I politely ask gents?

[SonnyBlackstein]

Thanks Pogo.